Digital Trends

Bose TriPort February 26th, 2006 | by Rami Kassab

Features and Design

The Bose Triport weighs a mere 5 ounces making it both easy to carry and comfortable to wear. The padding placed around the speakers enable you to wear the headphones hour upon hour without a feeling of discomfort, which isn't typical of many over-the-ear headphones. A drawstring carrying bag is provided with the package. It fits the headphones well and makes them easy to carry but headphones are, by nature, much bulkier than in-the-ear headphones. This makes the Bose Triport difficult to throw in a school bag or briefcase without compromising a lot of space or worrying about them breaking.

The overall design of the headphones is very ergonomic but not revolutionary, in fact, it's quite simple... but attractive; however, the TriPort's employ design features designed to improve your listening experience. For starters, these headphones are designed to direct sound into your ears instead of onto your ears (given they are worn correctly). The three drivers inside of the headphones are angled to align with your ears providing more natural sound delivery. This isn't typical of most over-the-ear headphones. In addition, the cushioning on each ear cup encircles your entire ear providing great insulation from exterior sounds even without active noise reduction.

Nonetheless, the swivel clips holding the cups in place feel cheap and, per various online user reviews, have been one of the unfortunate points of failure for the TriPorts. If enough pressure is applied, the cups will break off. In addition, the metal strips inside of the plastic adjustment strips have been known to dig into their plastic encasing and, after enough wear and tear, eventually cause the plastic encasing to split in two. Luckily, Bose will stand by its product and has no problem replacing your headphones under warranty should it come to that.

The headphone wiring is conveniently sized at 6 feet. In addition, a 5 foot extension cable is provided but not necessary for most uses. Bose also provides a ¼ inch stereo phone adapter. A simple drawstring carrying bag is included to house the headphones and its accessories. Our only reserve as far as the wiring goes is that it seems a bit thin when compared to other headphones of its class. We found the speaker wiring to abnormally thin for a product costing over $100 dollars.

The Bose Triport is among the most comfortable headphones we've reviewed. Their design is engineered to maximize the sound direction and minimize exterior sound interference. Nonetheless, certain crucial aspects of the headphone housing itself have been neglected leaving further room for improvement in durability. Let's see how the Bose Triport headphones behave with sound.

The Bose Package