Bose QC15 vs. Sennheiser PXC 450 vs. Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7b
Disclosure: I have tried all these on an airplane. I am not an audiophile. Noise Cancelation is the most important attribute to me.
The Carrying Case: All three are quite durable and stiff.
1.) Bose- the smallest, a low profile, room for an Ipod, accessories too.
2.) Sennheiser- Square shape, low profile, however not a lot of room for anything else in case.
3.) Audio Technica- Nice big case if you want to carry extra stuff (Nintendo DS, ipod, etc).
Build Quality:
1.) Sennheiser- you can tell this is built VERY well. Strong plastics, good components, thick cord. Top notch. You feel like you are getting something really high quality.
2.) Audio Technica- Nice solid construction, appears durable.
3.) Bose- If this had a Sanyo logo on the side, I would not have flinched. How can something $300 be so incredibly cheaply made.
Size:
1.) Bose- as far as over the ears go, these are pretty small.
2.) Audio-Technica- mid-sized.
3.) Sennheiser- These are big. No question, but they store flat.
Comfort:
1.) Sennheiser- Very comfortable, will fit almost any size ears. Keep on for hours.
2.) Bose- Also comfortable. I did not experience "highs" discomfort.
3.) Audio-Technica- Perfectly satisfactory. Larger opening than previous AT model.
Sound:
1.) Sennheiser- I actually wore these at home too, simply to hear parts of songs I had never heard before. Astounding. My 10yr old music collection sounded totally NEW.
2.) Audio-Technica- Well balanced, good sound.
3.) Bose- Great sound, but very heavy on the bass. I listen to a lot of rap and pop, so it was mildly annoying. I ultimately had to turn my treble settings up on my ipod to balance the sound.
Features:
1.) Sennheiser- nice cord, push to talk button (temporarily mutes NC and sound which is great for interruptions on airplanes).
2.) Bose/Audio Technica- just the basics. Bose simply an on/off switch.
Price:
1.) Audio Technica- $150 to $225 depending on how you shop.
2.) Sennheiser- $200 to $275
3.) Bose- Hard to find below $300+.
Noise Cancelation:
1.) Bose- No question here, far surpassed the other two. Best Noise Cancelation.
2.) Audio-Technica- Good Noise Cancelation.
3.) Sennheiser- Not sure what happened here. Incredible sound, satisfactory noise cancelation.
Summary:
I ultimately kept the Bose because I was only using these for flying and the Sennheiser's (as much as I loved them) let me down in the Noise Cancelation department. The Sennheiser's had by far the most superior sound, but the Bose Noise Cancelation was night and day. The Bose are made very poorly for a $300+ product, it was disappointing.
Final assessment:
Audio-Technica- best balance of value for money
Sennheiser- Best sound and comfort
Bose- Best Noise Cancelation Audio Technica ATH-ANC7B Active Noise-Cancelling Closed-Back Headphones
I've been toying with the idea of getting a set of active noise canceling headphones for a while. Both my wife and I are having to fly more for our jobs, so I can certainly justify this expense. While I hadn't directly tested anything else, I've read reviews both at Amazon and other places for a number of different headphones. The predecessor to these, Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones generally scored well in the reviews, and seemed favored even over the venerable BOSE Quiet Comfort models, the several low rated reviews about sound leakage gave me pause.
Seeing these supposedly new and improved versions recently come to market, I decided to take a chance with the hope that this one negative would be fixed for what is otherwise an excellent product.
I've not been exposed to the original to know first hand how bad the "sound leakage" issue is, but it is something I wanted to test for. I can say that, when I have my Ipod cranked up full (almost at a painful level) and the ANC turned on, it is pretty easy for someone outside to hear what is playing, particularly when there's not a lot of noise in the area. However, in a more "real world" test, I had my wife listening with them while we took a trip with the kids in our minivan. While not up to aircraft levels, the van can generate a decent amount of noise, especially at speed and on noisy asphalt. In this case, I had her turn it up as loud as she could comfortably do. I managed to barely be able to hear something from the headphones, but not even to the point that I could tell what she was listening to. That test was enough to allay my concerns about the "sound leakage" issue as a practical matter.
My wife greatly appreciated using the headphones on our road trip and found them very effective and damping down the road and engine noise. For the most part, our trips don't happen at the same time, but I can already tell that, if we are traveling together, I'll be adding a second set to our house hold. While not as good sounding as some of my dedicated over the ear heaphones for music, especially with the ANC on, the sound quality is still well more than acceptable and a fair compromise to go along with the ANC capability. As is typical of the technology, most of the sound reduction comes at the lower frequencies, with higher vocal level frequencies getting much less attentuation. These will knock down the low level engine rumblings, but not silence a conversation.
As for the package in general, it's very simple and elegant. The battery compartment takes a single AAA battery and it is easy to rotate the cover on the right earpiece to expose and replace the battery. While it doesn't lock, it is firm enough that I don't think there's going to be an issue with accidentally opening the battery compartment. The headphones use a standard 3.5mm stereo connection and the package comes with both a short (good for having a player in your hand or on a belt clip) and longer cable that would be suitable plugging into a set of desktop speakers and allowing you to move about your desk. There are also 1/4" adapter plugs for use with a typical home stereo/AVR as well as the typical two pronged airline connector. The case has a zippered internal pocket to hold all of these, along with extra AAA batteries (one Energizer even comes with the package). The case is pretty compact, which is good for using with a carry on bag. Even so, there is sufficient room to easily hold my Ipod 5G 60GB inside. There's space still for something a little wider and a good bit longer, so I suspect an Ipod Touch or Zune would fit with no trouble. The case itself is pretty sturdy with heavy inserts in the back, front, and sides to hold the case's shape.
When I made my purchase, the price difference between the new model and the old one was effectively the same. Even as of this writing, there's only a net $10 difference. With that in mind, if you have looked at the previous generation, I see no reason to get it anymore. This unit incorporates at least two year's worth of improvements over the original and comes in at a very competitive pricepoint, especially compared to BOSE and some of the other high end ANC headphones.'
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