Bose® on-ear headphones Reviews

• Amazing set of headphones. $180 though?... Not so sure...

  
  By A3H10CAIM7RR8W on 2007-07-02
  I recently got a pair of these from a local retail store for $100. A good family friend who worked there was able to acquire a discount. First, I will say that they are fantastic and lived up to everything I was hoping for. I'm a college student who not only lives with a roommate but also in a ground floor apartment. Before I had these, I used a pair of Memorex Noise Canceling headphones and even they were unable to completely ward off the sounds my roommate or neighbors would make; be it movie watching, DanceDance Revolution, or the occasional domestic violence. However, with my new Bose On-ear headphones I am able to listen to music or movies at a moderate and comfortable volume level while drowning out ambient noise. Peace and solitude are once again part of my life.
  
  Quality. For months I tested these headphones on display at various stores and was astounded by the audio quality. The first thing I realized after buying them is that you can have the best set of headphones in the world but if your music isn't CD quality or better, it wont make a darn bit of difference. CD's, movies and MP3's 192kbps or more come through with amazing quality and clarity. I truly do find myself discovering nuances in my favorite songs which I had never heard before.
  
  Comfort. I chose the on-ear headphones as opposed to the over the ear because I was worried about heat and extensive wear times. The on ear headphones still leave my ears a little warm and use for extended times (2+ Hours) leads to mild discomfort and the need to shift them around a little bit. Overall, I rate comfort a 4/5. Still better than any other headphones I've worn.
  
  Durability. Admittedly, I did fall asleep wearing them once on the sofa. I actually rolled over on to them and in the process yanked the extension audio cable out of the main 1-inch connection line. I am glad to say they survived with no damage. While I do not recommend this to anyone else, I was at least relieved to see that they are more durable than I had feared upon buying them.
  
  Price. This leads me to the single largest downfall of this wonderful product. I would never have purchased these at the full retail cost of $179, especially now that I've had them for a few weeks. Except maybe for the most regular airplane passengers, I can not think of any reason to pay more than $100 for them. Primarily for two reasons:
  1) Extended wear can be slightly uncomfortable.
  2) Audio quality is only as good as the source. No fault of the product of course, but it's something that Bose understandably doesn't like to remind consumers of.
  
  If dropping $179 is of no consequence, you will not be disappointed. If you can get a good deal on them, even better.
  
  

• Excellent for any listener...

  
  By A2UUJ4EZFIJ305 on 2007-12-02
  I had purchased these after I had found out that they just came out. My Bose Triport headphones were in a gawdy state of being hideous to wear and I needed something new. The previous headphones were still in tip-top sounding shape, but the design...although light and comfortable, I had accidently broken the head strap on both sides...so I had to deal with using duct tape and electrical tape to mend them back together...I finally had enough of it and decided to purchase these and I had always expected the best from Bose. And as always, they impress me everytime.
  
  I'm a high audiophile guy, a musician and a composer on the side, so I needed something that was at a reasonable price but produced incredible sonic sound. So what better company to pick than Bose? I've been buying their stuff since my first Bose 301 IV bookshelf speakers and every product they've come out have always impressed me. These headphones were everything I could had imagined. They carry out the low bass tones with ease and create those realistic highs without sacrificing frequencies. The company always noted that it created bass without the use of a bass boost on most cd and mp3 players....I never really thought so and never tried it out with my other heaphones...I love bass, who doesn't? But I decided to give it a whirl on these and to my astonishment they weren't lying. I have my iTunes EQ band setup where it's mostly focused on boosting the trebles which, in my preference, makes everything sound much better.
  
  People always complain about the price of these products...and yeah, for 200 bucks for a pair of headphones sounds really crazy, but it really comes down to whether you want incredible sound or just decent/can-get-away-with sound. Plus it's Bose...yeah, sure you're probably paying more for the logo, but if you really do some study and research, the company puts a lot of time into their products to truly bring the best audio experience. And if you check out their other products on Amazon, their value usually stays the same. I've had my Bookshelf speakers for 4 years now and they still retain their value at $318.00. So if you buy these and end up needing or wanting to sell them (I can't see why you would want to) you'll more than likely get your money back at the price you paid for them. I know this is only a review, but seriously....the only way to truly know if these are worth it you need to try them out...bottom-line....you have to try them out for yourself to truly know what it's like to experience Bose sound from these incredible headphones.
  
  J Scott Rakozy
  
  

• Bad Ergonomics, So so sound, Should cost a lot less

  
  By A8PKP0L5LJ8J1 on 2008-03-14
  Hi,
  
  The bose OE has very bad ergonomics, the sound is just a bit better than senheisser PX 100 but not as good as any sennheiser over 60 (the third part from the retail price for these BOSE OE).
  
  
  Ergonomics, difficult to fold difficult to extend, don't know why but they have an angle when they are over your ears imposible to accommodate what make them even more uncomfortable, the size is huge in comparision with the PX 100 which are a truth portable, and as you can see from the pictures i have uploaded the BOSE OE make you look ... very strange.
  
  Sound, the sound is good if you compare them with a US 10 dollars headphones or the ones that came with your mp3 player, the sound is just a bit better if you compare them with sennheiser px 100 (much much more comfortale and portable and at US35 they rock) and the BOSE OE are bad sounding if compared to any sennheiser over US60.
  
  From the pictures and video i hope to be able to upload next you can see how portable and easy to fold are the sennheiser while the Bose are bulky, hard to fold and not as portable.
  
  CONCLUSION : The BOSE OE definitively don't worth the price payed.
  
  Greetings from Peru :)
  
  
  
  
  

• Excellent clarity but something is missing.

  
  By A2UTVFA5Q7H1H3 on 2008-04-11
  I bought these headphones and was somewhat disappointed. I'm not a huge audiophile by any means (in terms of knowledge) but I have good ears. To me these headphones were very clear and had good sound but it made the music seems somewhat artificial. It's hard to explain but I was not feeling the warmth of the music, it's like the bose put too much emphasis on clarity and it takes away some naturalness.
  
  Headphones i can recommend however are:
  
  Sennheiser HD600
  and
  Sennheiser PX 100
  
  I know the bose are somewhere in between the price of those two i listed -- it's best to do some research on head-fi or the net if you're considering buying these.
  
  If you're someone that's not too picky you'll probably enjoy they as they have clear sound.
  
  

• Worth every penny

  
  By A3H3AXJW6OWOLV on 2007-12-04
  I had never listen to my music in such a perfect way, with confort no other headset had ever achieved.
  Two thumbs up??? Hmmm well let me include my toes to.
  
  
  

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