3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Close But No Cookie
Date of Review: Oct 13, 2002
The Bottom Line: If they concentrated as much on natural sound reproduction as they did on noise canceling and presentation, they'd have an awesome product.
Bose came really close with these, but because they don't correctly reproduce the sound of the instruments, they aren't very good for jazz or blues, or any other music where the tone of the instruments is part of the experience. They seem pretty good for ambient where it's mostly highs and base.
I have a pair of Koss Porta Pros and they have a much warmer sound.
Since Bose claims the technological edge, maybe they can come up with a way to eliminate the thud one gets walking about while wearing enclosed headphones. The Porta Pros don't have that problem either, so I really noticed it with the Bose.
Overall I can't say I'd recommend these to a friend, although if someone values the noise canceling over the sound reproduction quality, they these aren't bad. They're not terrible headphones, however for the money, I'd expect more (especially since the Porta Pros were only $50 (US)
There's my 2 cents, if you get em' they come with a 30 day satisfaction guarantee via Internet and a 90 day if you trek to the Bose store.
Update: After actually trying them out on the commute I purchased them for (40 minute caltrain ride) I'm very impressed by their noise canceling ability, however, I remain unimpressed by the quality of the sound reproduction. I didn't even bother with jazz or anything with brass, and just listened to ambient music. Because they are also weak in any spatial separation, I was always aware that I had a speaker on each ear (though they bordered on being ok at times). If you listen to anything with real instruments, get different headphones. I'd rather hear outside noise and listen to music the way it was recorded.
