5 ms·

Bose hardware quality is rather low and, and their sound quality is sub-par, while forcing you to pay the Bose brand tax, riding the corpse of Amar around

Bose hardware quality is rather low and, and their sound quality is sub-par, while forcing you to pay the Bose brand tax, riding the corpse of Amar around for profit. I'd avoid, even if they happened to do this.

makach 9mo ago
Some of their high priced noise cancelling headphones have excellent quality. I purchased the QC-25 ages ago, and when it stopped working I reached out to support, this was beyond their 3y warranty, provided serial number and they sent me a new QC-35 no questions asked replacement unit. I am very happy with my QC-35 headphones. They are probably 5y+ now and they go with me everywhere. I think it is unfair to state their hw quality is low. It is much better than low.
- maximilianthe1 9mo ago
  In current dynamic world product quality of a company 'today' vs '5y+ ago' may drastically change. Sadly, usually to the bad side
  - stewarts 9mo ago
    Bose's QC/QC Ultra lines continue to receive praise for comfort, durability, sound quality, noise cancellation, etc. They make pretty great consumer quality headphones. Until quite recently, they were widely one of if not the most recommended wireless headphones. The new Sennheiser's that come with a USB-C dongle might have finally stepped past what Bose has been delivering, but at a higher price.
    - wincy 9mo ago
      My wife normally isn’t one to splurge but after her Bose headphones died, we tried a couple other brands, returned them, and went with the QC-35 II despite them being more expensive. The “comfort” part is key, she’s on the spectrum and has a hard time with headphones irritating her, and these are hands down the most comfortable. We also like the Bose soundbar as it has a mode that makes dialogue more intelligible on our TV.
    - bornfreddy 9mo ago
      I had the new QC Ultra and gave it away. The sound was mediocre at best and you can't turn NC off - a dealbreaker for me (no, passthru is not the same as off). Hope it helps someone make my mistake aa they are quite pricey. Now if I could change the firmware to turn NC off, that would be something entirely different...
      - duskdozer 9mo ago
        Is it auto-adjusted NC? I'm thinking of the Sony equivalents that reduce or increase the strength of the NC depending on the environment, but do not allow you to just choose the strength.
    - sleepybrett 9mo ago
      I love my QCII earbuds, comfort and noise cancellation blow the airpodpro3's out of the water. But sadly the new hearing aid features of the airpodpros are very handy to me, so I have both. I wear the QC2's when I'm at home alone, and the app3s when I'm out and about and expect to have to have some conversations. My ears aren't so bad yet that I need hearing aids, but they are bad enough that I'm forced to lean in more than I used to. Aging is the worst.
Teckla 9mo ago
My experience is the opposite: Bose hardware and sound quality seems excellent to me. This may be subjective. Bose might sound good to some people's ears and less good to other people's ears.
- kiney 9mo ago
  I don't know about Bose. But sound quality in general is absolutely objectively measurable.
  - EvanAnderson 9mo ago
    There's arguably a subjective quality to sound enjoyment, though. The fidelity of reproduction can be measured, but I'd argue there's personal preference in the types of artifacts generated by inaccuracies in reproduction.
    - bombcar 9mo ago
      There's really two camps - "I like what I hears" and "this is as close to in-studio monitors as you can get". There's an argument for both, but frankly, if studio monitor setups don't sound "as good" why bother?
  - lelanthran 9mo ago
    > But sound quality in general is absolutely objectively measurable. Sound quality is not the same as music quality. To be more specific, Sound Reproduction Fidelity is not the same as Pleasant Music To be even more specific, Signal Reproduction is not the same as "Pleasant Sounds* The goal of music is not always high fidelity of reproduction; if it were, over-driven valve amps would never have been a thing. The only thing objective in this context is signal reproduction, which is not the highest concern for music production.
    - jrajav 9mo ago
      Signal reproduction matters quite a bit more for music production than it does for music listening and enjoyment. That's why producers and engineers look for 'monitors', rather than hi-fi speakers. Hi-fi speakers, tube amps, and other accessories generally "degrade" the sound with added harmonics and natural smile EQs. That's what makes them sound more pleasing. (I'm not disagreeing with you, just adding more color.)
10729287 9mo ago
Typical so called audiophile stance here. I have numerous headphones (including high ends ones) and always been happy with my Bose. Sound is great and gently enhanced for listening enjoyment, whatever snobs could say about it, and the hardware is really nice. My Bose SoundSport earbuds are the best fit I ever had in 30+ years of wearing earbuds and my QC35 never failed on me. That move from them adds to all the great things I can say about this brand.
senshan 9mo ago
Please suggest better alternatives
- bee_rider 9mo ago
  If you were going to consider Bose, you should at least take a look at Sennheiser. They are similar in a “can’t really go too wrong” sense. Nice build quality, generally pretty flat and analytical usually. They are such a standard response that presumably a real audiophile will come along to point out that their favorite model is much better, than a particular well known Sennheiser model, but as far as one can say in brand terms they are solid.
  - dundundundun 9mo ago
    I loathe analytical sound. It destroys all listening pleasure for me. Give me nice warm coloured midtones and I'm happy!
  - DiabloD3 9mo ago
    Sennheiser sold out to a Chinese factory, and recently even stopped producing their flagship stuff in-house. They're even shutting their "cheap" Irish factory down (where modern HD650s and HD660Ss were made). All the Chinese-made Sennheiser stuff has awful QA.
- drnick1 9mo ago
  Beyerdynamic DT1990s run circles around consumer-grade stuff.
  - DiabloD3 9mo ago
    Beyerdynamic announced earlier last year they're finally exiting pro and flagship tier stuff, and selling out to a Chinese equity firm. Their build quality is exceptional, and they're built like tanks. The only problem, imo, is the Beyer house sound is very shouty and fatiguing, especially with the "990" versions of the product line over the years. Disclaimer: I owned a Beyer DT880/600ohm (the neutral one of the 770/880/990 siblings), paired with an amp that could properly handle it. Its one of the few headphones I sold and did not retain in my collection, it deserved someone that could love it. The new Tesla-based drivers are better (such as that 1990), but still retain that Beyer sound.
aethrum 9mo ago
I'm an audiophile and very happy with one of their portable speakers. I wouldn't buy Bose monitors, though
cjk 9mo ago
If you're talking about their headphones, I agree they _feel_ cheaply-made, but they are by no means low-quality. When you make headphones with premium materials, they get heavy, and that makes them uncomfortable/painful to wear. Speaking from prior experience. It's an incredibly delicate balancing act. Bose optimizes for comfort, which is important for e.g. long plane rides.

makach 9mo ago

Some of their high priced noise cancelling headphones have excellent quality. I purchased the QC-25 ages ago, and when it stopped working I reached out to support, this was beyond their 3y warranty, provided serial number and they sent me a new QC-35 no questions asked replacement unit. I am very happy with my QC-35 headphones. They are probably 5y+ now and they go with me everywhere. I think it is unfair to state their hw quality is low. It is much better than low.

maximilianthe1 9mo ago
In current dynamic world product quality of a company 'today' vs '5y+ ago' may drastically change. Sadly, usually to the bad side
- stewarts 9mo ago
  Bose's QC/QC Ultra lines continue to receive praise for comfort, durability, sound quality, noise cancellation, etc. They make pretty great consumer quality headphones. Until quite recently, they were widely one of if not the most recommended wireless headphones. The new Sennheiser's that come with a USB-C dongle might have finally stepped past what Bose has been delivering, but at a higher price.
  - wincy 9mo ago
    My wife normally isn’t one to splurge but after her Bose headphones died, we tried a couple other brands, returned them, and went with the QC-35 II despite them being more expensive. The “comfort” part is key, she’s on the spectrum and has a hard time with headphones irritating her, and these are hands down the most comfortable. We also like the Bose soundbar as it has a mode that makes dialogue more intelligible on our TV.
  - bornfreddy 9mo ago
    I had the new QC Ultra and gave it away. The sound was mediocre at best and you can't turn NC off - a dealbreaker for me (no, passthru is not the same as off). Hope it helps someone make my mistake aa they are quite pricey. Now if I could change the firmware to turn NC off, that would be something entirely different...
    - duskdozer 9mo ago
      Is it auto-adjusted NC? I'm thinking of the Sony equivalents that reduce or increase the strength of the NC depending on the environment, but do not allow you to just choose the strength.
  - sleepybrett 9mo ago
    I love my QCII earbuds, comfort and noise cancellation blow the airpodpro3's out of the water. But sadly the new hearing aid features of the airpodpros are very handy to me, so I have both. I wear the QC2's when I'm at home alone, and the app3s when I'm out and about and expect to have to have some conversations. My ears aren't so bad yet that I need hearing aids, but they are bad enough that I'm forced to lean in more than I used to. Aging is the worst.

Teckla 9mo ago

My experience is the opposite: Bose hardware and sound quality seems excellent to me. This may be subjective. Bose might sound good to some people's ears and less good to other people's ears.

kiney 9mo ago
I don't know about Bose. But sound quality in general is absolutely objectively measurable.
- EvanAnderson 9mo ago
  There's arguably a subjective quality to sound enjoyment, though. The fidelity of reproduction can be measured, but I'd argue there's personal preference in the types of artifacts generated by inaccuracies in reproduction.
  - bombcar 9mo ago
    There's really two camps - "I like what I hears" and "this is as close to in-studio monitors as you can get". There's an argument for both, but frankly, if studio monitor setups don't sound "as good" why bother?
- lelanthran 9mo ago
  > But sound quality in general is absolutely objectively measurable. Sound quality is not the same as music quality. To be more specific, Sound Reproduction Fidelity is not the same as Pleasant Music To be even more specific, Signal Reproduction is not the same as "Pleasant Sounds* The goal of music is not always high fidelity of reproduction; if it were, over-driven valve amps would never have been a thing. The only thing objective in this context is signal reproduction, which is not the highest concern for music production.
  - jrajav 9mo ago
    Signal reproduction matters quite a bit more for music production than it does for music listening and enjoyment. That's why producers and engineers look for 'monitors', rather than hi-fi speakers. Hi-fi speakers, tube amps, and other accessories generally "degrade" the sound with added harmonics and natural smile EQs. That's what makes them sound more pleasing. (I'm not disagreeing with you, just adding more color.)

10729287 9mo ago

Typical so called audiophile stance here. I have numerous headphones (including high ends ones) and always been happy with my Bose. Sound is great and gently enhanced for listening enjoyment, whatever snobs could say about it, and the hardware is really nice. My Bose SoundSport earbuds are the best fit I ever had in 30+ years of wearing earbuds and my QC35 never failed on me. That move from them adds to all the great things I can say about this brand.

senshan 9mo ago

Please suggest better alternatives

bee_rider 9mo ago
If you were going to consider Bose, you should at least take a look at Sennheiser. They are similar in a “can’t really go too wrong” sense. Nice build quality, generally pretty flat and analytical usually. They are such a standard response that presumably a real audiophile will come along to point out that their favorite model is much better, than a particular well known Sennheiser model, but as far as one can say in brand terms they are solid.
- dundundundun 9mo ago
  I loathe analytical sound. It destroys all listening pleasure for me. Give me nice warm coloured midtones and I'm happy!
- DiabloD3 9mo ago
  Sennheiser sold out to a Chinese factory, and recently even stopped producing their flagship stuff in-house. They're even shutting their "cheap" Irish factory down (where modern HD650s and HD660Ss were made). All the Chinese-made Sennheiser stuff has awful QA.
drnick1 9mo ago
Beyerdynamic DT1990s run circles around consumer-grade stuff.
- DiabloD3 9mo ago
  Beyerdynamic announced earlier last year they're finally exiting pro and flagship tier stuff, and selling out to a Chinese equity firm. Their build quality is exceptional, and they're built like tanks. The only problem, imo, is the Beyer house sound is very shouty and fatiguing, especially with the "990" versions of the product line over the years. Disclaimer: I owned a Beyer DT880/600ohm (the neutral one of the 770/880/990 siblings), paired with an amp that could properly handle it. Its one of the few headphones I sold and did not retain in my collection, it deserved someone that could love it. The new Tesla-based drivers are better (such as that 1990), but still retain that Beyer sound.

aethrum 9mo ago

I'm an audiophile and very happy with one of their portable speakers. I wouldn't buy Bose monitors, though

cjk 9mo ago

If you're talking about their headphones, I agree they _feel_ cheaply-made, but they are by no means low-quality. When you make headphones with premium materials, they get heavy, and that makes them uncomfortable/painful to wear. Speaking from prior experience. It's an incredibly delicate balancing act. Bose optimizes for comfort, which is important for e.g. long plane rides.