[4 of 4 customers found this review helpful]

Bose Around-Ear Stereo Headphones Review

Best Headphones at this price...PERIOD

"First I would like to say that I have been an avid Boseconsumer since 1992. I own several Bose products and I willbe the first to tell you when I don't like a Boseproduct...a la the first generation Wave Radio CD.I have however nothing but praise for these triportheadphones. I purchased mine in October 2003 and theytransformed the way I listen to my music. If I were todescribe the sound quality in one word...I would say it isfull. From bass, mids, and highs, everything is very clear.The headphones do require a short break-in period becausethey sounded better after a couple weeks of use.The headphones are very comfortable. They are not small butthey are not at all big. The cups fit nicely around yourears and the foam is of a premium quality. It is not aslippery foam, it is a grippier foam that stays put overyour ears. I should note that the foam cups are alwaysreplaceable should you ever wear them out.One thing I really like about these headphones is that theinner drivers are angled inwards towards your earcanal...this directs more music directly into your ears. They are not just flat and sit on your ears like mostheadphones, these are angled inwards.These headphones have amazing bass. I don't know thephysics behind it or how you get bass out of tiny driversbut if you close your eyes, you feel like you are listeningto a much larger setup. I mean you don't feel the basshitting your chest but you feel the effect. I also wasunable to get the bass to distort using my discman. I onlygot the bass to distort after I plugged these into my hometheater amp and turned the volume up to 50+. I should notethat 50+ power to my stereo speakers = deafening soundpressure levels. To me this is really impressive. This isone area that really shows the quality of the product. Bosetells you not to use artificial bass boost. I used the onebar setting on my Sony Discman with good results. The twobar setting created unnatural bass. I should note theheadphones sound great with no bass boost.From my experience I want to tell the prospective buyer thatyou can hear a difference in sound quality when you plugthese headphones into a discman, iPod, your computer, andthen when you use the adapter and plug these into your hometheater amp. The sound is just more full and open whenthese headphones are plugged into a high quality amp. Theysound clearer and more dynamic with a better amplifier.I don't like them for my iPod because the iPod equalizer ishorrible on all setting except flat. I'm not saying usingthem with a discman or iPod is bad...I'm just saying thesound quality is influenced directly by the source. You'llsee it when you try it.I also want to add that even though these are not QuietComfort's, they do however isolate a lot of sound so you'remusic is not disturbed. After you have these on your headfor a couple hours, they can make you a little hot...butthen again most anything that cups your ears like this foran extended period will make you overheat a little.Anybody who highly criticizes these headphones probablynever used them, can't afford them, or is comparing them tosome $400 monitors that are in a different league. I can'timagine any honest reviewer having a bad experience with thetriports.If you're thinking about getting these headphones, I hope myreview helped you out. They are a fine pair of headphonesand you should be very happy with them.If you're upgrading from the $30-$50 pair of headphones, thedifference is night and day. I've never listened to someequivalent Sennheiser's or Grado's but I will saythis...After using these for the past 4 years, I reallydon't know how you could make them any better. So for methere is no reason to look at another pair as these triportsare everything I expected and more.



Expertise: Audiophile



Problems Encountered: I take very good care of my equipment and I did notencounter any problems with the headphones for the first 2years. One day I gave the headphones to a friend and hecarelessly pulled the cups apart to get them over his headand the joint on the band snapped on one side.This is a well-documented problem that plagues theseheadphones. Even though my friend was careless, this is notsomething that should happen to a pair of $140 ($150 backthen) headphones. Bose sent me a no questions askedreplacement free of charge which leads me to believe theyare fully aware that this is a design flaw.If you take care of your equipment, this should not be anissue for you. I will give design 4 stars for this flaw.



Previous Equivalent Item Owned: $30 pair of Koss and Sony headphones."