Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Review

Overall Rating

Comfortable, great to use. Incredible sound quality. Raelly nice carry bag. Takes standard batteries

Short battery life. Easily breakable plastic on the flexable mounts. Non-existant support. Extremely expensive

I've had the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones for a while now. I originally had a pair of Quiet Comfort 1's - the original of the noise cancelling headphones. I was impresssed with those, but I really did not like the external battery case, which got in the way. I was really looking forward to the "2" series, as the battery was now integral to the headphones. A really nice design.

They are very comfortable, but they do get a bit sticky if you wear them a long time. They are good headphones, but considering they cost over 250 quid, they should be.

I was a bit disappointed with the noise cancelling technology, as I didn't realise that they only cancel out constant background noise thats at a specific frequency range - such as an aircraft engine. Don't expect it to be dead quiet when you wear them! Although the design itself (without the electronic system) is pretty sound proof anyway, so its not a real big deal.

That said, the sound quality is simply fantastic. The best headphones I have ever used. They have an integral amplifier too - a nice hidden switch on the input plug. There's only 2 settings, but it helps when you are using a quiet sound source.

But it's not a perfect world. There are some real down points.

One annoying thing is having to constantly replace the battery. I use rechargables, and one battery lasts about 4 hours. 8 if you use non-rechargables. Sounds like a long time, since you wouldn't use them for that long. Unless you are on a 20 hour flight to Australia, that is. But that's not the issue. I've lost count of the number of times I've started to use the headphones, then the warning light starts to flash - and the sound will suddenly stop - after you have just settled in on the couch for a long night in. Then you lose 5 or 10 minutes trying to find a spare (and fully charged) AAA battery. On the bright side, it takes the standard AAA's so it's not like some headphones which either have the battery built in (in which case you have to charge the whole unit), or its a proprietry type of battery. The Bose's take standard batteries, so at a pinch you can raid the TV remote control for a spare if you really don't want to get up!!

The joint that connects the headphone cups to the headband is designed to swivel. This is so it folds flat, to fit into the special carry case. The joint is plastic, similar to the plastic used in laptop design. That's fine, but the joint is put under a lot of stress with normal use. After about a year of light use, the left joint fell apart, breaking at some key points.

Now, I was worried about this possibility when I first got them, when I saw the thin plastic used by Bose. So as a result I was extra careful, always putting them away and being careful putting them on and off. It made no difference.

They were out of warranty, so I repaired them using a sheet of metal cut and bent to shape to replace the broken plastic, plus some strong black tape, and some strong glue. The repair has so far held. As a precaution, I also straightened the right hand side in a similar way to the left's repair. That has also held. They work fine, but they don't look as nice as they used to. The black tape blends in so that they look ok from a distance, but it's heart breaking for this to happen to my favourite 300 quid headphones. And I wouldn't wear them on an aeroplane anymore - which ironically is what they were designed for.

Now, about 2 months ago I wrote to Bose to complain about the bad design and cheap plastic they used. I included photos of the joint before and after repair. I have not received any reply at all.

So, in summary - Great headphones for sound quality and looks. But expect no support from Bose. And if you aren't too fussy about how they look, I would recommend re-inforcing the plastic joints with black tape if you want them to last.

Members' Comments oneustonr's Review

• Bosedoff on 11th May 2006

  I agree with this reviewer. I tested the headphones in the Bose shop. The earmuffs were a very good and comfortable fit and cut out a lot of noise. When I switched on the noise cancellation switch it cut out more noise but not all of it. So the low tech stuff worked well but the high tech bit was disappointing. Save your money. Buy a good quality set with muffs which surround and seal off your ears well and forget the high tech stuff

• DELTAGOLF on 13th Dec 2006

  Totally accurate review. I bought a pair of Quiet Comfort 2 headphones two years ago, and I was impressed with the superb sound quality. The massive let down comes in the ergonomics, and the cheap and imbecilic design of the joints that hold the headphones together. Similarly to the reviewer, mine broke after 8 - 9 months. I phoned BOSE up, and they sent me a brand new pair straight away. That appeased me. However, 9 months later, my new pair broke at exactly the same spot. Avoid buying them, unless you have tons of money to burn, and don't mind buying a new pair every year.