Bose In-Ear Headphones mini-review

Fairly recently, I set out on a mission to get a pair of decent sounding headphones. These new ones were going to be in the price range of $50-$100, and they were going to replace my ratty old Apple earbuds. After trying out a $50 Sony pair and returning them, I settled on the $100 Bose In-ear headphones. Read on for a mini-review.

For anyone interested, the Sony pair were the MDR-EX71SLAs. The reason for my return was that on those earbuds, the left side was shorter (by a lot) than the right and that made them a pain to use. Other than that, they were fine, I just couldn’t stand them personally.

On to the Bose In-Ear Headphones. These are relatively new from Bose. Unlike the QuietComforts, these actually let a bit of outside noise in. This is actually better if you’re someone who wears your headphones out in public, as you’ll actually hear that bus coming straight towards you, giving you time to swerve out of the way. And just because they let some noise in doesn’t mean they’re bad. Before, with my old buds, I had to really crank of the volume on my iPod to be able to listen on the plane, with these, I just keep it at a reasonable volume and can hear just fine.

With the headphones, you get 3 different silicone earbuds (S, M, and L) that fit onto the plastic piece of the headphone. Here’s where my only complaint is, these buds seem to fall off a lot more than they should. In fact, I’ve already lost one of my buds, but I just swapped it out with a different sized one. It’s not a major flaw, and supposedly Bose is coming out with a “fix”, in this case new silicone inserts, that will be made available free of charge to all current owners (source). Clearly, with headphones, the most important thing is sound quality.

While I’m no audiophile, I can tell you that I heard a definite improvement over my old Apple buds. Other than that, they’re just nice looking headphones and I couldn’t be happier with them. You can find them online, at many retail stores, including Bose and Apple stores for $100.

Oh, I wanted to give it a rating: 4/5, mainly because of my complaint regarding the silicone buds falling out.

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5 Comments on “Bose In-Ear Headphones mini-review”

Arthur Says:

I use the Sony headphones and find the short/long lengths of each headphone to be very practical. I’m not sure if many know the reason they are made this way, but I think it is so that you can stick the short length in one ear then run the long one behind the neck so that when you need to remove the headphones quickly they will rest around your neck.

Mike Says:

I found that out after I returned them, but, either way, that’s just not how I wanted to use them. Kind of a bummer, as they were nice headphones other than that.

Timq Says:

The reason they make one side shorter, is so that you can have the cable go around the back of your neck. So the cable goes from your MP3 player, up to your neck line, then splits off to your left ear, the other piece goes around the back of your neck to the right ear. Really quite good actually, doesn’t get in your way i find.

Mario Says:

Hey, Mike in audio gadgets! While you may not be an audiophile, you could still offer up a review that is useful to us. How about telling us if the bass is richer than your iPod earbuds OR compare/contrast to the Sony sound quality? Do you have to turn up the volume to get a rich bass and clear sound or can you hear the music’s richness at lower volume levels? Spending a $100 bucks on a pair of buds just because you didn’t like the way the Sony one’s hung, is not a useful review at all. You’re picky but about the wrong qualities.
Cheers.

KashNash Says:

I had a pair of the Sonys and was very happy with the quality of the sound.. plus I could wear them when travelling on the tube and the noise wouldnt bother anyone else.. admittedly wearing these and replying to emails on my blackberry has meant that i’ve turned around after crossing the road to see cars stopped and people shouting angrily at me… OK.. I forgot the road wasnt one-way.. oops.. people dont seem quite so angry when you cant hear them..

Anyway.. i got my ipod and sony headphones stolen, so got a new ipod and decided to get the bose in ear headphones.. on the basis that they would give me the ultimate listening experience.. which to me means it should be the equivalent to standing next to the speakers at a club.. but crystal clear..

Ive tried all 3 sized earbuds and the left one is constantly just falling out of my ear.. its so f**kin annoying. Also, when the train is on the move fully, I have to turn my ipod up almost full volume to hear the music, then turn it down again once the tube is in a station.

I opted for the bose over the Sonys as every time I lose a Sony earbud, I have to order a new pair of buds and they ar £10 a pair.

I am definitely selling my Bose in-ear headphones and buying the Sonys again

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