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 enlarge | Brand: Bose
Category: CE
List Price: $349.00
Buy Used: $209.99
You Save: $139.01 (40%)
New (4) from $349.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  128 reviews
Color: Silver
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 2.3 x 5.3 x 7.4
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: TJ539VC/A
Model: 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling
UPC: 017817391276
EAN: 0017817391276
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 QC2's Sound Better to Me... July 11, 2006
50 out of 51 found this review helpful
I have owned QuietComfort headphones (both series 1 and 2) for quite some time due to my job requiring me to make many overseas flights that last in excess of 10 hours. The Bose phones were the only ones I could find that were not painful after 3-4 hours of wear, and they sounded great to boot. So I was naturally intriqued by the new QC3's smaller size - the '2's are rather bulky and bothersome to carry around - and auditioned them in the Bose store using their music source. The noise reduction was very impressive considering these are "on-the-ear" phones that do not surround your ears. You put them on, and background noise goes down to a remarkably low level, very similar to the QC2's, if not better in this respect. So I took a pair home and compared them with my QC2's.
Careful A/B testing at home is where I found that the QC3's do not sound quite as clear and well defined to me as the QC2's. I used an iPod with 320kbps encoding (this is what I use on trips), and found that if I turned on the treble boost in the iPod's EQ settings, it more closely approximated the QC2's sound. I would have been okay with this if the phones weren't so expensive - at $349, these cost $50 more than the QC2s. For that much, I expected better sound without having to compensate with an EQ setting. Granted, this may have to do with the type of music I listen to (lots of jazz these days), but even Supertramp albums sounded a bit mushy to me compared with the QC2's.
Another issue for me is the rechargeable battery. Many seem to consider this a beneficial feature, but to me it would have been another $50 for a spare since it's always a possibiity that there won't be time to recharge the battery after a long flight and short stay somewhere (who wants the battery to die midway through a return flight?). The QC2's allow you to use a standard AAA battery in a pinch, and I usually have a couple of long-lasting alkalines in my bag that cost a couple of dollars at most. So for me this brought the total price to $400 -- quite a lot for headphones that didn't sound quite as nice (to me, at least) as what I already have. So I reluctantly decided to return them.
Strangely enough, when I returned the phones to the Bose store, the guys at the counter didn't ask me a single question about why I didn't like them. Disappointing, as I really wanted to like them (really!), and would have been happy to tell them as constructively as possible. Oh, well.
All that being said, I must say that Bose did a remarkable job designing these for physical comfort and noise reduction. On-the-ear phones are usually pretty uncomfortable after extended wear, but I felt these would be fine for 8-10 hours. If they ever make another version that sounds more like the older phones, I would buy them in a heartbeat.
 The QC-3s on the subway, buses and trains November 29, 2006
48 out of 50 found this review helpful
As a NYC commuter I am subjected to the very loud sounds of the subway system up to 80 to 100 decibels at times. And I want to use my iPod without going deaf. For a while a set of in ear headphones worked really well. The problem being is they aren't large enough to produce an expansive sound and wide dynamic range. I gave the QC-3s a try. I got everything I wanted with one or two tradeoffs. The sound quality is excellent. It reproduces AAC files ranging from 128 to 192 kps with superb fidelity in the bass, midtones and higher ranges. The sound is very clear and perhaps just a bit warm as Bose seems to prefer its audio products to sound. The noise cancellation is impressive performing at 15% of the effectiveness of the in ear headphones without the hassel of sticking something into my ears. All continuous low frequency sounds are eliminated entirely. You can hear other people speaking but if they aren't right next to you and/or speaking loudly they will be pleasantly muffled out as are other higher frequency noises. The build quality of the headphones is excellent but I would use the included case if you are throwing them into a bag with a lot of other stuff in them. They are substantially smaller than the QC-2 and lighter. They seem to stay on place on my somewhat round and a bit large head well. Only after 8 to 10 hours of use in a 24 hour period did I feel some discomfort on my ears. The lithium battery charges very fast and seems to have good battery life. The charger is very small. The headphones come with a larger stereo plug adapter and an adapter for planes. The headphone cord is adequately long for a commuter such as myself. So there are a few tradeoffs with this headphone. The first is the proprietary battery. If you run out of juice then no sound. Fortunately the battery seems to charge pretty quickly and the charger is very small. The second is that the headphones though less bulky than the QC-2, they are not as compact as my Shures. Certain individuals may not find them comfortable because of the way the headphones rest on the ears and the head. Others may not like the warm sound that is trademark of Bose. So I would recommend you try before buying these fine headphones.
very nice, but check the sound quality July 26, 2006
38 out of 39 found this review helpful
I've enjoyed using the original QC for years and needed another pair, so I bought the QC3. The ear cup design tends to flatten your ear after a while, so if you have sensitive ears and a long flight, expect some pain. I was disappointed with the sound quality -- very muffled on the high end, leaden on the low. I returned it to the store to swap for a QC2, but decided on a whim to try another pair of QC3s. The new pair sounded much crisper on the highs and significantly richer on the lows, and to my surprise, the salesman agreed.
So there appears to be a quality control problem with the QC3. It is possible (as in my case) to get one with poor sound quality, especially for $350 headphones, but then the very next one you try can be spectacular. I'm glad I bought this in a store so I had a chance to easily swap it.
Rethink about the rechargeables before you buy November 26, 2006
38 out of 41 found this review helpful
I tend to think the Bose 2 is still better in as much as you can replace the battery any time. while the Bose 3 requires recharging. If you would want to keep using your "expensive" Bose for a long, long, time think twice about rechargeables. Rechargeable batteries do not last forever. With the Bose 2 all you have to do is carry an extra AAA battery. Good news about the Bose 3 coming out, they may have the better Bose 2 on sale now. By the way, no need to lug a battery charger that my be damaged or lost. The Bose 2 does not need one (obviously).
 Get the QuietComfort 2 instead!! December 25, 2006
34 out of 34 found this review helpful
I was given the QC3 for christmas right before my 7 hour flight to London. Perfect chance to try them out.
Pro: They do work well at cancelling out the noise.
Con: But I had to take the headphones off after a couple hours because my ears hurt so much. Even three days later, simply putting the headphones on for a minute, my ears started to hurt again. The pressure is simply too much.
Con: The second problem with the QC3 is the batteries. There is no way that the rechargeable Bose batteries would have lasted my 24 hour flight to Australia. Also, you have to worry about having the proper plug adapter for all the different countries you visit. I'd much prefer the QC2 where you only need to pick up one AAA battery.
Pro: If you want the headphones for a short while, say for a subway ride in NYC, the QC3 are great. And they are small so they look like normal headphones and you don't look like too much of a freak.
In summary, if you're going to travel long distances and to foreign countries, stick with the QC2!
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