First statement I want to make is please disregard any negative comments from people concerning that these don't give a good seal, don't block out noise, aren't noise isolating, etc. They aren't meant to and never claimed to.
So, for people like me, who do not want outside noise blocked out, do not want to stick anything inside their ear canal, but do want good quality sound and unmatched comfort, then these are the headphones for you. And I do mean, "unmatched comfort" for in ear bud style phones....and I would dare say also an unmatched secure fit for working out, running, etc with the new design. Bose® MIE2 mobile headset
I've been searching for the perfect set of headphones for years. I've never been into the earbud style because they always fall out of my ears. However, I've always liked them because my ears weren't covered. I stuck to the on ear style while searching for the perfect buds. These have never fallen out of my ears, regardless of what I was doing. Bench press- they stayed in, hang cleans(this is a vigorous move)- they stayed in, sprints and distance runs- they stayed, these buds far exceeded my expectations. The only time they came out of my ear was when I took them out. I tried pulling on them and they stayed in. I literally forgot they were in my ears when I was on a five hour flight! The sound quality is not as impressive for the price. They still sound way better than any other head sets I've used. But, for over [...] bucks I expected them to sound close to the Bose On-Ear. Phone calls come in extremely crispy too! My people said they couldn't tell that I was using a headset. They let in some outside noise which is a plus for me because I like to be aware of my surroundings. Hands-down, these are the best ear phones I've ever had.
I use my Iphone quite a bit, both for walking and cycling. I searched high and low for months to find a better set than the standard headphones that Apple provides. I tried the Dr. Dre headphones, the upgraded Apple in-ear headphones, and another pair of sports headphones. I returned every one of them as the sound was no better than the standard Apple headphones. I decided to give Bose a shot. They are the best ear buds I have ever heard. First of all, they fit in your ear very well. It doesn't hurt at all and they don't fall out, even during vigorous exercise. Best of all, they sound great including powerful bass. Most headphones have no bass. This one approaches the base in full headphones. Also, the price is reasonable given the sound and fit quality. You won't be disappointed in these. And no, I don't work for Bose :)
A brief history of my iPod/iPhone headphones:
1. Original Apple - These have always sucked. I use them only if no alternative is available.
2. Original Bose in-ear - Broke in six months, $100 down the tube.
3. Various Sony in-ear - All good, with nice sound and well-designed cases. However, as with other in-ear products they eventually irritated my ear. Plus I wanted a mic.
4. Upgraded Apple in-ear - Better than the original, but not better sound than the Sony ones for twice the price. The microphone was helpful and I could use them with a motorcycle helmet. Anyway, these broke after three months of light use.
5. Bose MIE2 - Bought to replace the broken Apple ones. I wanted a mic, so decided to try these. The sound is the best of all the above, and they are by far the most comfortable. The earpiece design seems to allow them to stay in my ear without actually irritating it.
Note to Bose: The packaging is horrendous; please worry less about the few shoplifters and more about your real customers. Also, the black / white cord is really ugly - I want the cord to be hidden, not an advertisement.
So, five stars overall, but minus one star for packaging and ugly cord.
EDIT: SOME PEOPLE HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING THAT THE WIRE DOES NOT FEATURE VOLUME/FAST FORWARD/REWIND CONTROLS. I SAID THIS MYSELF IN THE REVIEW. THE HEADPHONES CAN IN FACT DO THIS (Tested on iPhone and iPod Touch). I HAVE WRITTEN THE CONTROLS BELOW:
- Next Track: Press ANSWER Button Twice.
- Previous Track: Press ANSWER Button Three Times.
- Fast Forward: Press ANSWER Button ONCE THEN QUICKLY HOLD BUTTON DOWN to Fast Forward.
- Rewind: Press ANSWER Button TWICE THEN QUICKLY HOLD BUTTON DOWN to Rewind.
- Voice Control (iPHONE/iTOUCH ONLY): Hold ANSWER Button Down, THEN SPEAK INTO MIC.
- Pause: Press ANSWER Button Once. Press Again to Play.
- Volume Controls: VOLUME CONTROLS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE MIE2i HEADSET, PRICED AT THE SAME VALUE OF $129.95. Bose®MIE2i mobile headset
I have to say I was slightly sceptical when purchasing these earphones. First of all there was the fact that I had owned the previous generation IE's and have to say I found them uncomfortable (with the tips always coming off or the earphones falling out when I was exercising), and they were overpriced for the sound quality and I was disappointed. In fact this was summed up when a few weeks ago the left earphone stopped working due to poor construction. So I decided to have a look at the new IE2 series and have to say from the outset I was very impressed. It really does seem like Bose has fixed everything wrong with the original IE's to create a truly great pair of earphones. The StayHear tips really do work as opposed to the faulty lanyard with the original series. This means the earphones double up for use in the gym or even running. The sound quality is remarkable when compared to the standard buds you get with mp3 players (apple in particular), it really does make you want to listen to your music all over again simply to hear things you could not in the past. Bose have the audio circuitry and brand new speakers on the exterior of the earphone to help achieve this audio quality. The mobile set is extremely useful as you can press it down to get voice control up on iPhone and double press to change tracks and use the mic to answer calls. One slightly annoying thing was that no volume rocker was attached but this is not really a problem more an inconvenience. Of course with every great thing there is the downside and here it seems to be the price. Getting these earphones will set you back $130 ($100 for the IE2's) as opposed to the $20-40 you would pay for a cheap pair of earphones. However all things considered I would really give them a try, of course I found it difficult to justify spending that amount on earphones at first but after trying them I was hooked. If you buy from Bose direct you even get a free 30 day trial with free return postage if you don't like them. They really are something special and do come with a 1 year guarantee (2 in europe for some reason). You will literally not want to take them off when you try them on and compared to some of Bose's other high end noise cancelling headphones which cost $300+ they are reasonably priced for quality. Of course don't go expecting the sort of quality you would get from QC15's etc. but what you do get is quite special indeed. - Bose - Bose In-ear - Iphone - Earphones'
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