Review of Bose QuietComfort 3 headphones

After reading David Pogue's NY Times column on noise-canceling headphones, I went to the Bose store (only three blocks from my apartment, Bose sure makes it convenient for the consumer) and bought a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling [sic]* Headphones (or the QC3 for short).

People most commonly buy these things for airplane travel (I presume the kind of person who flies a lot is also the kind of person who can afford $350 for a pair of headphones), but the crappy window air conditioner in my Manhattan studio kind of sounds like a jet engine, so I thought I'd give noise-canceling headphones a try.

I walked over to the Bose store and tried both the QC2 and the QC3 models. The QC2 is an around-the-ear design while the QC3 is an on-ear design. The QC3 is marketed as being more comfortable, and for me that was the case. When I put on the QC2 headphones, it felt like a massive weight was pressing against the top of my skull. It was not comfortable at all. So I went with the QC3s. But this is strongly a matter of personal preference. Some people find the QC2s to be more comfortable. The QC3s put more pressure on the side of your ear, and I do find that they get uncomfortable after wearing them for a while. Alas, nothing is as comfortable as the $10 Sony earbuds.

Another advantage of the on-ear design is that they are smaller. So the QC3s don't look quite as silly as the QC2s. And they take up less space in your bag.

On the other hand, the around-the-ear design of the QC2 provides more passive noise reduction. However, the "memory foam" on the QC3 model makes a mostly airtight seal on your ear and they provide a surprising amount of passive noise reduction, along with excellent bass.

No brand inspires more hate on audiophile internet forums than Bose. Overpriced junk that doesn't provide true high fidelity quality is what audiophiles would say. But what they don't understand is that Bose is a marketing driven company rather than a sound quality driven company. Bose's objective is to create the perception of value in upper middle class consumers, and then charge a premium price for that value. I'm sure that Bose has discovered that the vast majority of people with six figure incomes can't tell the difference between true high fidelity and the stuff that Bose offers. Bose products are engineered to the tastes of the upper middle class masses rather than the true audiophile. The upper middle class masses apparently like a lot of bass. The Bose in-store experience is designed to give the consumer the feeling that he is buying a luxury good. It reminds me a lot of the Tumi in-store experience (I recently purchased a Tumi notebook computer briefcase at the very same Timer Warner Center).

The appearance of the QC3s definitely advance the perception of quality. They look very nice, the "memory foam" is luxuriantly soft, and all of the materials feel like they are a cut above everyday plastic. And they have the "Bose" logo printed in large enough type so that people will know that you are wearing expensive headphones. Does this matter? I'm sure the same people who think it makes sense to buy $300 True Religion jeans will think it makes sense to be seen wearing $350 headphones.

So how does the noise canceling work? It works great! The jet engine air conditioner sounds like a quiet fan after I turn on the noise cancellation switch. However, it should be noted that the noise cancellation circuitry is primarily effective against low pitched sounds and white noise. It does little against higher pitched sounds like police car sirens or crying babies. It isn't very effective against human speech. I can't compare Bose against any other brands, because these are the only pair of noise-canceling headphones that I own, but after reading a lot of online reviews, the evidence is that Bose may not have true audiophile quality sound, but their noise-canceling technology is the best that money can buy.

The primary downsides of the QC3 headphones are (1) they use a proprietary and expensive-to-replace lithium-ion battery that, according to Bose, only lasts 20 hours per charge; and (2) these headphones will not function as regular non-noise-canceling headphones. When the switch is turned off there is no noise canceling and no music either. So when the battery runs out, they are useless. And (3) repeating what I said above, they are not as comfortable as $10 Sony earbuds.

* * *

*Spelling "canceling" with a double "l" is like spelling "judgment" with an "e." Shame on Bose.

UPDATE

To clarify the spelling mystery, I sent the following email to Bose sales support:

I recently reviewed your noise "cancelling" headphones in my blog:

http://www.halfsigma.com/2007/07/review-of-bose-.html

However, I was wondering why you misspelled the word "canceling" in the product description. The proper American spelling is with only one "l." Was this intentional, or an accident? If it's intentional, what exactly is the intent?

I got the following email back:

Thank you for your interest in Bose Corporation.

If you look up the word in Webster's Dictionary, the it is spelt both ways. Therefore, no misspelling occurred. You should note that the word cancelling in the title QuietComfort(R) Acoustic Noise Cancelling(R) headphones has been copy written (R)..

Note that the customer support person used the word "spelt." He's probably based in India, because no one in the United States would ever write "spelt."

I sent the following reply:

"Cancelling" is the British spelling and "canceling" is the American spelling. The question is why is Bose, a company based in Framingham Massachusetts, not using the American spelling?

Secondly, the fact that Bose trademarked (not copyrighted) "Acoustic Noise Cancelling" doesn't explain the choice of spelling. Surely, Bose could have trademarked "Acoustic Noise Canceling" instead.

Could you, perhaps, forward this inquiry to someone who could answer the original question, which is why the word "canceling" is being spelled with a double "l."

I suspect that the person who originally wrote the product description was a clueless individual who saw the spelling "cancelling" in a dictionary and ended his inquiry there. And now Bose is stuck with the trademarked spelling.

Comments

[dearieme]

Their spelling is cunningly chosen to imply that you are so intelligent that you could almost be Canadian.

[mondo]

Those $10 Sony earbuds have been around and will be around for decades. Kind of like those Pentel quick-clicker mechanical pencils.

[Half Sigma]

Bose is based in Framingham Massachusetts, so there's no excuse for them not to use the proper American spelling.

[Joshua Holmes]

I think one could be forgiven for not knowing or caring about the particulars of doubling consonants past the schwa. In a rational spelling system, it would be spelled "cans^l" or "kans^l", with the ^ being a "dead vowel" letter or symbol.

The main benefit of noise attenuating headphones is not sound quality but allowing the user to listen at lower volumes in noisy environments, which helps preserve one's hearing.

Note that ear-canal headphones can reach an isolation level of -30dB to -40dB, compared to -15dB to -20dB for active noise cancellation. These are passive devices (similar to earplugs), so there are no battery issues.

[Peter]

An Indian founded Bose, that might be why the company uses the double-l spelling.

I thought Chandra Bose was a collaborator with the Japanese during WWII.

[Chris]

What I find interesting is that a pair of $10 ear buds paired with $10 shop ear muffs gave me "noise cancellation" so powerful that I can mow my lawn and clearly hear my mp3 player on a low sound setting. I didn't even have to go through the production that this link details:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/548578/headphone_hack_make_you_own_noise_eliminating_headset/

But of course, my $20 hack doesn't enable me to sit in my own apartment showing off my $350 Bose headphones. I have to console myself by investing the saved $330 in stocks or real estate.

[Chris]

Here's that full url for anyone interested in saving some money:

"http://www.metacafe.com/watch/548578/
headphone_hack_make_you_own_noise_eliminating
_headset/"

[Turambar]

The guy invented wearing ear protectors over your ear buds? I already do that for $0 when I mow the lawn or leaf blow.

[Turambar]

The guy invented wearing ear protectors over your ear buds? I already do that for $0 when I mow the lawn or leaf blow.

[David Alexander]

I have to console myself by investing the saved $330 in stocks or real estate.

Or in my case, put the money in a lowly online savings account with a 4.5% interest rate.

[Mike]

I read the same review and was puzzled that he recommended the Bose over the AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-ANC7 which he refers to as "Bose without the marketing." I have (had) the both Bose sets and the AT; if you can live with over-the-ear, the AT is just as good for <$140. I don't like the QC3 because you need two rechargable batteries if you fly much (I fly US/Asia a lot) and there's no place to stash your ipod in the case. The AT is my go-to set now.

I also have a set of Shure SCL4's. They sound great and provide a lot of isolation, but I find that for trips over 2 hours they actually hurt my ears.

[mike]

Bose use the correct English spelling. Keep in mind it is you as an American that has chosen to adopt the shabby version of what is without a doubt the most beautiful language there is! ENGLISH! you speak english you rito.. its colour not color!