Bose QuietComfort 25 Headphones

Product Description

QuietComfort 25 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones are the best performing around ear headphones from Bose. They give you crisp, powerful sound and quiet that lets you hear your music better. Bose advances their industry leading headphones with the latest proprietary Bose Active EQ and TriPort technology, giving the music you love deep, clear sound. At the same time, Bose noise cancelling technology monitors the noise around you and cancels it out, helping you focus on what you want to hear whether it’s your music, your calls or simply peace and quiet. With a distinctive design and two color options to match your style, these headphones look as good as they sound. They’re also comfortable, durably made and easy to stow, with earcups that pivot to fit in a small carrying case. Customized for Apple devices. Included: QuietComfort 25 headphones; 56 inch QC25 inline remote and microphone cable; airline adapter; carrying case; AAA battery.

Features

• Apple compatible devices Applies to: QC 25 noise cancelling headphones Apple devices The remote and mic are compatible with the following Apple devices: iPhone 3GS or later iPad iPod touch 2nd generation or later iPod classic 120GB, 160GB iPod nano 4th generation or later
• Deep, powerful sound for the music you love
• Lightweight, comfortable around ear fit you can wear all day long
• Control your music and calls on Apple devices with inline mic/remote

Top Reviews

Right side disconects/breaks after moderate use
by Merle Slaggard (1 out of 5 stars)
August 7, 2016

Great sound, but broke a little after a year of light use. There's a design flaw in which the hinge of the right ear causes the wire to disconnect, apparently from the act of bending and unbending the phones to fit in the case. I've attempted to put this review up in the past, and it's been rejected for some reason. But customers should know that, unless you treat these headphones very delicately or not at all, some issue with the right ear may come up.
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Bose: The best for Noise Canceling Headphones, while they work.
by NK (1 out of 5 stars)
October 28, 2016

I now have purchased, two of these Bose QuietComfort 25, and they are the best ever headphones for noise canceling.......while they worked! (I rarely write reviews for anything).

I travel 2-4 times a week on a plane, and I never hear the engine or baby noise. Both pairs died at 12 months, at about the time of the warranty expiration date. The planned obsolescence for failure, in my opinion, to stop at exactly 12 months, is unfortunate. The warranty is not applicable here, unless bought directly through Bose and not Amazon (found that out the hard way of emails).

I love Bose, but the gauge of wire used for the internal connection (too thin or loosely soldered), or the planned obsolescence from Bose, is insufficient to last for anyone, that actually uses the headphones on a regular basis.

BTW: I own JBL, Sennheiser, Phiaton headphones, as well. Bose, when working are the best noise canceling of the 4 headphones I own....but will not last!!!

Please Bose, fix this engineering or accounting problem, for these potentially great headphones.

Thank you.

NK
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Not up to Bose standards.
by Terrance V. Lindoerfer (1 out of 5 stars)
January 26, 2016

When I first used these headphones I was thrilled. They were very comfortable and the noise cancelling was the absolute best. I was very happy and looking forward to the next flight about a month later. My wife had a set from another manufacturer but these were so superior I was going to buy her a pair as well. When I put them on for the second flight however, the on-off switch was intermittent and the right earphone was dead. I changed to a new battery and tried a different set of phones to see if the connection was at fault. Unfortunately after trying everything I had to conclude that it was my brand new $300.00 headphones that were at fault. They were always kept in their (very nice) case and never banged around or abused. I might have thought this pair was just a "lemon" but too many others have run into these sorts of hardware problems. This is not an acceptable failure rate for a $300.00 pair of earphones from a company with Bose's reputation. I would not buy them again and would advise that if you choose to do so, you might get lucky but you should be aware that it is a crap shoot.
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DON'T BUY. BREAKS OFTEN.
by Michael Li (1 out of 5 stars)
August 19, 2017

IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT BUYING IT, YOU NEED TO READ THE REVIEWS BELOW.

It just broke, all of a sudden. I've always taken good care of this earphones, and always put them in the case when not in use, and I even have a small wire organizer to tidy up the cable (surprisingly they didn't provide one for you).

It's been working fine, until recently, 2 months out of my warranty, the left ear cup completely went silent. I tried many ways, and I couldn't resurrect it at all. This is completely on me that I just bought a $300 earphone that only lasted little more than 2 years. $150 PER YEAR for this crap.

If you read through the reviews, you'll notice a pattern here. Lots of people are complaining that one of the ear cups falls silent after a year or two. DON'T BUY THIS. It's too broken.

Shame on Bose.
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When I received the product it was amazing, sounded just as I expected
by Nicole Mitchell (1 out of 5 stars)
December 5, 2016

When I received the product it was amazing, sounded just as I expected. Within a couple months the left side of the headphones started giving trouble and eventually stopped working. When I contacted Bose they sent me a replacement but within a month the same problem occurred. When I contacted them and informed them about the issue they said that there was nothing they could do. I am very disappointed by the quality assurance and their customer service. I will not recommend anyone buy this product or any of their others.
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DO NOT BUY! They are great headphones...if you only have ONE EAR!
by T. Beck (1 out of 5 stars)
August 26, 2017

Just like the numerous other people out there, I had one side of my Bose QC25 headphones go out. I was lucky I guess that they lasted for about 2 years. From what I've read in these reviews and on Google searches, most people have them fail long before that. I handled them very carefully, always stored them in the case, and only used them on long flights a couple of times a year. So I guess I spent $300+ for maybe 6 to 8 uses. Sigh. Not a great return on my investment! The saddest part is that my backup pair are some Bose QC 3's that have been going strong since 2009! Obviously Bose is cutting some corners these days because the quality is dropping fast. I was going to replace these QC25's with a new QC35 model, but looks like those have the same problem with one ear going out. I will have to try Sony or Sennheiser instead, I guess. I have multiple Bose products and used to trust them as the gold standard, but I don't think I will ever buy Bose again.
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Started not to work after 6 months...
by K. Hemphill (1 out of 5 stars)
May 2, 2017

After several months, the noise cancelling aspect started fading in and out when turned on. Very disappointing as this was the reason I bought these and believed the "as new" description for the pair I bought. Also, even when working the noise cancelling is not consistently high quality. Good for air conditioning noise but not so great for planes for example. Rather disappointing given the price. And in talking to repair person was told that it wasn't worth the price of fixing and I should just buy another pair.
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Best Bose Headset Yet (Comparison to QC15 and QC20)
by Jake Flash (5 out of 5 stars)
September 18, 2014

The QC25 is Bose' best noise cancelling headphone to date. As someone who has been using Bose QC headphones daily for 3+ years now, I think I can give this a reasonably educated review. I have owned QC15 (predecessor to these headphones) for about 3 years now, and have owned QC20 (in-ear headphones) since they came out. My musical tastes are varied: everything from Yiruma to Taylor Swift to Childish Gambino to Zedd. I listen at my desk at home, in the office, and on public transportation.

Four things really mattered to me when I upgraded to the QC25: sound quality, noise cancelling, comfort, and the portability. So I'll skip aesthetics and the other features that you can easily read about. And I'll tackle each of those four critical points in this review, naming a winner in each category.

Sound Quality Winner: QC25

You do need to "burn-in" your Bose headphones. Play music through them for about 100 hours and you'll hear a difference-they'll sound much better than they did straight out of the box. After burn-in, indeed, the QC25 has a slightly superior sound to its predecessor. Also, the over-ear headphones have the easy sound-quality advantage on the QC20 earbuds because you get a wider sound stage and harder-hitting bass.

Noise Cancelling Winner: QC15/QC20/QC25 (3-way tie)

There's marketing hype about how the QC25 noise cancelling is superior. Honestly, I can't really tell. I could tell the difference between the QC20 and QC15 because the "StayHear tips" blocked the sound in a different way. But in every-day use, the QC25 noise cancelling is really about the same as that in the QC15-which is to say that it is excellent and industry-leading. Even at low volumes, you can block out most ambient noise and idle chatter: "quiet" indeed.

Comfort: QC15/QC20/QC25 (3-way tie)

The QC25s are just as comfortable as the QC15s: VERY comfortable. This is due to the light weight and light pressure on the ear cups. This is extra beneficial to people with wider skulls. They make Beats Studio/Pro headphones feel like strapping two conch shells to your skull. As a side note, the earbuds in the QC20 are also the most comfortable in-ear pieces that I have used-much more comfortable than they look. All three options live up to the "comfort" portion of their name.

Case/Portability Winner: QC20

The in-ear design of the QC20s makes it the easy winner. You can stuff them into their card-case sized pouch very easily and you can wear them in the office without looking too anti-social-not so, with the over-ear designs. The more-compact case for the QC25 is an upgrade, and folding the headphones is easy. In terms of storage, they did away with the card slot from the QC15 (seriously, that was a waste of space), and dropped the interior zippered pouch as well. In its place, there is a slot to store a single spare battery. I only ever stored one spare AAA battery in there anyway, so the QC25 case storage is sufficient for me. The back also features an elastic compartment like the QC15 case-never used it.

Other considerations:

Hi/Low switch: I honestly have not found the absence of this switch to be a problem. I checked my QC15, and saw that I had set it to "Hi." I hadn't changed it since I bought it and have never had any problems with getting a range of volumes. Similarly, the QC25 work fine for me too.

Ability to listen without battery: They introduced this feature in the QC20. Unless you're desperate, you do NOT want to use the headphones without the active preamp because without active equalization, these sound worse than $2 headphones. Nice-to-have feature, but just be sure to pack a spare battery.

Long-term foam pad wear: About 2 years into my QC15s, I needed to replace the ear cushions because the leatherette was starting to disintegrate. I suspect the same thing may happen to these QC25s. Expect to spend $15 to $30 on this maintenance depending on whether you go OEM or aftermarket.

No aware mode: The QC20 headphones had "aware mode" which was supposed to let you listen to your surroundings. This feature worked, but after a while, I stopped using it and just popped an earbud out as necessary. It isn't particularly missed on the QC25.

Batteries: The fact that they use a single AAA battery is perfect. Eneloops are your best friend. I am grateful that this doesn't have a proprietary battery like the QC20.

Overall Winner: QC25

The QC25 represents the best Bose noise cancelling headphones to date. If you are considering upgrading from the QC15, the improvements are incremental and I would think twice about parting with $300. If you're looking to supplement a set of QC20 earbuds, this is a great buy. If you have no Bose noise cancelling headphones, this is THE clear choice.
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Cost-Cutting at the Consumer's Expense
by bcjenkins (2 out of 5 stars)
March 8, 2015

After using the QC15 for five years--and as a Million Miler they served me extraordinarily well--for some reason I felt it was time for an "upgrade." I replaced the ear pads on the 15's--which, given their overall condition rendered them "brand new" (I take care of my stuff)--and gifted them to my daughter. I then ordered the QuietComfort 25.

After two weeks of use, including a week on a long overseas trip, my brief observations and impressions of the QC25 are as follows:
- Pro: The case is very attractive and slightly more compact than the QC15, with a nifty holder for the airplane adapter a spare battery.
- Pro: The zipper construction is clean and sturdy, and probably will provide years of use without problem.
- Pro: The battery seems to last about the same amount of time as it did on the QC15, but when the battery goes dead you can still hear your music.
- Pro: Folding the headphones to fit into the compact case is easy, and the hinges work without binding.
- Pro: They sound as good, if not modestly better, than the QC15. (Non-HiFi but good enough for Road Warrior use.)
- Pro: The noise reduction seems comparable to the QC15.
- Pro: The inline pause/start and volume control works great with my iPod and iPad.
- Pro: They are comfortable, but...
- Con: They are not as comfortable for long wear (8+ hours) as the QC15. I can't explain why, they just aren't.
- Con: Without any input and the cable disconnected--i.e., just using them to cancel outside noise--there is a slight background hiss that I never experienced with the QC15.
- Con: The QC25 "feels cheaper" than the QC15. I can't explain why, particularly given the construction of both is plastic.
- Con: From the very first use, when jiggling the cable I experienced a "dirty connection" clicking in the headphones. After two weeks of use this went completely bad, leaving me without audio, and and the device jack (opposite the end that plugs into the headphone) appears to be broken below the plastic housing.

Additional Comments

In my opinion, the overall cheaper feel to these phones and the problem with the cable is a margin-preservation effort (a.k.a. cost-cutting). The cable connector design in particular is clearly inferior to the that of the QC15. I've attached a photo that shows the difference, which can be summed up with two points: (1) The QC25's more rigid connector stress-relief sheath, coupled with the 90-degree connector structure, puts more stress on the connector itself than the non-90 degree angle and more flexible stress-relief sheath of the QC15. (2) The connector base of the QC25 is "on the cheap" compared to the robust connector base of the QC15.

Sorry, Bose, but I'm sending these back. Cutting corners will bite you every time.

Perhaps my daughter will let me borrow her QC15's....
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There is a defect. In 2 out of 3 ...
by Soc entrep (1 out of 5 stars)
November 23, 2017

There is a defect. In 2 out of 3 pairs I own, the right speaker died. This is a very common problem, if you do a google search you will see it.

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