ace3502's Full Review: Bose QuietComfort 2 Consumer Headphones
My father was actually the one to buy these headphones. The first time he brought them home I said wow they look really comfortable, and they were. I tried them on and as the almost vacuum seal went over my ears my father stated how much he paid for them. My jaw dropped as I wasn't sure if I had heard him right. And so we stumble upon ALMOST the only down side to these fantastic headphones. But I'll get to that in a minute. My dad is a big fan of Bose products as you'll see by my review on the Bose Wave Music Shelf System.
Design
The headphones are somewhat large. They have padded cups that fit over your ears which act as noise cancelling barriers and boy do they work. Once you put them on you realize the almost vacuum packed feeling your ears get and the sound around you is significantly reduced and you are left to bask in the noise of whatever you have the headphones plugged in to.
The headphones are made of plastic but the beauty of the design is that any part of the headphones that touch your head is padded. The cups over the ears are padded and the top of the headphones along the headband has a band of padding over it where it rests on the top of your head. This comfort is fantastic for anyone wearing them for long periods of time such as on a plane during a flight or watching a movie at home. Most other headphones are uncomfortable to wear after an hour or so, at least that's been my experience with the types I've had. These are very different, the comfort level is so surprising, you forget you even have them on. Putting them on is like stepping into a sound proof booth in a recording studio. The headband is adjustable for those of us with larger or smaller heads and it almost contours to the shape of your head, or at least that's how it feels with the excellent padding around it.
The headphones take one AAA battery to run and it lasts a significant amount of time. If you have rechargeable ones it's even less of a worry. There is an on off switch on the headphone that you have to turn on in order to listen through them. You cannot listen to the headphones without a working AAA battery in them. The battery life is superb. I have gotten many hours (well over 24) with just one battery. I've taken them on flights and used them to watch 2 and 3 hour movies on more than one occasion without having to change the battery.
The cord is sufficient for a laptop and for most television sets, if you sit close enough. You can buy an extension cord which will let you sit farther away from a television to watch it if the cord isn't long enough for you but this is a minor formality.
Sound Quality
Here's the kicker. The sound quality is surreal. The bass, the high notes, the low notes, every bit of music or an action movie is conveyed through these headphones. The padding on the headphones seals your ear in and prevents any outside noises from interfering in what you're listening to while the famous Bose sound quality flows into your ear. The sound is very crisp and clear, not getting distorted with changes in volume. Unfortunately you cannot adjust the bass or treble etc on the headphones, instead you have to change it on the appliance you have it plugged in to. It is very rare that you would have to make any of these changes as the sound that does come out is impeccable, but if you desired the change, like I said you'd have to change it on the item you have them plugged in to and not the headphones.
Portability
The headphones come with a zippered carrying case. Not a great one, it has somewhat hard padding but not a hard casing or waterproof like I would like. The actual earpieces on the headphones turn in to become flat in order to store in the case, which is a nice feature for those of us who are used to bulkier round headphones that don't fit anywhere. The case comes with adaptors for various sound systems if you are using stereo equipment for example it comes with a large headphone jack you plug the cord into in order to listen to a stereo/studio system.
The Down Sides Price:
Oh and here you thought these headphones were perfect. Well everything has it's down sides no matter how minimal. The first down side to the unit is the cost. At $300 (three hundred dollars) it breaks the bank to buy them. Some may argue you get your money's worth with the sound quality etc. I can make the argument that you couldn't possibly enjoy music or television that much more for that kind of a price tag but, to each their own.
Durability:
You would think a $300 pair of headphones would be able to have a truck run over them and be fine. Well, unfortunately these are made of plastic which tends to crack very easily. Now this is very important because there is a way to justify this. If these headphones broke after I got them and were not replaced for free this would be getting a three star review instead of five. When the headphones were bought, the salesperson explained that if they break, you call customer service and explain to them how they broke. If it is felt that it was a default in the headphones then they will ship you a new pair, you put the old pair in the same box the new pair came in, and ship them back for free. This is a LIFETIME warranty. Now believe me, it's a nuisance to go through so we treat them with respect and are gentle with them but the first three pairs of these we got seemed to have faults and would get hairline cracks on them which would then progress to full cracks and breaks. Yes, that's right, we have returned them three times. Customer service was wonderful, very kind and polite, always trying to help. We got the new ones within 7-10 days (most times even shorter than 7 days) and sent the old ones back no problem. As I said, we have done this three times due to small breaks and cracks and we have not had a problem getting a new pair. In my opinion, this is how it should be. Nothing is perfect. If they break, they break and I should get a new pair. Well this is exactly what happens with Bose and for that reason this went from a three star to a five star review. Some people may not be as understanding as I, but I'm a very relaxed person and if they will replace them for free I don't mind sending them out 20 times if necessary.
The cracks happened in the same place each time, at the top of the ear phone where it connects to the adjustable band at the top which sits on the top of your head. Bose apologized and said it was a default that they are working on fixing and never hesitate to send them back if the same problem occurs.
Miscellaneous:
Just tiny features that I would have liked to have on the head set like a longer cord and adjustable volume control on the earphones themselves. Nothing major, just would have been nice features.
Overall
Overall I'd have to say these are a great buy. Very expensive yes but the sound quality is superb and the comfort level is fantastic. Granted I highlighted a lot of bad but to me that is easily fixable so it didn't have too much of an impact on me, you can be the judge for yourself. If these are too expensive you can also take a step down to the Quiet Comfort 1's and see if those are any more suited to you.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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