Day 1
Slipped them on for a couple of hours on my rickety office machine. The Bose Quiet Comfort 3 does seem to perk up a few of my MP3s. For an on-ear design these are by far the most comfortable headphones I’ve used, even over prolonged periods. There isn’t a volume control on the cans though.
Day 2
The Quiet Comfort 3 has a tiny Li-ion battery rated at 200 mAh, which is good for around 18 hours. The headset doesn’t operate without the battery, however, which means the active noise cancellation is always on. It drowns out general ambient sound. Louder sounds (like someone speaking right next to you) are audible.
Day 4
Its quality, as far as music goes, is in a word-Superb! The soft foam pads pamper your ears while your eardrums soak up this aural treat. I’ve listened to circumaural headsets that are better, but these are the best-sounding on-ear type headsets that have come my way.
Day 6
The little red power indicator keeps flashing… time for a battery charge. Bose provides an extra battery; they also provide an assortment of plugs for different power sockets. There’s also a neat-looking dock for the battery. I lamented the lack of a USB charger, but hey, you can’t have everything! Charging took hardly an hour.
Day 10
Time to hook this baby up to my music system. I used the bundled ¼-inch gold-plated adapter. After firing up a few CDs-Eagles, UB-40, and Joshua Kadison-I’m impressed. So the Quiet Comfort 3 passes both CD and MP3 music tests…no problemo! It distorts at high volumes, though you’d have to be deaf or a reviewer to even try pumping the volume up so high!
Day 18
With classical music, you have the entire spectrum of both volume and frequencies. My better half used the QC3s today. She proclaimed that they were “just lovely” (because of their size, I presume). I told her the price-Rs 18,500. “So what, el cheapo…maybe for my birthday?” Note to self: no more taking products home!
Day 22
I fired up the QC3 on my X-Fi Platinum again. As I’d expected, the Bose excelled. The bass is well-defined. Treble like guitar and sax notes are right on. Vocals-Indi-pop or English-are really good. Next I tried the one original HD-DVD I have. Once again, the QC 3 delivered. Absolutely no distortion even after hours of listening-not that I expected any! The Bose QC3 does qualify as audiophile equipment-performance-wise, that is.
Day 27
It’s back to office for the Bose Quiet Comfort 3 Acoustic Noise Canceling Headphones… long name, huh? Definitely not for us regular mortals, and the steep price should scare away most audiophiles as well! There are cheaper alternatives out there that perform better. However, portability is a strong point, as is the active noise cancellation (a must for portables in my opinion). If you’re as rich as I want to be someday… flaunt them, and remember to carry the bill with you!