- The best Bose® headphones reduce noise across a wide range of frequencies
- Enjoy music and movies with clear and lifelike sound
- Comfortable, around-the-ear fit; ideal for frequent flyers
- Includes cable with remote for iPhone®/iPod® control, mic for hands-free iPhone calling
- AAA battery: 35 hours average life
Disclosure: I have tried all these on an airplane. I am not an audiophile. Noise Cancelation is the most important attribute to me.
The Carrying Case: All three are quite durable and stiff.
1.) Bosethe smallest, a low profile, room for an Ipod, accessories too.
2.) SennheiserSquare shape, low profile, however not a lot of room for anything else in case.
3.) Audio TechnicaNice big case if you want to carry extra stuff (Nintendo DS, ipod, etc).
Build Quality:
1.) Sennheiseryou can tell this is built VERY well. Strong plastics, good components, thick cord. Top notch. You feel like you are getting something really high quality.
2.) Audio TechnicaNice solid construction, appears durable.
3.) BoseIf this had a Sanyo logo on the side, I would not have flinched. How can something $300 be so incredibly cheaply made.
Size:
1.) Boseas far as over the ears go, these are pretty small.
2.) Audio-Technicamid-sized.
3.) SennheiserThese are big. No question, but they store flat.
Comfort:
1.) SennheiserVery comfortable, will fit almost any size ears. Keep on for hours.
2.) BoseAlso comfortable. I did not experience "highs" discomfort.
3.) Audio-TechnicaPerfectly satisfactory. Larger opening than previous AT model.
Sound:
1.) SennheiserI actually wore these at home too, simply to hear parts of songs I had never heard before. Astounding. My 10yr old music collection sounded totally NEW.
2.) Audio-TechnicaWell balanced, good sound.
3.) BoseGreat sound, but very heavy on the bass. I listen to a lot of rap and pop, so it was mildly annoying. I ultimately had to turn my treble settings up on my ipod to balance the sound.
Features:
1.) Sennheisernice cord, push to talk button (temporarily mutes NC and sound which is great for interruptions on airplanes).
2.) Bose/Audio Technicajust the basics. Bose simply an on/off switch.
Price:
1.) Audio Technica$150 to $225 depending on how you shop.
2.) Sennheiser$200 to $275
3.) BoseHard to find below $300+.
Noise Cancelation:
1.) BoseNo question here, far surpassed the other two. Best Noise Cancelation.
2.) Audio-TechnicaGood Noise Cancelation.
3.) SennheiserNot sure what happened here. Incredible sound, satisfactory noise cancelation.
Summary:
I ultimately kept the Bose because I was only using these for flying and the Sennheiser's (as much as I loved them) let me down in the Noise Cancelation department. The Sennheiser's had by far the most superior sound, but the Bose Noise Cancelation was night and day. The Bose are made very poorly for a $300+ product, it was disappointing.
Final assessment:
Audio-Technicabest balance of value for money
SennheiserBest sound and comfort
BoseBest Noise Cancelation
Buy Bose® QuietComfort® 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones Now
I decided to cheap out earlier and bought a pair of Sony NR headsets for $30 and change. They seemed pretty good but on flights, the NR wasn't good enough way too much background noise. Finally I decided to man up and get the real deal. And boy, what a change (for the better)!With the Bose headsets, NR means NR, they ain't kidding about when they say NR, absolutely no background noise on the flight. My quick thoughts on this so far:
You haven't heard true HD sound if you haven't heard it on this headset. And the sound is not like bass or treble heavy, it's just crisp and you can hear every water drop and every single instrument being played. And NR works great both ways on this headset the surrounding noise is almost cancelled out completely for you when you're using the headsets, and the sound of the sound from the headset doesn't carry out of the headsets either. I can listen to music or movies at a fairly high volume and the person sitting next to me won't hear a thing.
The leather trim around the headsets makes them extremely comfortable to wear. I wear them on 15-hour flights and don't feel any strain by the end of the flight. My ears or head don't hurt because of the headsets and the plastic strap. They truly are made for comfort.
It comes with airplane adapter so you can turn it from a single 3.5mm audio cable into one that fits in the airplane sockets. The cable is also detachable completely from the headset, which I actually find very useful when I want to doze off and not be bothered by surrounding noise. You don't realize how effective the headsets are till you take them off and realize how much of background noise they were eliminating!
The only one downside of this headset is that it runs on a AAA battery. So I always need to make sure I have fully charged batteries with me at all times. I carry rechargeable batteries (Sanyo Eneloop are the BEST) with a charger. So if I do run out of battery, I can always charge it on the flight itself. ON a full charge of the Eneloop AAA, I am yet to run out of battery on a 15-hour flight.
Yes, these headsets aren't cheap but they are worth every penny. Bose puts so much research and effort into developing their products, I have absolutely no reason to complain!
Read Best Reviews of Bose® QuietComfort® 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones Here
I bought the Bose QuietComfort 15 Noise Cancelling Headphones about a month ago and am thoroughly impressed thus far.Sound Quality: As odd as this may sound, I feel like I haven't ever listened to any of my songs! This headset completely revamps every song. You will hear things in some of your favorite songs you haven't heard before. As it says in the title, this is an acoustic headset so don't expect loud and powerful base. If you like a lot of base then this isn't the headset for you.
Noise Cancelling: I find that I can still hear people talking while I am on a plane but most of the background noise goes away. I would describe the sound as if you are underwater or plugging your ears, to give you an idea of the sound. When you play some light music in the background, all the people talking tend to dissappear. I take up anywhere from 50 to 100 flights in a year and now that I own a Bose headset, I couldn't imagine not having it with me.
Comfort: The headset is extremely comfortable with leather around the ear and the leather on the top of the headset. This makes it very comfortable for long periods of time. I used to use ear buds and found that my ears started to hurt after 30 minutes. The only thing I will mention is that your ears do get a bit hot a sweaty after a while so it is good to give them a breath of fresh air every hour or so.
Carrying Case: In this box comes with a carrying case to help protect your Bose headset. This was a huge selling feature for me because with all the travelling I do, I was worried about ruining my headset. This allows me to put the case in my bag and not have to worry that I am crushing it. Great addition Bose!
Cord: Although this headset isn't wireless, it has a detachable cord which I find very useful. If you don't want to listen to anything, don't attach the cord and you can relax with noise cancelling feature. If you do want to listen to music or watch a movie, attach the cord. Easy.
Batteries: The headset runs on (1) AAA battery which fits right into a nice location on the headset. I keep an extra AAA battery in my carrying case just in case it dies while I am travelling. I haven't had to replace the battery yet and I have used it for quite a few flights. I am very impressed with how long it lasts!
Airplane connector: Bose also included an airplane connector which some airlines still use. I haven't come across a time I have had to use this but it certainly is nice to have if I need it.
Downfalls: There isn't much I would change about the Bose QC 15 but the most important one would be that I can't listen to music if my battery is dead. Again this hasn't happened to me but if my battery were to die, I can't listen to music. You have to have the noise cancelling feature on to listen to anything. Other than that, there is nothing I would change.
Price: This headset is quite pricey so it isn't meant for the average person. There are other headsets that I would recommend. But if you are the type of person who travels a lot of find yourself in locations where the noise bothers you (ie train, bus, etc), this is the headset for you.
Well done Bose, you have turned my into a believer and I couldn't imagine travelling without my Quiet Comfort 15!
Want Bose® QuietComfort® 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones Discount?
A few years ago flying on a cross country trip I was fortunate enough to be bumped to first class. I sat next to a rich dude who subtly bragged about his material possessions and owned property during take off and landing. One of the items he bragged about was his new Bose headphones, and he insisted I listen to them. Sure enough, they were outstanding, but I didn't travel often enough to justify the price tag.Well fast forward a few years and I now have a job that requires me to fly a few times a month. So I took the plunge and used my hotel loyalty points to get me a free set of these Bose headphones.
They impressed me out of the box as much as the very first time I listened to them (or the equivalent I had tried a few years back). The noise just melts away into the background so that it is hardly noticeable at all. I took my first flight with them today and tried them in a very busy crowded airport terminal. My music sounded wonderful, and the cacophony of random people and machine noise all but vanished. And that was quite a challenging test, the noise levels were pretty high in a fairly confined round terminal hub. The music source was simply my phone, a Samsung Infuse, not a dedicated music player.
Next I wore them on a plane for a short 80 minute jet flight. It's like being in a different world. The music from my android phone sounded awesome, the noise practically vanished. Somehow without the constant racket of the plane the time seemed to just go by quicker too.
The headphones were extremely comfortable, and the excessively hot day didn't add any problems either.
To me Bose are a company I have a lot of respect for. They always seem to innovate and amaze. As an audiologist I am well versed in acoustics and the physics of sound, and to create this level of noise reduction so seamlessly is very impressive, especially if their claims of battery life are close to accurate.
The headphones fit in a very attractive slim case. There is even a little space in there for a couple of spare batteries if you wanted. This model ships with a standard headphone cord and also an iPod/iPad/iPhone version which has a microphone on the wire. I question how useful that would be simply because when you wear these headphones it is hard to tell how loud your own voice is to some extent, so I'd be worried about shouting to the person on the other end of the phone, and also if it is noisy enough to wear them, I wonder how well the person being called would hear anyway. In any case, I replaced my iPhone with an Android based phone recently so I've not tested that feature.
The bottom line is these are expensive headphones. Truth be told if you go to Best Buy and listen to some other headphones at half the price, you'd probably get better or similar sound quality. What you won't get though is the incredible noise reduction system that Bose has been working on for many years. That combination of a great sound AND the noise reduction is what makes this product work. If your life involves plenty of air travel, or other similar travel that includes background noise, then these will really improve that journey for you. Music sounds great, audio books are far easier to hear, even Angry Birds is more enjoyable without all that background noise. In fact when you put these on in almost any environment, it makes you realize how much ambient noise there is in so many places.
I think the only real issue is if your budget and lifestyle justifies the price tag.
***
Update: Since writing this I have also tried watching a DVD on my laptop in my hotel room. Again these headphones eat through noise like the air conditioning, ventilation in the bathroom, noises from other guests, the whir of the DVD drive, the refrigerator etc. The sound quality off my laptop was just exceptional too, rich bass, clear treble, good mid tones. I can already see myself using these for more than just plane rides.
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No other headphones at this price point can compare with the noise cancellation of the Bose QC-15s. If eliminating outside noise is what is important to you, this is what you should buy. Period.But the Bose QC-15's sound quality can't compete with many other noise cancelling headphones at this price point.
Do a side-by-side test with the Sennheiser PXC-450 or Beats by Dre Studio in a reasonably quiet room, and the difference is startling. The Bose sound almost weak and tinny by comparison. They don't come near the rich, driving sound of the other headphones. It makes you wonder why the hell they cost $300.
Now go sit in your car, tune the radio to a static-filled station, and crank it up loud. Plug the Beats into your iPod and listen. You'll have to really turn up the volume to drown out the car radio noise. Same with the Sennheisers. The Bose's noise cancellation, however, will block out most of the static, allowing you to listen to your music at a comfortable volume. Now you know why they cost $300.
I did exactly that, using some headphones from friends, and the results convinced me to keep my recently-purchased QC-15s.
Not that the Bose sound bad. They're completely adequate, albiet lacking a bottom end and exaggerating some of the highs. But that price tag goes toward noise reduction, not $300-quality sound.
They're also extremely comfortable. I wear mine for up to six hours at a time with no discomfort. I love them, but I use to them block out server room noise at work and to get some quiet when traveling by plane or train.
If I was using them at home or in situation where I required some, but less, noise cancellation, I would opt for the Beats or Sennheisers.
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