Domain Name Com's Electronics Bose® QuietComfort® 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones

Electronics Bose® QuietComfort® 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones

Domain Name Com's - Electronics : Bose® QuietComfort® 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones

- Good Buy For Some, But Not For Everyone. My Bose QC3 Experience
While in Maine, on Sept 12, 2008 I purchased a pair of Bose QuiteComfort 3 (QC3) Headphones.

Reasons for the purchase:
a. I was aware that the QC3s are the latest word in noise-cancellation technology and are the 3rd generation of one of the pioneering inventors/producers of the technology. They've also had a couple years trial in the marketplace (released in 2006).

b. I was in a Bose Outlet store where I purchased the QR3s for $300, on an otherwise strictly fair-traded, fixed price of $350. [Note: I was only offered the discount after specifically asking. Otherwise, they were selling them at the usual $350. Not exactly on the "up and up."] Likewise, they were willing to sell the QC2s for $250. YOU MAY HAVE TO ASK!

c. I was able to compare the QC3s (on ear design) with the larger QC2s (ear enclosure design) and preferred the smaller QC3s as more compact, lighter and more comfortable than the (older) QC2's. Clearly a personal choice.

d. Surprisingly, the "passive" noise suppression of the "on the ear" QC3s were comparable to the "ear enclosure" QC2s.

e. I found the "active" noise-cancellation quite impressive with the in-store airplane noise simulation--the QC3s were slightly better than the QC2s IMHO.

f. With only the CS2s to compare music to, they were pleasant to listen to. The QC2s were slightly better.

g. Normally, I wouldn't have purchased them without making a careful comparison with my studio-quality Sony MDR-V6 headphones, but the combination of the 30-day satisfaction guarantee AND flying cross country 2 days later, convinced me that this was a good time to try them.

Impressions during/after a 6 hour flight:

On the flight I was more impressed with the "fatigue" reduction than just with just the overall "noise" reduction. I would estimate the total amount of "noise" cancellation at about 70%, BUT as it seems to cover the most fatiguing (lower) frequencies best, I would estimate the "fatigue-reduction" at more like 85%. The noise reduction further reduced stress and fatigue by requiring much less sound amplification. As a result I was MOST impressed by the overall reduction of stress by the end of the flight. For perhaps the first time I actually felt REFRESHED! This alone would justify the expense for any frequent or even occasional traveler, probably including train or bus travel as well. One downside on flight was low-level signal break-up at higher amplification. I now suspect it was the airplane source. I felt at the time that there was relatively enhanced bass and relatively weaker middle to upper range. That is the frequency response is for from flat, being (atypically) highest in the bass.

Post-flight impressions:
Positive:

Impressive feeling of isolation even in home office, even with no music turned on.

Significant improvement in my own ability to read and concentrate in general.

Enhanced ability to sleep with phones on. It significantly helps with my chronic problem with insomnia.

Quick battery recharge. Even after over ca. 15 hours of use, recharge only required about 30 minutes.

Strong and reasonably clear bass reproduction (usually hardest to find in a headphone).

Quite comfortable to wear even for long periods of time, including in bed at night.

Delightful to use with my Amazon Kindle, especially in situations away from home (e.g. doctor's waiting room). This combination is just great either for playing background music or listening to an AudioBook.

Negative: QC3s are VERY expensive headphones.

They are far from studio quality sound reproduction. Very strong bass plus relatively weak (and "muddy") midrange & treble. Bummer!

They compare poorly with my Sony MDR V-6s. Particularly in midrange and treble clarity. Even my $40 RadioShack Pro 35A headphones (discontinued?) compares favorably with the QC3s in midrange and treble. Flatness of frequency response can be improved with digital equalizer (e.g. WinAmp playing MP3s on my PC). Unfortunately, sound clarity cannot.

Recommendations: The biggest questions to ask yourself:

How much noise reduction do I want?
How important is the music quality?
How much can you afford, or are willing to spend?

I would most highly recommend the QC3s for frequent travelers. I know of no headphone with a more aggressive combination of active and passive noise reduction and is as comfortable at any price. For such uses it can be enjoyed even without playing music. In such truly noisy situations, the QC3s with music playing actually sounds better than studio-quality headphones that would need to be cranked quite loud to hear anything. Music quality becomes less of an absolute factor in noisy situations.

For less noisy situations, e.g. cubical offices the music quality becomes a more significant factor: If you prefer music that is strong in bass and is relatively compressed in dynamic range, e.g. rock/pop/oldies music the disadvantages of the QC3s are minimal. On the other hand, classical music takes quite a hit. Here a digital equalizer would be a great help. In such intermediate noise level environments, I would recommend looking at other manufacturers of noise-cancellation earphones, as there are many that are much more affordable and have produce equal or better sound quality. I would only recommend the QC3s if you prefer just noise cancellation.

For environments that are quiet, or near-quiet to begin with, I simply wouldn't recommend the QC3s.

I have decided that these headphones are (just barely) worth it to me. Others will obviously feel otherwise. The winning factors for me personally were there positive affect on travel noise and the fact that I need/want quiet for reading and sleeping. I just hope that this review will help others decide if the Bose QC3s are worth the cost...and to get them at the lower than retail price.

Rating:

- Way to support the troops. No starts really
Well, really wanted to get these and a few others but Amazon decided that they can't ship to an APO. Guess the service members don't deserve them.

Rating:

- Worth every penny
The Bose QC2 are worth every penny. I'm on my second pair. I wore out my first pair after 5 years of heavy use. These headphones are EXTREMELY comfortable and the sound is incredible. I use while I travel, which is every week. I simply slip them on, close my eyes and forget that I'm back on a cramped overcrowded airplane. Whether you travel a lot like I do or just need an occasional time out, they are worth every penny.

Rating:

- A quiet compromise!
I had suffered long enough with a cheap pair of "skater" headphones that cost about 30 bucks, when I finally decided to bite the bullet and go with the creme of the crop Bose QuietComfort 3 noise cancelling headphones.

What I was looking for was a relief from ambient noise when I would walk with my iPod nano. I found car noise to be the biggest setback when trying to enjoy music, as the sound frequency range of the passing cars seemed to compete with the music. It was a masking blanketing effect that was not about volume as much as competing frequencies. I realized that any noise cancellation headphones might work more on the low end of the spectrum, but not eliminate the "white noise" effect of passing cars completely. Still, anything would be better than what I presently used.

In a word, I was wrong! While the Bose QuietComfort 3 headphones were very comfortable to wear, seemed very well-made, had a rechargeable battery and case (including extension cables and plug jack adaptors to boot), and they cancelled noise to a very satisfying degree (even car noise), something was not right. I found the sound to be actually very "muddy". The bass was pronounced, as boasted via the Bose in-store kiosk at which I sampled the phones described. The sound was very "up-front" or intimate...but downright muddy. It was as if the bass range was being over-compensated for, with a midrange boost in the 250-300Hz area. I played the obligatory Steely Dan CD's (a good source to start with because those albums are so well-recorded). I played a remastered CD of Al Stewart's "Year Of The Cat", for which the acoustic guitars seemed dull. Sure, I heard all the parts coming through, but as if they were behind a pillow case. The same can be said for Ambrosia's "Biggest Part Of Me", a song that sounds great on most equipment. Music of the R&B Genre, or Rap, will not suffer such a criticism because it is more bass-dependent program music by nature.

So my conclusion is this: The net result when putting on the phones is like finding a quiet room in which to hear muddy music. Where is the trade-off? I think I would ultimately rather have fleeting moments of great sound on cheap phones than a noise-free session of less-than-stellar sound for $350.00.

I did not buy the product through Amazon, and to be fair, the Bose store was very pleasant upon sale. I will be returning the Q3 phones tonight. The search goes on.

Anyone else experience this?

Rating:

- wonderfull
I had been creative noise cancelling headphones for about 1 year and was flying a lot for work, i couldnt believe the difference, i found my self feeling smug that i had only spent £30 and was getting this satisfaction. When flying for work london-dallas, i was ugraded to business class on AA and they have these available to use on the flights. i thought i would try them to see how better they were. £200 later, i wish i hadnt! they are much much better, the noise cancelling is better, not £170 better, but better, the reason you would pay the extra is for the sound quality, the bass is so crisp and the overall sound is amazingly different. If you are a regular traveller and listen to music these are well worthwhile the investment.

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