Bose QuietComfort 2 Acoustic Noise Canceling Headphones

Product Description

Slip on a pair of QuietComfort 2 headphones and hear your music come alive. Decades of Bose research combine with their Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphone technology to deliver the ultimate in audio performance. This award-winning technology electronically identifies and reduces the unwanted noise around you (on buses or trains, in the office, even at home). So you hear more of what you want to hear ? and less of the tiresome sounds that have so often distracted you. Proprietary TriPort headphone technology also helps give you incredible headphone audio performance while keeping the design compact and streamlined. QuietComfort 2 headphones are lightweight and comfortable, and whether you take them on a trip or to the office, they will fold flat to store easily in a bag or briefcase. A single detachable audio cable gives you easy access to portable players, home stereos and in-flight entertainment systems, all with less tangling than two-cable designs. That same cable can be removed so your headphones can go cordless when you simply want the benefits of noise reduction Features: Bose Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphone technology. These patented technologies electronically identify and reduce unwanted noise while faithfully preserving the music, speech or silence that you desire. Bose Acoustic structure of the TriPort headphone. This proprietary system utilizes three small ports in the earcups to produce a rich audio performance that?s remarkable for headphones this small. QuietComfort ear cushions. Proprietary cushion design establishes a critical acoustical seal between the headphones and your head, enhancing noise reduction and helping to maximize sound quality.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000AP05BO
• Item model number: Quietcomfort 2
  

Price : $471.06

Technical Details

• Best noise reduction technology and the best headphone audio performance
• Their ergonomic design allows for a comfortable fit and the fold-flat feature

Customer Reviews

I have owned a pai of the Quietcomfort headphones for more than a year now. They are absolutely great on intercontinental flights.
Pros:
- The sound is fabulous, bass reproduction is great.
- Needs one AAA battery, but it goes for between 24 - 30 hrs of use so this is great.
- Noise cancellation works great, great cushioning.
Cons:
- Pricey
- bulky to transport, cant be substituted for "workout" phones.
- Too much insulation on the earpiece. My ears start to sweat if i wear constantly for more than a couple of hrs.
- Not great to sleep in (on flights) as you tend to block the noise cancellation ports.

As a consultant I traveled 2-3 days per week. I spent a lot of time listening to one-sided cell phone conversations, inane chatter, jet engines, train noise and bad music in coffee shops and airport concourses. I purchased the Bose Quiet Comfort headphones right before I departed on a 5 day, 3 city trip.
From the moment I put them on I knew this was a breakthrough product. Sure - I noticed something akin to pressure on my ears but that sensation passed in a few minutes. It's just like getting used to wearing a watch - you end up not noticing it at all after a short time. What has not passed is the joy in letting the rest of the world just fall away so that I can get some down time while traveling.
Not only was the background noise from the plane's engines gone, but I could actually turn the volume down on my Creative Zen Vision much lower than would be the case with other headphones because the music wasn't competing with the roar of the engines.
The same with the volumn while watching movies - I didn't have to crank up the volume just to hear what was being said. I could even hear the dialogue of movies played on my laptop and those played by the airline. I cannot emphasize this point enough - for the first time ever, I could actually hear music and videos without cranking up the volume to the max - saving my ears from damage as well as avoiding dirty looks from my fellow passengers.
On my honeymoon, my wife and I both brought along a pair. Being able to distance ourselves from all the background noise really did increase the relaxation factor and allowed us to travel 12 hours each way in relative peace. Speaking of honeymoons - this item would be a GREAT wedding gift. There is nothing worse than to spend your time enroute to some fabulous tropical destination for your honeymoon listening to the kids behind you scream while their father snores away.
Even at home, my wife will sometimes wear her headphones while reading. It completely eliminates any noise from the television in the next room.
Contrary to what one other reviewer has stated, the sound from these headphones is anything but distorted. I find that I can hear subtleties in music that I cannot hear over my home entertainment system. The fact that I can still hear these subtleties while in a loud environment is an added bonus.
You probably will not wear these headphones while in the gym (though I have actually seen people wearing them while on the treadmill at my local gym - the same type of people that wear designer workout shorts). There are also times where you don't need noise reduction. For these times, I have inexpensive headphones. I would not however deduct any points from Bose for making a specialty set of headphones just because they are not perfect for all situations. I would not take points off my favorite leather jacket because I can't wear it to the beach in July.
Yes, these things are expensive. But if you feel the need to shield yourself from the pervasive noise of the modern world, there really is no substitute on the market.
Update on 5/12/2006 - A friend of mine had an interesting observation when she tried these headphones. She's a violinist and said that she did not think the feelings in her ears was 'pressure'. Rather she commented that she thinks the feeling is actually the response of the ears to a lack of normal background noise. We spend all our time being bombarded by an array of sounds. When those sounds disappear, the ears are confused and express this as a feeling of pressure. That's only her theory but it makes some sense to me. I scuba dive a few times a year and I know what pressure in the ears feels like. The feeling I used to notice while wearing my bose headphones wasn't anything like that kind of pressure - either in feel or magnitude. It's interesting to note that the absence of sound may be able to cause a physical reaction.
Update on 6/6/2006
Just came home from vacation in Hawaii. On Kauai I took a helicopter tour. The company running the tours, Blue Hawaii, provided Bose noise cancelling headphones on the flight. Many of the other companies in Kauai did not offer noise cancelling headphones.
A few minutes in to the flight I took the headphones off to see what the noise level would be like. It was close to deafening and I could not even hear myself speaking loudly. I put the headphones on and the noise became little more than an after thought. If you find yourself looking to take a helicopter tour at some point in the future, make sure you find a company that offers Bose on its tours.