If you want to have peace and quiet in the office or on the road, you should look for headphones with active noise suppression: BOSE has a very interesting offer in its portfolio with the QuietComfort 25. This field report should make a possible purchase decision easier, but is of course not a professional test.
Already the BOSE SoundTrue Around-Ear headphones keeps ambient noise away from the ear quite well - with the QuietComfort 25 it works even better. The trick: three microphones on each auricle pick up the ambient noise in real time and mix the sound waves according to the music playback so that they cancel out the disturbing noises. The result: a rustling air conditioning system or turbine noises in the aircraft fade into the background or can no longer be heard at all. For this function it is necessary to insert an AAA battery in the right headphone - without the power supply it is still possible to listen to music, this was different with the predecessor.
BOSE QuietComfort 25 Scope of delivery
The BOSE QuietComfort 25 comes in a handy bag, which contains a place for a spare battery and an adapter for airplanes - the 3.5mm jack plug has not yet become widely accepted. Once you've unpacked the headphones, you'll immediately notice the truly flawless and high-quality workmanship: the mechanism for folding the headphones is quite solidly made of metal. The cable with the remote control (in my case for Apple devices) can be removed without any problems, so in case of a defect it can be replaced easily.
The earcups themselves are covered with an imitation leather, which makes them very comfortable to wear - although the earcups are not BOSE for this price you can also bet on real leather or at least include a replacement set (which is available from BOSE for about 35,- EURO). The wearing comfort is very pleasant, although this depends of course very much on the individual head shape.
BOSE QuietComfort 25 Sound quality
After I have already published here in the blog the Beyerdynamic MMX300 against the Ultrasone 450 Pro and the BOSE SoundTrue (as well as on the desk with a pair of Behringer MS40 work) I have of course also made the audio sample here. The sound impression always depends on the music preferences of course - with trance or songs like "Summertime Sadness" the BOSE QuietComfort a good impression, even if it doesn't sound as "fresh" and clear as the MMX300 or the Ultrasone Pro. Advantage of the active noise cancelling: to drown out background noise, you don't need so much volume - this is good for the ears and makes it less tiring to listen to music for a longer period of time.
BOSE QuietComfort 25 Noise Cancelling
To capture the noise cancelling effect as well as possible, I took advantage of the fact that noise cancelling is based on a physical effect: it can be recorded with a simple microphone. I used the MMX300 headset for this, certainly not a perfect solution but sufficient to show the effects.
BOSE QuietComfort 25 Conclusion
Although not quite cheap fun, for about 270,- Euro (at Amazon) you get probably the best active noise cancelling at the moment, which almost completely forgets about a roaring air conditioner or turbine noises in the airplane. The workmanship is impeccable, the hinges make a very solid impression. With an AAA battery you can also easily go on a long distance flight, the practical storage box offers space for a spare battery.
Even if BOSE doesn't have a very good reputation among hifi enthusiasts, this product really does do something good. If you're not expecting the perfect sound, but the best possible listening experience without background noise, then this is the right product for you.
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