[rooze]

I haven't worn cans since 1980. Back then I had a cheap pair of over-ear that I'd use after coming home from the bar, drunk. Mostly it was a means of listening to Rush without waking the house. Many a morning I'd wake up on the carpet next to the stereo with the cans cord wrapped multiple times around my neck.

Nowadays I use cheap earbuds with my Macbook and iPhone, but that's about it.

For a while I've been thinking about buying a pair of cans. I have a Spread Spectrum Technology Ambrosia preamp, and the design fellow, the late great James Bongiorno, was an avid headphone fan. It's my understanding that he designed a fairly exceptional headphone circuit in to the Ambrosia, and I'd like to give it a listen.

I really don't want to spend a lot of cash on cans. I'm still not convinced that it will stick.

I reckoned on maybe $200 max, and figured I ought to be able to get a good idea of strengths and weaknesses at that price point, and not to be missing out on too much or enduring too much that shouldn't be there.

Whilst in Target today, looking for chemical toe warmers and pipe tobacco, I noticed they had a few sets of cans setup for listening. Two from the 5 sets on display had apparatus allowing the connection of a player, so I plugged my iPhone into the first set and gave them a listen.

WOW. They sounded really, really nice. Full-bodied, warm, musical, decent bass. I thought the treble was a little rolled off but I don't mind that so much.

What surprised me even more was the fact that these were made by Bose. Bose QuietComfort 25 to be precise. I thought Bose only made shite.

Now the $299 is more than I want to spend. I'd been looking online earlier and had my eye on a pair of Sennheiser HD598 for $150.

So to the questions:

1 - When I plug my iPhone into the gadget that allows me to listen to cans at a box store, am I getting a direct connection to the cans or is there something fancy in the gadget, like an amp? In other words, if I bought the cans and plugged them into my iPhone, would I hear the same as I heard in-store?

2 - Am I mistaken and are Bose cans actually as good as I think they might be, comparatively speaking? There's plenty of reviews on Amazon and though I haven't gotten around to reading any yet, there's an overall rating of 4.5 stars from 5, which is pretty darn good.

3 - Would the HD598's be a better buy than the Bose? I like a full-bodied presentation, something akin to tubes, but I like accuracy too and good frequency extension. I don't want analytical at the expense of musical - I want to lay back on the chaise lounge wearing my cravat and smoking jacket, the lights down, a wisp of pipe smoke lingering in the air....you get the picture.

4 - Is there something better in the $150 price range that I need to know about?

Unfortunately, suggesting that I go listen to other headphones at a dealer isn't really a viable option.

Any ideas / thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers.

[JohnR]

Hi there, since I had HD598s awhile back and recently looked into some of the Bose in the course of buying a Xmas gift, I"ll take a stab...

1. You'd have to ask them. If multiple cans were "connected" to your one device, there was probably some kind of external amp.

2. You need to be aware that the QC25 is a noise-cancelling headphone. That's (usually) the reason to buy that one.

3. Probably, as you're not paying for the noise-cancelling circuitry (or the label). However I've not heard the Bose. The HD598 is not a high end headphone but it doesn't have obvious flaws (as I recall) that you can point to as a problem, like bloated bass, missing midrange, shrill treble, etc. However, whether one likes a headphone is a very personal thing and you should never ever believe what anyone else says about how a headphone sounds So if you can't listen beforehand, be sure to have a good return policy.

4. Don't know. There's been some really nice deals on headphones lately, it seems competition has become quite intense. massdrop sometimes have really nice deals, there's also a headphones deals thread in this circle.

HTH!

[Danberg]

I saw this article recently.  You may find it helpful.
http://www.tonepublications.com/blog/10-favorite-headphones-from-hifiguy-528/

[Alan]

While some may appreciate what the extra inductance of wrapping the cord around your neck multiple times does for the sound with some systems, I find that the constriction of the trachea subtracts from the overall experience. YMMV

[rooze]

Thanks for the comments so far, guys.

I guess at my price point there are countless options, and perhaps there's nothing 'stand-out', just a lot of options that come down to personal preference.

I'm tempted to raise my budget and go for the Bose that I heard yesterday and just have done with it.

I'm trying to avoid becoming 'affected' by the usual bouts of OCCD that drives the selection of other equipment. Hey, I've heard something I like and could live with so why not just buy it and be done?

Unless someone's willing to talk me down I'm gonna own my very first bit of Bose gear     

Maybe...

[milford3]

Rooze, I'll talk you down.  If you are serious about getting back into the headphone ring Bose would be last (if not completely) off the list.  Byer, Senn and AKG make very good mid priced headphones.  Also consider a headphone amp.

[rooze]

Rooze, I'll talk you down.  If you are serious about getting back into the headphone ring Bose would be last (if not completely) off the list.  Byer, Senn and AKG make very good mid priced headphones.  Also consider a headphone amp.

Thank you sir! The problem I have is this: do I drop $300 on something I've heard and quite like, or drop $300 on something off the Interwebs that I've never heard?
I suppose at the $150 point I could take a gamble on something off Amazon and always send it back. But at $300 I ought to get my butt in the car for the 3hr round-trip to Green Bay, and hit up my dealer, HiFi Heaven.... (Which I was trying to avoid, as I always come away spending way more than intended...)

I think I've answered my own question..

[dB Cooper]

Rooze, I'll talk you down.  If you are serious about getting back into the headphone ring Bose would be last (if not completely) off the list.  Byer, Senn and AKG make very good mid priced headphones.  Also consider a headphone amp.

Agreed. Another contender at the OP's price point might be the Audio Technica M50. Haven't heard them personally but they have a good "rep" and seem to come in below $200 street.

[rooze]

I bought the Bose QC25 (review in a few days), and it has Active and Passive modes, where the QC2 I had only had Active mode.  The SQ in Passive mode isn't good - very uneven, and with a steep rolloff in the upper treble.  The Active mode SQ is better, since Bose not only cancels the noise**, they also do electronic EQ to smooth the sound somewhat.

**In Active mode the white noise from the NC is *very* audible, and I wouldn't recommend it for listening anywhere but on a jet plane or a very noisy bus.  Unlike Dolby that suppresses background hiss dynamically, the QC25 hiss is always present in Active mode.

Thanks for the good info. It seems remarkable to me that this hiss wasn't mentioned on the many product reviews, at least not on the samples that I read. It certainly couldn't have been significant as one wouldn't expect to award a product 4.5 stars from 5, if there were a distracting audible hiss. Is it possible that the sample you have may be faulty?

[rooze]

I should also add that I didn't notice anything untoward, though I was only able to listen for a brief spell (In active mode only).