I read many reviews and did much research before finally making my decision to purchase the Bose QuietComfort 15’s. Most of the reviews I read were very positive and everyone said that despite the steep price, they were definitely a good buy. Of course, reading reviews on headphones is difficult because you cannot actually “listen” to them. Of all the noise cancelling headphones, these are some of the most expensive, running in at $299 on Amazon.
I placed my order and of course, I had very high hopes. The box arrived from Amazon in perfect condition and came with some warranty information and a instruction manual. These headphones run on one triple A battery which is not included. These headphones do not require an amp and have a fairly low impedance so they should sound very nice on your iPod or computer’s native sound card.
Before I say anything else, these headphones are extremely comfortable. Whenever you have them on your head, you can almost forget that you’re even wearing them after a while. When you turn on the headphones by moving the switch over on the side of the headphones, you notice some extreme noise reduction. One thing that I think can be misleading is “noise cancelling.” These headphones do not cancel out everything, nor have I ever heard a pair of headphones that has, but they do significantly reduce the amount. A good example would if you were on an airliner. They would greatly reduce the lower frequencies, like that low rumble or droning sound that you tend to get. The headphones do reduce higher frequencies, but not as much. If someone is talking right next to you, it will be muffled, but you will hear it unless you have your volume up. One thing I should mention is that you must have the headphones turned on in order to hear sound. I found this to be a little annoying at first because I would like to listen to music sometimes without the noise cancellation, but I got used to it quickly.
Coming from an audiophile, these headphones sound very good. Some people don’t like how noise cancelling headphones can alter certain frequencies, exaggerating and reducing others. That being said, I would not use these headphones for mixing or mastering purposes, but they still sound amazing to the human ear. These are listening headphones and they excel greatly for that purpose. I’ve had these headphones for a little over two months now and they are still running on the original triple A battery with no reduction in quality. If you are a student or a frequent traveler, I would highly recommend these headphones. I use mine all the time for study sessions when I want to block out the rest of the world.
