Moral Dilemna

[cpd]

I am looking for a set of in-ear monitors with active noise cancellation for air-travel and to use while I am riding my bike on a trainer over the winter. Based on all the reviews I can find - the Bose QC 20 and 30 are rated very well. I prefer the style of the QC 20 - as I don't care about them being wireless and since I will be sweating all over these things I don't want the additional headband in the the QC 30 style. I have some internal struggle buying Bose products and wonder:

1) Are Bose noise cancelling headphones an exception and I should not hesitate to buy them; and
2) Are there better alternatives that you can recommend?

Thanks.

 

[KenM10759]

The noise cancellation technology that Bose has continued to develop over the years is one of the very few things they do better than many competitors. Don't get me wrong, I despise the company for sending my son's job (and 349 others) over to a contract company in the Phillipines. It's just that I can't deny something they actually got right.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

I personally don't find noice cancellation necessary with IEM as they pretty much block out coming noices anyways as you put them in your ear canal. I would suggest taking a look on these: https://www.amazon.com/SoundMAGIC-Isolating-Headphones-Microphone-Smartphones/dp/B01H3F0SDI Using the older E10s model myself and I have been happy with them.

 

[Cos]

I don't know why you would want to use headphones when you train on your bike. I use bluetooth earbuds in the gym and when I run and use the headphones when I fly and travel. Boise has excellent noise canceling, but IMO when I went shopping I went with the Momentum 2.0 by Sennheiser because they sounded much better to me.

 

[cpd]

Thanks for the input. Has anyone heard the QC 20's? Is it only the noise cancellation that's good? How do they sound?

Cos, I ride my bike on a resistance trainer in the basement in the cold weather months (turns it into a stationary bike). In the summer, when I ride outside I don't listen to music (I'm not crazy). I want noise cancelling in-ear-monitors to cover the whir of the trainer while I ride in the basement. And, although I agree noise cancelling headphones would be better for travel, I thought I'd kill two birds by using the IEM's for travel as well. Also, I already have two pair of decent headphones: (1) original Momentums, and (2) Hi-Fi Man HE400i's.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

BOSE pioneered modern noise-cancelling technology. We can forgive them for winning a contract with the USAF, providing a product that was so pathetic that the Air Force resorted to suing BOSE for non-performance (first time ever). But BOSE did take the taxpayer's money and used it to develop actual working noise-cancelling technology. So you paid for them already once, may as well pay for it twice by buying a pair.

You won't find a bad review of a BOSE product because BOSE sues reviewers and magazines that print bad reviews. Reputable Audio reviewers will audition products and return them to the manufacturer.

Bloggers and Technology writers, who don't know the first thing about audio but are more like the basement dweller you avoided in High School, happily accept free BOSE products and have no qualms about the conflict of interest or their failure to disclose they got free stuff (many of whom re-sell the products on eBay, so you can't even be sure they actually use them after printing the glowing review).

So you can always find a bunch of positive BOSE reviews from non-audio online and print publications. Maybe that makes you feel better.

I would suggest you go to a store ( ... I know, actual exercise ...) and listen to some, then decide.

 

[johnpass]

BOSE pioneered modern noise-cancelling technology. We can forgive them for winning a contract with the USAF, providing a product that was so pathetic that the Air Force resorted to suing BOSE for non-performance (first time ever). But BOSE did take the taxpayer's money and used it to develop actual working noise-cancelling technology. So you paid for them already once, may as well pay for it twice by buying a pair.

I've searched but can't find anything about the USAF suing Bose for non-performance. Can you provide a link to this information? Thanks.

 

[cpd]

BOSE pioneered modern noise-cancelling technology. We can forgive them for winning a contract with the USAF, providing a product that was so pathetic that the Air Force resorted to suing BOSE for non-performance (first time ever). But BOSE did take the taxpayer's money and used it to develop actual working noise-cancelling technology. So you paid for them already once, may as well pay for it twice by buying a pair.

You won't find a bad review of a BOSE product because BOSE sues reviewers and magazines that print bad reviews. Reputable Audio reviewers will audition products and return them to the manufacturer.

Bloggers and Technology writers, who don't know the first thing about audio but are more like the basement dweller you avoided in High School, happily accept free BOSE products and have no qualms about the conflict of interest or their failure to disclose they got free stuff (many of whom re-sell the products on eBay, so you can't even be sure they actually use them after printing the glowing review).

So you can always find a bunch of positive BOSE reviews from non-audio online and print publications. Maybe that makes you feel better.

I would suggest you go to a store ( ... I know, actual exercise ...) and listen to some, then decide.

I too would love to see a link to the USAF suit against Bose. I checked on Pacer (federal court online docketing system) and see no record of the United States ever suing Bose.

That said, I am well aware of Bose's "high on marketing" approach to audio. Hence, my hesitation with the QC 20's and the purpose of my post. Perhaps you missed that.

You are, however, plain wrong about the lack of bad Bose product reviews. They are everywhere. If you stay away from the review super-houses you will find a ton of objective critique on Bose products.

Bose's noise cancelling headphones are different. I cannot seem to find anything that suggests they, like other Bose products, are hype. Most people (even on objective sites) say they have the best noise cancelling in the market. My problem is that I cannot find objective reviews of their sound quality.

I'd love to listen to them, but everywhere I've been, they are not available for demo -- the same for all in-ear monitors, at least as far as I have seen. Even if you could, there is no way I'm sticking something in my ears that have been in the ears of countless others. So if you have any experience with them, or are willing to stick a demo pair in your ears, I'd love to hear your objective take.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

I too would love to see a link to the USAF suit against Bose. I checked on Pacer (federal court online docketing system) and see no record of the United States ever suing Bose.

That said, I am well aware of Bose's "high on marketing" approach to audio. Hence, my hesitation with the QC 20's and the purpose of my post. Perhaps you missed that.

You are, however, plain wrong about the lack of bad Bose product reviews. They are everywhere. If you stay away from the review super-houses you will find a ton of objective critique on Bose products.

Bose's noise cancelling headphones are different. I cannot seem to find anything that suggests they, like other Bose products, are hype. Most people (even on objective sites) say they have the best noise cancelling in the market. My problem is that I cannot find objective reviews of their sound quality.

I'd love to listen to them, but everywhere I've been, they are not available for demo -- the same for all in-ear monitors, at least as far as I have seen. Even if you could, there is no way I'm sticking something in my ears that have been in the ears of countless others. So if you have any experience with them, or are willing to stick a demo pair in your ears, I'd love to hear your objective take.

You ask for "links" for contracts that pre-exist the internet?
Military Contract 1978
First Commercial Bose Aviation Headsets (derived from improved variants of the military version) 1989.

The lawsuit brought against Consumer Reports magazine for a poor review is well documented on the web, maybe you can find something that satisfies you there. BOSE has sued a number of other print magazines for similar reasons, but again your research is going to have to start with documentation that pre-dates the WWW. Yes, you will see online-only reviews get past their legal teams. If that's your idea of reliable resources then you are good to go.

I've done my due diligence on BOSE already and am not going there twice. For the "proof" you seem to need, you are going to have to get up off your chair and go to a library where they keep records of pre-1995 documents.

I've made my comments, you are free to ignore them if you wish, or research them if you prefer, but life is too short to do your work for you. Next week someone else will just take your place and demand the same thing. Not playing, sorry.

 

[jmalecki05]

I use the QC25. In short, they are amazing. I would recommend them highly for active noise cancelling as they are the best on the market for that purpose. If you are looking for an audiophile grade active noise cancelling, I would not recommend the Bose. If it is for active wear, I would prefer the active noise cancellation over audiophile grade, hands down. They will sound more than great while running, exercising et cetera. I use mine when walking in the city and a barely hear a peep. Ditto for buses and trains. My opinion, save the audiophile grade for home and non fitness activities.

If you want noice cancelling, then:
1. Yes
2. No