I wasn't positive I wanted to spend $100 on earbuds, but I'm glad I did. Bose has solved the silicon earpiece problem you read about in almost every review. The snap on silicon cover fits securely and doesn't detach without a fight. So bravo to Bose for taking care of that. Now for the sound! If you spend $200 or $300 for the really high end earbuds you aren't going to be able to discern any difference. The Bose delivers full bass and crystal clear highs. I had no idea how great my iPod could sound,the iPod earbuds are an insult to it. Use your accoustic setting on your iPod equalizer for a great range of sound. Bose In-Ear Headphones
As noted in many reviews already posted, there is a quality problem with these earphones. After less than 18 months of gentle use (but over the 12-mo warranty) the wires and their protective covering frayed and separated where they enter the jack. Bose service rep says this is not repairable (I can't imagine why not, except they'd rather not). He offered me the 'opportunity' to replace the earphones for $50. Say what? Why would I want to pay that for the same product after it fell apart? As usual, Bose's promotion and advertising far exceeds product performance.
Firstly I want to start off by saying that I am not one of those people who hate on Bose no matter what they make, even if they are good. I love Bose products; the QC is a great line of active noise canceling headphones, but these IE headphones....??? they cant compare to the shine that their other headphones illuminate. I don't think these headphones are terrible, I just think they are WAY overpriced. I think it should have fallen below $60, but I know, they might run out of ad $$$.
Now to begin the review, what you see is NOT what you get. The design is top notch, and looks crazy cool. Although they are not the first ones to come up with that type of design, Samsung came up with one of these designs around 2001, but these look much slicker than the Samsung ones. The build of the IE is nothing less than great.
Just because they are In Ear, does not mean they block noise as most in ear monitors do. They fall right in between in ear canals like the Etymotics ER6i and the Sennheiser CX 300. They feel very insecure on your ear; it feels like its going to fall off. Since they are just hanging there in your ears, there is a lot of open space which allow you to engage in conversations without having pull out your headphones.
The silicone tips get lost very easily, that's why they provide you with the leather case, so USE IT!! The silicone tips also get dirty very easily if not put in the case while not in use. You don't have to worry too much about your ear wax getting stuck to it because it doesn't really go real deep inside you ear. Other accessories include the cable winder and different sizes of the silicone tips.
I am used to getting a complete seal to enjoy bass response; these headphones surprised me with producing excellent bass response without the full seal. The bass is good but it empowers over the mids and highs. If you really love bass driven music but also want to enjoy the mids and the highs, Sennheiser's CX 300 is the way to go. The IE's reproduction accuracy of music is very poor, it exaggerates the bass and seems blurs out the other frequency ranges.
I am used to having my volume on 30%, but these headphones require 53% to enjoy the full sound. The CX 300 works smarter and is very power efficient compared to the IE, which eats up your battery life faster.
Overall they are better than the iPod stock buds (not to hate on them but their last revision was pretty impressive), but any headphones above $20 should be better than the stock (duh). Many people seem to worship these headphones, but I just hope the nominating reader has tested better cans than these.
Let me propose my listmania of best value IEMs for under $100 bucks!
I've had these two years and the sound quality is better than the stock ipod ear buds. But of course it should be. What the sound quality isn't is 5 times better than the $20 stock ear buds. But that would be OK, since sound quality is a relatively subjective thing and others might think they are 10 times better. The reason for the bad review is the product durability. I lost the silicone ear pieces, but got some new ones and was thereafter more carefull. They would still come off in my pocket or elsewhere and came close to getting lost again. But that was still OK. After all, you can always get more. The killer for me is that like many others on this site, the wiring on my ear buds is now disconnecting from the back of the jack. The sound is starting to go. I called the very friendly and easy to reach customer service department who advised that since I was well beyond the one year warranty, I could buy a new pair for 50% off. I asked why I would want to throw more money after bad, so to speak. He politely responded that Bose had made significant improvements in the construction and the new pair would likely hold up better. Well, thanks but no thanks. If they needed that much improvement, send me a new pair!
It's not like I used the ear buds 3 times a week for two years. My use actually was pretty sporadic. I just think they are very poorly made and designed and would recomend that you purchase something else.
Bill
************UPDATE 6/9/2010********************
So three weeks after I wrote this review, I got a call from Bose customer service. The gentleman had read my review and offered to send me a new pair. As he put it, "it sounds as if in your case the wiring did not hold up like it should have." I would have to agree given my limited use. But, of course I had already told customer service that when I called in the first place! At the end of the call, he not so subtley asked if I would consider updating my review and I have now obliged. Not about the product so much, as the impact of a review on Amazon. So hand it to these forums. I complained a bit and was finally heard. Fascinating really.
I received the new headphones. They have improved my original - the silicon pieces do stay on better and the wiring design seems better. Is this a bought and paid for update? I don't think so, but you can reach your own conclusions. Happy listening! - In-ear - Bose In-ear Headphones - Bose In-ear - Earphones'
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