Digital Trends

Bose QuietComfort 2 January 24th, 2005 | by Brandon King

Introduction

Bose: You either love them or hate them. Audiophiles will complain that their speakers perform poorly in particular music tests, that they're overpriced for their abilities and just the product of an excellent marketing machine. Average consumers generally drool over Bose products for their everyday ease of use, design, and what in reality is just above average performance. Sounds like a job for Designtechnica!

Features and Design

While some headphones, like the Shure E series and Etymotic canalphones, use passive noise reduction (they physically block from reaching the eardrum), the QuietComfort uses a more comfortable active noise canceling technology. A small microphone is placed on the outside of each earpiece. Circuitry then generates a waveform inverse to the one coming through the microphone, causing destructive interference — eliminating the perception of the sound. This adds complexity to the production of the headphones, which you can bet is passed on to the consumer equaling a higher price. The main benefit of active technology versus passive is the ability to build it into an over the ear headphone without adding the bulk needed to block external noise, which can also effect sound reproduction. On the down side, the headphone has to draw more power and only cancel background noise — not voices.

Externally, the QuietComfort 2's are no head turners, but they are designed with the 30+ year old person in mind who does not want to look like roaming DJs or technology obsessed kids. The power switch is located on the right earpiece, and there is a single removable cord running to the left earpiece that conceals the noise canceling switch. The headphones require a single AAA battery to operate. The noise canceling switch can be set for Hi and Lo levels of volume while listening to music. Note that this does not increase or decrease the noise canceling ability, it only boosts the volume. The high setting draws additional power from the device, so it drains the battery faster than the low setting. When the cord is removed, the headphones can be used for just noise canceling. The ear cups are very comfortable — possibly the most comfortable we've tried.

Accessories packaged in with the headphones include a case (they don't collapse, but twist to minimize space), 5' extension cord, dual headphone plug adapter, ¼” stereo adapter, and a free Bose CD player (currently their special offer).

The QuietComfort 2 headphones use the same Triport technology as their Triport headphones, which they claim offers better low frequency response. When on the low setting, we found the device somewhat hard to drive with an iRiver MP3 player or Apple iPod. Also, to hear anything played through the headphones, they must be switched on. The only way to turn off the noise canceling is to carry around a dead battery; the headphones will not operate unless a battery is physically installed — with or without power. Part of this is probably due to the TriPort technology requiring the power to accurately present sound.

On design, convenience, and comfort the QC2's get high marks. They can be worn for hours, untethered for non-entertainment use, and the single cord design is ideal for airplanes. Just about the only annoyance is the inability to use them without eating up batteries.