Bose on ear vs Bose around ear

24 Sep 2014

So here’s my first none computer science related post, and it’s going to be about Bose’s headphone. Now, I’m no audiophile, and I’m not going to pretend to be. So if you’re looking for a good audio quality comparison, I suggest you look else where. I have no knowledge if a set of headphones has “true” sound, or more bass or treble or whatever. All I would be able to tell you is if one sounds better than the other, and if one has better noise cancellation (which I will discuss later). I don’t go out in search of the absolutely best headphones to have the best audio experience possible. I just buy headphone that will last me, that are comfortable, that meet the criteria I have, and that, of course, allow me to listen to music.

• case side-by-side comparison

  

• Headphone in case, side-by-side comparison

  

Now, I have Bose’s SoundTrue On-Ear headphones(OE), and I I have their older model Around-Ear headphones(AE). I bought the SoundTrue case for the AE because it looked better then than the bag it originally came with, and I expected the case to handle more abuse than the bag also; which it seems that way for now. So let’s first start off with the case, the case has a nice construction. I don’t know what the material is but the outside has this kind of soft cushiony feel. It also has a felt lined interior. I will say, I am not looking forward to the OE white case turning a dingy gray or brown as it receives abuse. We’ll see when the time comes if the case is easy to clean and if it stains easily.

Moving on to the sound quality, the AE does cancel out outside noise a lot better than the OE model (cars, people talking, etc). I would have to turn the volume up higher on the OE to have the same isolation level as the AE, but I guess that’s what you’d expect with a pair of around ear headphone. The AE does sound a little bit better than the OE, but that may just be because of the isolation thing I just talked about.

Both headphones are pretty comfortable, my ears do get a bit hot and sweaty when I use the AE for an extended period of time. It not a bad hot and sweat, I guess it would just be like wearing a small pair of earmuffs. I haven’t really used the OE for an extended period of time like the AE, but my ears haven’t really gotten that hot and sweaty in the 15 minute walks I have to and from class everyday.

Now the main reasons I prefer the OE over the AE is it’s size. I’m already pretty short/petite, so the AE’s look really big on my head. I also wear a hat quite a lot, and the hat partially covers the top of my ears, so the AEs are kind of hard to wear in that instance. The OEs also pack down really small, you can see the measurements below and the side-by-side comparison above. I wanted something that could easily be put away into my backpack when not in use, and this met that criteria, it was actually smaller than I expected when they arrived in the mail.

• AE side measurement

  

• AE measurements

  

• OE side measurements

  

• OW measurements

  

Hope this review was helpful, until next time; good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night

Ashley