Bose® QuietComfort® 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones

I have been traveling a lot for the past 2 years and its literally been that long that I have been agonizing over this purchase. If you are reading reviews you are probably in the same boat I was. $300 for head phones?? Its a tough one for sure. Let me put it this way, even if you travel once a year its worth it. Most trips I have taken I want to strangle someone, not sure why people are such retards when traveling, but I am just trying to get from point A to Point B. The more you travel the more it gets amplified. I could see where someone that can use these at work would be very happy with these too. Bottom line is I wish I had bought these 2 years ago.I bought some cheaper noise canceling headphones from Sony (MDR-NC7) and I have some decent in ear headphones from Sony also. The in ear block out as much noise as the noise canceling ones so the noise canceling ones from Sony where a waste of money. Not only do they not perform the noise canceling function very well they also sound very weak. Now keep in mind that I am comparing $40 headphones with $300 ones. I never expected the $40 ones to do as good as the Bose but seriously, if you just get some cheap in ear head phones you would be just as well off.Noise Cancelation:The test at Best Buy with specific noise (Jet noise simulated) at the Bose display is astounding to say the least. I agree with several other reviews that the Bose head phones seem to pick particularly easy frequencies to block and it is most certainly aimed at lower range. I first tried these while watching a rather loud movie and I felt that gave me a much better representation of what to expect in an airport or airplane while traveling. Most noise was blocked and the voices where lowered a great deal, with music at medium levels most of the noise was blocked out. From what I read on the Bose website there is a Mic on the outside AND the inside of each cup. You can read up on the specifics, I can tell you that it does a very good job.Sound Quality:I saw several complaints in reviews about the sound and all I can say is its Bose. I have a Bose stereo in my car and immediately had to replace the speakers. I totally expected the same mediocre sound quality with the headphones. Decent sound that is brought to you from the cheapest drivers they could get away with. Profit driven? You bet. Unfortunately with headphones there is not a darn thing you can do about it. Personally I am happy with the sound but know I should be getting a "Little more" for my $300. Because of the noise canceling you don't have to cut the volume up as high as you would without to hear details as clearly. For me the overall sound is very good but its no Dr. Dre's either.Construction Quality: ****Update below \/ \/ \/ *****I have not had these long enough to know about defects or short comings. I appreciate the fact that the head phones come with a decent case and I think the overall feel is ok. I have seen a few people ram these into the seat back while on a plane and a back pack before, I suppose these are the people complaining about the head phones falling apart.....imagine that. I understand how someone paying $300 for head phones and having it break right away could be frustrated but take that with a grain of salt.Package includes:Head Phones (Can be used without a wire for just noise cancelation)Semi-hard Shell caseWire for regular mini plug connection wth High/Low settings for Airplane adapter useWire for Iphone/Ipod/Itouch use (Has same features as OEM Apple ear phones, i.e. volume up, down, pause buttons and built in mic)2 prong to 1 Airplane Adapter1XAAA Battery (MAKE SURE YOU PACK A SPARE AAA) you can not use the headphones to listen to music with out a batteryWarranty bookInstructions in many languagesUPDATE ###### 07-05-2012 I have had these headphones long enough to add additional comments on the construction quality. I strongly urge people to use the semi-hard shell case to carry your headphones. I took one trip that I had very limited room to carry my case so I left it in my luggage. I will never do that again. I see clearly now how people break these while traveling. Its not practical to wear these the entire trip especially when its 100 degrees outside and parked in a plane for an hour on the ground, this exact situation happened to me so I put them as gently as I could in the seat pocket but I almost broke them taking them out. Just bring the case and deal with it. Keep in mind you are buying cutting edge technology headphones that sounds decent and cancel a majority of outside noise....not indestructible headphones. They are not butterfly wing fragile but I could not see a single failure point either that would have me overly concerned.Since my purchase Dr. Dre has come out with noise canceling headphones for about the same price. Personally I would buy those instead after listening to them but all in all I am still happy with my purchase. By far the best money I ever spent for traveling. My last trip there was a totally annoying child screaming his lungs out and all I could do is put my headphones on before take off and cut them on (I could care less when the flight attendant said) I played music at the highest clear volume and was smiling away as I looked around and saw one after another passenger's face filled with disgust and aggravation. The trick is to point the LED AWAY from the flight attendant side and just tell them it is off and they will leave you alone. To be clear, the highest undistorted volume on this headset is probably 60-70% of the Dr Dre's. Good thing is it can drown out pretty much anything. Another good thing is you did not have to have it at unsafe levels for total sound blockage.

I have had the QC15 for almost a year and it has worked great. Noise cancelling works great. Sound quality is very good. I have used it on planes and it works better than other headsets in cancelling airplane background noise. It also works great on the bus. I am able to turn the sound level much lower than a regular headset and save my hearing. As for the reviewer who rated the headset 3 stars due to a glitch when the headset cuts in and out, that is because the battery is low in power. I had the same problem when battery is almost drained and tends to happen more in cheap batteries. Change to a fresh alkaline battery and the problem should go away. If the problem persists, get it taken care of under Bose warranty.1/11/2015 Update: Copied from my comments regarding the QC15 and QC25.I have used several pair of QC15 over the years since they were available and they have worked great. I use them for commute on noisy transit trains and buses and they help save my hearing since I can play the music at lower volumes. I agree with your assessment that perhaps QC25 is not a necessary upgrade from QC15 unless someone prefers the lighter weight, a bit more flexible headband and a bit higher quality material construction. I tried the QC25 and liked them but could not tell much difference in quality of NC. The QC25 sounded great as does the QC15. Again, it is really personal preference whether to do the upgrade or not to the newer model or if someone just want to get the QC25 even if they have the QC15.I think for new QC users, unless there is a substantial difference in price, go for the QC25 unless they like the QC15 more. The prices for the QC15 have fluctuated quite a bit since the QC25 was made available in Oct/Nov timeframe by Bose. I have seen prices from $135 (Target clearance at some stores...gone already), and anywhere from low $200 at some sellers to $269 at 10% off on Amazon during Nov which today has the QC15 at the same price as the QC25. BestBuy also has it at full $299 price currently. There still appear to quite a bit of demand for QC15 even with the QC25 out which drives the price up.As for the comments for use of the QC15 or QC25 during exercise or workouts, in my opinion, they would be a bit uncomfortable and may fall off. I have seen people running on treadmill which seems to work ok but anything more active could cause the headset to fall off (at $300..ouch). The comments about sweat and moisture getting on the headset and earpads are valid as I have encountered the issue even when sweating during walking on a warm day. I would wipe off the moisture occasionally. This would happen with any headset unless someone does not sweat at all.I think using the appropriate headset for the activity is the way to go. For the very active, try the QC20/20i, in ear, which worked pretty well if you need NC otherwise many other options are available including Bose non-NC headsets.I do not find issue with the use of one AAA battery in the QC15 as it lasts a long time and carrying one or two spare batteries will ensure you not run out of power for the headset. Also AAA batteries can be bought pretty much everywhere even at the airport. I find them more convenient than having to charge the headset battery like in the QC3 which carrying a spare will solve the problem. I have tried both QC25 and QC20 without the NC on, in my opinion, the music is not good and thus I would not listen if the power is depleted. In the QC25, swap in a new AAA battery and continue. You can use rechargeable battery, like high capacity envelope batteries although it may not last as long as the good alkalines. For the QC20s, your only option is to recharge for a couple of hours which is why I prefer to be able to swap in a battery as needed and continue with the tranquility or music.By the way, for those who prefer an on-ear headset that has NC, take a look at the QC3 which works pretty well although not as good as the QC15 or QC25. Subjectively, I would say they cancel noise at around 80% as compared to the QC15 or QC25. The QC3 are no longer available but can be had anywhere from low $200 to $300. I have used the QC3 on public transit and on international flight and they work pretty well. One advantage is that they are lighter may feel better for people wearing glasses but does not do much to passively isolate noise (vs. actively cancel noise) as they do not cup and seal around the ear. Aftermarket battery are available which works pretty well for around $10 to $15 vs. the $49 from Bose.Lastly, for those who need to use the QC25 or QC15 or QC3 with android phones if the cable (usually for iPhones) that came with headset does not work properly, there are some after markets ones that work but be careful since not all of them do.