Bose QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphone

I recently ordered the Bose QC3s and am using them at present. I personally own a pair of Sennheiser 250s, and have also used the QC2s.

Let me start by saying first that my Sennheiser 250s WERE awesome. I loved the portability and sound they put out. They are the best value headphones out there. However, the battery exploded in my noise canceller, and now there is static that goes with the noise canceller.

The Quiet Comfort 2s are simply amazing. If you are using headphones for home use and airplanes strictly, I would probably take these over the QC3s. However, I needed to be a lot more portable, as I am a college student, and I wear my headphones everywhere. The QC2s were a little too bulky for me. The extra $50 is a bit rough, but the sound is priceless.

I love the portability of the QC3s. The noise cancelling is excellent, and better than my Senn250s. I would not recommend wearing them anywhere an emergency may be imminent, as you really can not hear people call your name from about 10 feet away (unless your volume is really low). I personally think the QC3s are overpriced, but if you can stomach the $350, you will love these headphones. There is definitely a feeling of prestige when you open the box. I would only recommend these headphones to die hard music lovers, as I think anyone who only uses them once a week will regret the purchase. I use them everyday :)

I have used the Bose QuietComfort QC-2 headphones for about a year, and have traveled to Asia over 5 times with them, and domestic travel as well. About 120 hours of air time. Never took them off. Vastly reduces my jetlag. A pleasure to own and use.

On an impulse buy, I bought the QC-3's after a demo at the local Bose store. 30-day return policy. Compared them side-by-side... both on the airplane, home, with and without sound.

My impressions (your mileage may vary :-)

Noise Cancellation:
The QC-3 has impressive noise cancellation, I think it's incrementally better than the QC-2. Perhaps it's a little too 'aggressive'. Let me explain. I feel a little uncomfortable from a (perceived) pressure on my ear. Note: this is not physical pressure from the ear-pieces, nor is it air-pressure, but rather a physco-acoustic result of noise cancellation. I felt this only slightly with the QC-2's. Bose did an amazing job of noise cancellation given the challenges of an "on-the-ear" design which offers less physical noise isolation due to lack of cups. Everyone has a different tolerance to this pressure, the only way to tell is to try them out. Vote: QC-3 for noise cancellation, QC-2 for comfort (again, will vary from person to person).

Audio Quality:
Using MP3's encoded at 192 kbps, and CD audio, the difference in the two headphones is clear (excuse the pun). The QC-2's are brighter sounding with adequate bass. The QC-3's are a little heavy on the low-end, to the point of sounding muddy. Vote: QC-2.

Construction:
Some have complained about the QC-2's breaking at the stem that attaches each earpiece. I never had this problem, but I am also very careful, especially given their cost. I did notice a person break a QC-2 on the plane trying to turn the earpieces to hard. The build quality of the QC-3 is about the same, the stem may be somewhat narrower, so they could be more prone to breaking, however I do not think it's an issue if you treat them with respect. Vote: equal.

Comfort:
The QC-3's are lighter, but I still prefer the "over-the-ear" type of headphone. They feel like they stay in place better. I would be upset if the QC-3's fell off my head while loading luggage in the overhead bin, only to have someone step on them. I never felt that could happen with the QC-2's. I also would rather have a little physical pressure around my ear, instead of on my ear. Vote: QC-2.

Accessories:
The QC-3 has a less complicated jack that attaches to the headphone (it's detachable, just like the QC-2's). The QC-2 has a hi/low volume control on the jack stem, while the QC-3 has no adjustment and is adjusted somewhere in between (which is why they are not quite as loud as the QC-2's, given the same volume setting from your MP3, DVD, computer, or stereo). The airplance adapter does serve to attenuate the audio further, if needed. The QC-3 carrying case is a little smaller than the QC-2, but not a significant difference. The covering on the QC-3 case is smooth, which I prefer over the QC-2 case. I do not like the way the QC-3's fit in the case, the ear-pieces do not sit firmly where they are supposed to go. With the QC-2, you know exactly how they fit in the case, it just seems like a better fit. Vote: averages to equal.

I hope this quick review is helpful. I elected to stay with the QC-2. Rgds,

I received the Bose QuiteComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones as a gift and have been giving it a test comparision with the Sennheiser PXC250 that I already own. Here is very short summary of the comparison thus far:

Noise cancellation:
Bose: 9 out of 10
Senn: 8 out of 10
- It appears that QC3's slightly better noise cancellation is due to the better sound isolation of the ear padding itself and not necessarily due to better noise cancellation electronics.

Audio quality (low-frequency):
Bose: 9 out of 10
Senn: 7 out of 10
- Bass quality is definitely excellent on the QC3.

Audio quality (high-frequency):
Bose: 5 out of 10
Senn: 9 out of 10
- If you listen to a higher quality audio source such as a CD, you can definitely notice the loss of definition/clarity in the Bose QC3 headset. Senn's high-frequency response is excellent.

Comment/conjecture: Because of attenuated high-frequency reponse, it appears that Bose has targeted the QC3 for the 128 Kbit MP3/WMA market. As anyone who has tried to listen to a 128 Kbit MP3/WMA on a high-fi audio system (and was terribly disappointed in the results) can testify, having faithful high frequency reproduction of a 128 kbit source is a liability and not an advantage. QC3 makes my MP3 player sound better than on the Sennheiser because QC3 better hides the high frequency harmonic distortions of the 128 kbit source.

For me personally, the high-end clarity is much more important than the low-end response so I am disappointed in the QC3 (which is why I gave it only 3 stars). However, for those who want great noise cancellation and listen to mostly medium quality audio sources, QC3 may be a perfect fit.

I have a pair of Shure SE530, the best headphones I've owned. True they're more expensive than Bose but for listening to music while traveling, they're second to none. American gives everyone in business class the QC3 to use so I compared them to my Shures. No comparison. The Bose are great for noise canceling but music sounds tinny and muffled compared to the Shures. Drums and bass sound so much better it's not even close. I think if you're going to spend as much money for the Bose, you could spend a little more and get the Shure E500 or SE530 (same). As small as they are, the sound is so much better than the Bose it's worth the extra money and still shuts down most background noise when you use the right fitting.

All you need to know about these is that they unnecessarily use a proprietary rechargeable battery.

That means that when you are on the plane and the battery dies, you're stuck, unless you happened to buy and charge a second, very expensive battery.

There's no reason why these headphones need a proprietary rechargeable battery. The QC 2's and many other choices use a standard AAA battery that provides 40-60 hours of use.

The only product that I've ever seen that needed a rechargeable battery is a digital camera, which draw so much power when you use the flash that a standard alkaline won't work.

Shame on Bose for trying to pull this on consumers! If you want a Bose, buy the QC 2!