Product review: Bose® QuietComfort® 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones

We purchased Bose® QuietComfort Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones in Bose store in (no-sales-tax) New Hampshire so we can try them out. The prices for Bose headphones we looked at are exactly the same in the store as they are on Amazon. For the bargain hunters the store also sells returned models at a $40 discount. The sales clerk told us that they are inspected and tested to perform as new.

We compared two models Bose QuietComfort 15 and Bose QuietComfort 3. The two models were displayed together (Bose QuietComfort 3 is $50 more expensive). The displayed made us think that they might be similar. Bose QuietComfort 3 are lighter and do not cup the ears as well. As the result they did not perform as well.

The headphones felt very comfortable to both of us, both of us got a nice fit without any adjustments. I did not feel my head was squeezed like with some other headphones. Headset cord is detachable if you want just noise cancellation you can remove the cord. The headphones come with a case to protect headphones while you travel.

WHITE NOISE
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The store has a set up that allows you to test the headphone in a noise that simulates the airplane noise as well as when it plays music or human voice.

Bose QuietComfort 15 - fantastic, totally blocks the sound
Bose QuietComfort 3 - could still hear it somewhat

VOICE
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I have tried Bose QuietComfort five-six years ago to see if I can cut out human voices for a noisy cube farm environment at work. But back then the I could hear the voices better with the headphones on then with the headphone off as the white noise cancelation made them more clear. This time when I put them on and asked my husband to speak to me I heard nothing just saw his lips moving. I actually thought he was playing a practical joke on me, and quickly lifted the headphone to catch him in his prank. But no, he was actually speaking. I ask the sales clerk about this dramatic improvement, and she said that human voices are much harder to block as their range is less predictable but they have made some improvements in the technology. But they still don't advertise the headphones as voice canceling headphones as some voices may not be canceled as well.

Bose QuietComfort 15 - excellent, some voices cannot hear at all, others are very muffled
Bose QuietComfort 3 - could still hear voice

MUSIC
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Bose QuietComfort 15 - phenomenal at all ranges, best sound I ever heard in headphones
Bose QuietComfort 3 - ok, the sound not as rich

BATTERY:
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Bose QuietComfort 15 - standard AAA battery, 35 hours on play on one charge
Bose QuietComfort 3 - rechargeable Li-ion battery, 25 hours of play on one charge

Bose QuietComfort 15 headphones were a clear winner in each category. When I recently asked my husband if he has been using his new headphones a lot, he said he loves them but does not use them while he works as he cannot hear the phone. Funny, the phenomenal sound isolation at work!

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★