17 out of 17 people found this review helpful.
WHERE'S THE HIGHS???, muddy lows, COME ON BOSE!!!!
Date of Review: Aug 24, 2006
The Bottom Line: the quietcomfort 2 is less expensive, and a superior product. I now own the QC2
I just returned my Quietcomfort 3 headset back to Bose. I primarily use a Stax SR-001 MKII in ear electrostatic headset (and as of late a QuietComfort 2) for at home / college use. I noticed some reviews for the QC3, and was intrigued by the on ear design, a departure for Bose's headset design. Recently, Bose also released an on-ear non-noise cancelling headset. A brief listening session seemed to reveal that the issue that I had with the highs was a non issue with those, but couldnt judge with the bass, as my music selection was bassy.
Those that know me know that I am usually the last person to buy a Bose product since I have learned a few things, but the recent purchase of the Companion 3 PC speaker system and the surprisingly positive experience that I have had with
it led me to give Bose another go.
I have usually been pleased with their headsets and pc speaker systems, but remain to be impressed with the acoustimass based HT systems.
NOW.... ON TO THE REVIEW...
At first I found the QC3 to be VERY muddy in the bass, like a couple of professional reviewers have stated. Everything seemed to be overblown, and unnaturally loud. Listening to a deep male vocalist, such as Michael Buble confirmed this, as his voice was presented quite chesty and boomy.
Midrange was present, but sounded slightly swimmy when compared to my stax headset. I half expected it to sound this way, but for the price (which was comparable to my stax) this was unacceptable.
The extreme disappointment was in the high frequency reproduction. First, the HF seemed to be one of the greatest strengths, being really lax in its presentation, or so it appeared to be. But, this was due to the total lack of high frequencies, and became more and more aparrent the more I listened. The reason for this lack of HF information is the following...
- bose designed the headset with the noise cancelling microphone bracket right in front of the speaker, which effectively blocks off almost the entire speaker to the ear. All you hear is bass and midrange, with a smidgen of HF material.
- incidently, the QC2 (which I now own) is designed this way too, but the speaker and mic are far enough away from the ears and deep enough in the earcups to allow the highs to propagate around the bracket properly. This negates the severe loss of HF information as in the QC3, which is really severe in comparison with the QC2. Some reviewers state that it is barely noticible. To me, the highs are about as good as a cheap stock stereo in the average car, then switching over to a nice home system. This is not acceptible when the QC2 is LESS expensive.
In flight, the noise cancellation feature works wonderfully. Unfortunatly the QC2 works just as swell at it, and costs less.
oh, I almost forgot. MAN is it comfortable!
I would reccomend looking at other options. I feel that Bose has a competitor in its own ranks here with its own QC2.
The sound did not improve markedly during the break in period to warrent my keeping the headset. I moved down
the line to the QC2, which has significantly better sound, at a savings.
