Good (or bad) news for Bose fans

[preiffer]

Good for those about to buy some, bad for those that very recently did:

Bose QC3's have just been launched.

Smaller, with a rechargable battery [y]

[ChuckC]

My QC2's just broke. So ... do I get them repaired, or?

Chuck-

[Scrooge]

I just heard an ad for them while driving around Lake Mead,one thing I did hear was that they fit on the ear not around it,using Dave's rule of logic #11 they cannot be as good as the QC's just on that basis.

Also they cannot be as good as the QC2's becuase I just got mine and so they are not allowed to be better [:(!]

LOL Jetwet1!

Are these Bose thingies any good? I know of only one person who got some noise-reducing ones and she was seriously under-impressed. So much so, that she took them back and got a refund.

I have a pair of Sennheissers (Sp) which I was delighted with. They cut down on the irritating background noise to such an extent that you do not need to have the volume on full blast to be able to hear properly. They are much smaller than the QC2's and fit over rather than around the ear. On one flight I did a comparative test with a fellow pax who had QC2's and our conclusion was there was not much in it. On a recent trip the local Bose shop had the QC2's reduced to about £130, so it would have been rude not to.... Besides the Minister of the Interior needed a pair. So on the flight back I did a proper test. My opinion was that in terms of sound quality there was indeed not much in it. However, the QC2's were much more comfortable to wear over a long period of time. On the other hand the Sen's were much smaller, more convenient and the list price is so much less.

So I would recommend decent quality NR headphones. The cheapies get a pretty poor write up though from what I have seen. Now all they need to do is invent NR headphones that cut our intermittent rather than background noise - no more screaming babies [y]

Originally posted by sailor99
NR headphones that cut our intermittent rather than background noise - no more screaming babies [y]

Or announcements on the tube

[Bazz]

They seem to be a complimentary rather than replacement product. I am sure they will be very good and the compactness and rechargeable battery are added attractions but, like Dave, I wonder about the "on-ear" being as good accoustically as the "around-ear" QC2s?

Originally posted by preiffer
Smaller, with a rechargable battery [y]

Yay. Yet another power brick/charger to lug around with me when I'm travelling. Just what I always wanted.

Obviously designed by a marketing department (or rich people who have a "Passepartout" to carry all their stuff around for them) rather than by frequent travellers.

I'll stick with my QC2s, it's nice to be able to just go to an airport newsstand when your batteries go flat.

Mike

I love my QC2's. Comfy enough to wear for 8 hours and block out all the non-essential noise. They aren't designed to block out everything which is what some people expect when they try them. Highly recommended to anyone thinking about them.

QC3 look too small, maybe its just me but i dont see how you get the same level of noise cancelling when its on the ear.

Originally posted by mike-smashing

Originally posted by preiffer
Smaller, with a rechargable battery [y]

Yay. Yet another power brick/charger to lug around with me when I'm travelling. Just what I always wanted.

Obviously designed by a marketing department (or rich people who have a "Passepartout" to carry all their stuff around for them) rather than by frequent travellers.

I'll stick with my QC2s, it's nice to be able to just go to an airport newsstand when your batteries go flat.

Mike

I was distraught for all of 10 seconds when I heaard about the QC2s.When I saw the "rechargeable battery" I felt hugely relieved.Like Mike says a newstand/chemist/shop is never far away.My luggage is weighed down with enough electrical charging equipment as it is.

Originally posted by catsilversword

Originally posted by sailor99
NR headphones that cut our intermittent rather than background noise - no more screaming babies [y]

Or announcements on the tube

What you need is some high end in-ear phones for this. I have some Westone UM1s which are very comfy (expanding foam earpieces) and have really good sound - i.e. walking round with your eyes shut type sound. The main problem is that until you get used to them you do step out in front of traffic on Fleet St because you can't hear anything (or see if you have your eyes shut)! They are based on the musician ear plug - i.e. to block out sound of crowd/echo etc at concerts so that you can play in time etc so sound quality is very good!

If I had a bit more cash I would have gone for the Westone UM2 which are supposed to be amazing. They are similar to the UM1 but with dual drivers. http://www.earphonesolutions.com/um2dud ... ml#reviews

Originally posted by ChuckC
My QC2's just broke. So ... do I get them repaired, or?

Chuck-

Are they under warranty ... this happened to mine and the UK customer service was excellent.

As to whether you replace them Chuck, are you a new tech. whore [:0]

Decker bought me some QC3's for my birthday and I love them.

I had QC1's and found them too bulky.

I prefer the way the QC3's sit on the ear, and I found them easier to sleep in on my last flight. I also like the fact that when you are using them simply for noise cancelling you don't have wires hanging down.

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by Mrs Decker
Decker bought me some QC3's for my birthday and I love them.

Decker, you know when my birthday is, right? [:p]

Thanks,
Richard

[Decker]

Sorry Richard - it's slipped my tiny little mind . I tried them myself in the store and decided to stick with my QC2s. I do have to say they are cutely small and the charge lasts 20 hours or so so no real need to take the charger away. Of course the US charger isn't 120-240 so you'll need a convertor if you buy in the US.

Glad you liked them Mrs D .

Sailor how much were yours?

My wife kindly just bought me a pair of QC 2's for our upcoming holiday, compared to my old QC 1's they are amazing, not having to have the wire trailing down is fab and they are just soooooo comfortable [y]

I would definately recommend them

Just got myself all fired up to buy some QC3's during my trip to Singapore.... but they ain't out here yet [:(!]
I'm figuring to wait until I get back to the UK next week.... or should I grab some QC2's instead?

Tried the QC2's today.. they are Ace, but i plan to use out in the street too on my walk to work and i feel they are a little too big.

So tell me, are the QC3's avaialble in the UK, and are the all the £275 i've seen on the Bose website?

[Neil]

Originally posted by PVGSLF
Just got myself all fired up to buy some QC3's during my trip to Singapore.... but they ain't out here yet [:(!]
I'm figuring to wait until I get back to the UK next week.... or should I grab some QC2's instead?

Tried the QC2's today.. they are Ace, but i plan to use out in the street too on my walk to work and i feel they are a little too big.

So tell me, are the QC3's avaialble in the UK, and are the all the £275 i've seen on the Bose website?

Wait for the QC3's, I love them, much less chunky than the QC2s, adn I think the sound quality is better. I bought mine from the Bose site, which is where I have bought all my Bose products from, prefer to buy direct from the retailer on somethign like this.

At USD$349 it may be worth buying them in the States if you can.

Sorry Neil,
Don't agree- I found the sound quality is much the same..Took my QC2s into Bose store on last trip a few weeks back( well several stores actually )to compare with QC3s.I have a small head (MR DL would disagree) and the QC3s simply won't stay on !! (QC2s cup your ear but QC3s sit on the ear.)I find the QC2s much more comfortable but guess that's personal preference.. If you plan to use on the street the QC3s are still pretty "large" and will have you mugged pretty quickly too IMHO!Some good deals to be had for QC2s if you shop around.
Julie

[Neil]

Originally posted by DragonLady
If you plan to use on the street the QC3s are still pretty "large" and will have you mugged pretty quickly too

Noooooo - huge fashion mistake to wear them in the street, less is def more again when it comes to headphones in public.

Neil:)

Originally posted by Attitude23

Originally posted by DragonLady
If you plan to use on the street the QC3s are still pretty "large" and will have you mugged pretty quickly too

Noooooo - huge fashion mistake to wear them in the street, less is def more again when it comes to headphones in public.

Neil:)

Have you seen the winter temperatures in Korea! Musical Earmuffs is what they are.... and fortunately fashions are different around the world. It's not unusual at all to see big headphones being used on the street on this side of the world.

Took the plunge today, after a long and hard comparison in the Bose Shop I opted for the QC3's... nothing in the sound between them, even under the bose airplane simulator, but the QC3's are just a little bit more sexy, and with two rechargable batteries no worries abot running out of juice mid flight.

My new purchase has now been fully site acceptance tested at 35000ft on thursdays VS350, and they certainly do their stuff.

Aircraft noise was almost entirely eliminated, and with some good music at a reasonable volume I didnÕt notice the screaming baby or the constantly complaining woman next to me.

In fact for a lot of the flight I used them just to cancel the noise and not listen to music, whilst sleeping.

Worth the money? ThatÕs a matter of opinion, but they certainly work as advertised and the sound quality of the music is superb.

I've been wearing them most of today whilst working in my Hotel room, and they are certainly comfortable for extended use... I find lesser "over ear" headphones make my ears too warm.