Why are Bose headphones bad?

Hi, I'm was planing on getting a pair of Bose QC2 headphones the other day, when my friend suggested that I shouldn't buy from Bose. When I asked him why, he could not really give me any reasons and suggested that I go with sennheiser instead.

The headphones will mostly be used with my ipod, and sometimes plugged into my laptop when I don't want to disturb others. So, I was wondering if anyone can me why it's not a good idea to buy from Bose. Because I was planing on picking up a pair on ebay for about 150 dollars.

Thanks.

 

Bose has inferior quality for the price when compared to its competitors. It is just the brand name that is pumping the price.

 

Bose is usually very overpriced, and people think they are the best. Sennheiser, Audio technica, Beyer Dynamic and others have better headphones for the money.

You need to look around for a good deal. Lots of people will recommend the headphones they have,

What are you looking for noise cancelling?
open cup?
closed cup?
high bass?
low bass?
ear buds, or headphones?

K-TRON

 

Like X2P said, Bose headphones are overpriced and sound like very cheap headphones. I thought Bose would at least sound good, but I'm always very underwhelmed when I hear any Bose speakers or headphones. I'd really recommend these for $160:

http://www.audiocubes.com/category/.../Audio-Technica_ATH-AD700_Air_Headphones.html

These are the headphones I use and they'll really get you to become an audiophile. Everything sounds a lot better. They do look a little weird to use in public, but they're made out of very high-end materials and look great in person. They're also much more comfortable than any other brand of headphones that you'll find, which is a huge plus for me. They also have closed headphones that'll sound worse in things like sound separation (the AD-700 has an amazing soundscape, you can hear which sounds are coming from where, which is really great with anything). Since these are closed, they can be uncomfortable, but they'll block out sound, which is the same for any closed headphone:

http://www.audiocubes.com/product_r...t/Audio-Technica_ATH-A700_Art_Headphones.html

 

Friends don't let friends buy Bose. I'm glad your friend got the memo.

The reason bose is bad is because for the money there are better built, better sounding headphones available.

You will have to tell us a little more about what you like to hear and wear and I'm sure you'll get some sound reccomendations.

I will say that for $99, the Bose in ear model are pretty decent. Not great, but worth their price tag. The others, especially the QC2? no way.

For $300, you can do SO MUCH better.

Some models to consider:

Sennheiser HD600
Grado SR80 (long considered the best inexpensive cans) or 325i (pack a serious punch)
AKG K601/K701
Beyerdynamic DT250 or DT990

 

They're very, very average for the price.

 

kb1gra, you have a great list their. i personally use the Sennheiser HD280 pro and Beyer Dynamic DT770 Pro, and they are both excellent headphones. The Hd280's cut out more noise, but the beyer's have a better sound quality. The best I have heard from headphones. Plus they are more comfortable than the Hd280's.
For compact headphones I use the PX100's from sennheiser. They are small, they fold to conserve space, they are lightweight and cheap.

K-TRON

 

Bose use Electronic Trickery to make the listener think they are listening to good quality audio. In reality, like the others have already stated, they are over-hyped, over-priced junk.

+1 Grado.

 

im basically going to say the same thing as everyone else, but with a subtle difference.

Bose headphones aren't bad. They are overpriced, but that doesn't make them bad headphones in the universal sense. Bose headphones are definitely up there somewhere moderately high on the list of good headphones, but the problem is that they also cost significantly more than comparable or even better headphones. But its pretty harsh to call them "bad headphones".

That said, they definitely are not "the best" headphones, and I would prefer senheisser or grado.

For $300, there is better out there.

 

BOSE: Buy Other Sound Equipment.

Period!


and dont ever go on head-fi and ask this... they ll be too tired to answer u .. Bose has been beaten to death on Head-fi millions of times.

 

I advise against head-fi all together. Well, you can go there, read what people think about each kind of headphones, but don't buy into all the stuff they say. In the end they can convince you to spend way to much money and not get alot out of it(cables and such). I'm just saying take it with a grain of salt.

 

Ya.. for example i mentioned HD600 are the best headphones for next 3 yrs... they said HD600 are nothing.


I was disappointed.


it means no matter how much ever i spend... there's no end to it.

 

There is a saying we having in the car audio world. No highs, no lows, must be bose.

 

Speaking about headphones - maybe I know too little, but Sony seems very good to me. (Mind I "love" Sony for my products though)
In ear headphones for 45 Pounds is what I use right now. Very happy with them.

 

Agreed, those are fantastic headphones. I have the ATH-AD700 and I love them - the soundstage is wonderful. There's not a whole lot of bass but it is there. For high-quality music, gaming, and movies you can't beat them for the money. You can get them for a lot cheaper on Amazon.com BTW - $105 + shp:
http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1222628047&sr=8-1

I also own a pair of Alessandro MS-1 (modded Grados), which are the same price as the AD700s. The soundstage is minimal, but the bass is great for open-air cans and all of the details are up-in-your-face. I switch between my phones for different music, but the majority of the time I use the AD700s. If I had to pick one to keep, it'd be the AD700s. They are more enjoyable to use overall, and far more comfortable. I have worn my AD700s for six - seven hours and they have never bothered me. The MS-1s/Grados on the other hand I can only wear for 45 minutes or so. If you mod the headband and stretch them out over a basketball for a weekend, they're not too bad though.


As for our original poster . . . you may want to go for a pair of closed cans if you don't want to disturb anyone. The open-air cans like the Grado SR80/125 and AT AD700 can be heard by others when music is playing, though it's not too loud . . . what is your definition of 'not disturb anyone' - silent?

 

Hi everyone, thank you very much for your replies.

Specifics:

I currently have a pair of Sen. HD555 that my friend I spoke of earlier gave to me. (It's falling apart, and is currently heald together by duct tape and super glue) But I'm looking for an over the ear pair of headphones with active noise canceling. I do a lot of traveling by bus/train and sometimes by plane. The problem with my HD555 is that whenever I use it, the people next to me on buses/planes/trains always complain that it is too loud, because the HD555 is an open pair of headphones. Also, I'm hoping to be able to use the headphone while gaming to drown out the loud whirling fans from my laptop.

The music I listen to is mostly Jazz, vocal Jazz, instrumental, (lots of piano) and classical music. I also listen to some ballady type pop songs, and some hip-hop. The reason I thought about buying a pair of Bose headphones mostly because I remembered that the noise cancellation and comfort was good when I tried it on.

Thanks again for all the suggestion guys, I'll take a good look at them. Further recommendations with the new info. I provided would great as well!

PS I was planning on buying the bose headphones used on Amazon for $120, (My budget is around 160) would it be worth it then?

 

I won a pair of Bose noise-cancelling headsets about 7 years ago in a contest. They only lasted through less than 2 years of travelling...and I treated them well (always kept them in a case).

After 2 years, I had to replace them, as they were falling apart. My cheapi, cheap Sony NC6 have lasted far longer.

 

Which country does Bose come from?
It sounds German to me (I am German)
If they do come from Germany someone should possibly torture the people responsible for this bad quality...

It makes one wonder though.
If one is honest - it is very sad that expensive products no longer tend to be as good as they were. At the high prices they ask you would expect top of the range long lasting products, now if yours fell apart after 2 years - I could possibly get the same lifetime (actually one is older than that) from a pair of Sony headphones which got bashed about!!
Sad sad world...
But again - Sony's headphones tend to be quite good as far as I can tell.

 

Its gotta be French, considering the quality. that or american. If you want German then go with Sennheiser or Ultrasone. Sennheiser builds very high quality products.

 

No, I think I stick with Sony. (Good experience)
Speaking about Sennheiser though - I've got a pair of headphones made by them, quiter than Sony, better base though... Those "mid sized" that fit a "padded speaker" over your ear" with each ear separate. (I don't know if you know what I mean)

That's the good thing about being German in England - I can speak badly about German products when they are bad.

 

Any comments on the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint? It's only 100 dollars on Amazon, or perhaps the Sennheiser PXC 350/450, the latter is very expensive though....

 

bose is good for making decent sound with less speakers. but there is no substitute for a real fully hi-fi system. for example, they can create tricks and illusions for your ears with a smaller driver in order to reproduce the sounds usually generated by a larger driver. but it's just a trick.

the real deal is a sound system that uses tweeters, high-mids, mids and subs (at least 8 drivers) to reproduce sound true-er to the original than a bose system would.

remember the analogy with what really stops a car: your tires (brakes are just a component in the system). same goes with sound: you can have the greatest and best IC circuitry, but in the end it's the speaker that reproduces the sound you hear.

 

bose are just over-priced (as many have already said)...they're not necessarily bad sounding in their own right. some people really like their sound and some of their models are really very comfortable to wear (which is also an important thing to take into consideration).

there's a lot of stuff out there for $150 or less... i would definitely go over to head-fi to get the lay of the land in your price range for your particular musical interests and any other important factors in your decision (like isolation, durability, etc) you may also find a good deal on a used pair... but like others have mentioned, don't get caught-up in the peripheral madness (amps, dacs, cables, etc...) it's really quite addictive and poisonous, trust me

mjb

 

hi-grade earphones come from companies like sennheiser, etymotic, shure.

they are pricey. i own a set of ER-4P. natural noise cancellation, sounds fantastic.

 

ya . Passive Noise Cancellation is better.

 

not very bassy tho, but i love the sound isolation. i used these on an airplane several times, drowned out everything except the music....

 

Bose has really dropped in quality over the last few years. They continue to charge high prices for an inferior product. The other members have already listed many great examples of what a high end headphone should be.

 

It really is a shame. IMHO, Bose has capitalized on being a niche player in a newly developing market years ago...mass marketed, "professional-quality" headphones, with an added twist of noise cancellation. Previously, headphone-wear was somewhat limited to at home while listening to a decent stereo system, or to people such as DJs.

Bose capitalized on a segment of the population which they knew travelled, and would love to have decent sound "on the go" to accompany the newly-developing market in portable entertainment systems (portable DVD players, laptops, iPods, etc.). This segment of the population also enjoyed disposable income, along with a desire for the "finer things in life." By offering these products at a very high cost, they created an artificial ceiling, even when other competitors produced better and more reliable products and offered them at a lower price.

The truism that people think that the most expensive item in the line-up is also the best, even though it is rarely true, was something that Bose used to its advantage.

As they got a "lock" on the market, they allowed their quality to suffer to a point where many are turning to the numerous, and cheaper, alternatives.

Bose would be well-served to start offering their NC headphones in the 100 dollar range, and below. Perhaps then they will be able to recapture some lost market share. As it stands now, I see no reason to fork over between 200and 300 for headphones which are either on par with, or inferior to, much less expensive alternatives.

 

In that case, does any comments on the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint? It's only 100 dollars on Amazon, or perhaps the Sennheiser PXC 350/450, the latter is very expensive though.

 

ATH-ANC7 is supposed to be alright for noise-canceling headphones. That being said, no NC headphones will outperform your old HD555 in term of sound quality.

So, instead of NC headphones, I strongly recommend inner-ear headphones. I use one myself for airplanes/trains/libraries, and it works well. They don't leak, usually have good isolation, and they don't require battery.

For your budget, you can choose from likes of Shure SE210, Etymotic ER-4P, Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5..Or, if you want something under 100$, I think Denon AHC751K is a good choice.

 

Bose is an American company based in Massachusetts, it just so happens that the name sounds German .

 

Ok - that's settled then.
I can't just "trash" them for doing something badly, I have to give a reason for my disapproval.

Thanks, good to know!

 

Hmm interesting. Is it generally accepted as fact that passive earbuds are better than active over the hear headphones in terms of music quality and NC?

I always find earbuds to be uncomfortable, esp. the ones that go far into your ear canal, that's why I was hoping there was a good over the ear NC alternative.

 

Interesting - I found after a little time that I can't wear earbuds - with the foam padding for a little time though.
Now I got a pair of in-ear headphones from Sony and up to an hour or even sometimes more and I'm fine.

(Now my mother can't hear either)

Active noise cancelling also only works well with monotonous sounds like aircraft engines and low frequency sounds.

You basically duplicated the sound from the outside world out of phase...

 

a pair of in-ear headphones with the foam tips should be comfortable and would be the equivalent of wearing earplugs with a headphone stuck in them as far as sound isolation goes.

The only downside of this is that if you for example talk or eat something, the sound is bounced back into your ear and it's loud. Also, it takes some getting used to when you first hear the soundstage of in-ear headphones, since they sound like the sound is coming from inside your brain.

So passive noise cancelling does function better since it isolates all sound, but there's some downsides to the in-ear concept.

A good pair of earphones that works well with the foam tips is the Westone UM2. They're designed explicitly for use with the Comply foam tips and they're very comfy. Added advantage of not being the dork with the cans on your head!

 

Hmm - I didn'T have to get used to my Sony in ear headphones.

But it is true - would I eat something, its noisy

 

You have to spend MUCH more on IEM's to get the same quality as you would out of a pair of cans(over the head headphones). They usually isolate alot better though.

 

sort of the tradeoff, since good cans with active noise cancelling (not something that's really well implemented pretty much ever) are pricey. Most really good headphones won't bother destroying the sound with an active noise canceller, so the trade for the pricer IEMs is they have the noise cancelling sort of built in.

 

^ Basically, yes. Plus, IEMs are very portable. IEMs do feel awkward to wear at first, but soon you will get used to them.

Not if you compare price/performance ration of IEM with that of NC headphones. IMO, no NC headphones sound as good as decent (say, HD555 or AD700) full-sized headphones.

Sony IEMs may not have the best price-to-performance ration, but they tend to be very comfortable.

 

BOSE = Basic Overpriced Sound Equipment

It's not that BOSE is bad; their stuff is actually pretty good, granted you'd have to cut the prices in half to even be competitive towards other sound devices in their categories. Basically, for the same price as you get for bose, you can get something that sounds SIGNIFICANTLY better with even better overall quality (build, service, etc.)

The price-to-sound ratio for IEMS compared to price-to-sound for full-sized headphones is actually pretty gargantuan, but get ones with good foam eartips, i.e. comply tips, and they're unbelievably comfortable and extremely portable too.

Sony earphones generally suck aside from the EX85 and EX90 earphones; but the large diaphragm doesn't allow for sleeping with them on, so it may be a turn-off for some people.

 

Bose was started by an MIT student named Amar Bose.

originally from India..

he bought a $50,000 system and got disappointed so decided to make himself one.


BTW those who mentioned Bose shud drop their prices are WRong.

If bose drops the price they ll lose the market totally.

because the Rich fools will think it is a cheap headphone and buy something else

and the people who buy $100 headphones will obviously buy Sennheiser.


So Bose is doing fine by Fooling people with money to waste.


Bose has no choice but to keep fooling people with no understanding of audio stuff.

 

I have EX (or EFX ...) headphones - it may they're the EX85... I don't remember.

I had other Sony heaphones before that and was fine with them... (not in ear though)

 

BOSE isn't bad; just not very good value to the customer since you can get better for far less money if you go with another brand.

Profit-wise, the company's marketing more than makes up for sub-par quality.