Welcome to my review today on the Bose QC15 which is none for being one of the best noise cancelling headphones available. So today I’ll be talking about the features, sound quality how well the noise cancelling works compares to other headphones.
That being said, there are some reasons you might want to go with something else, such as upgrading to the QC15 which I’ll talk more about as I get into the features and sound quality.
Accessories, Design & Features
I’ll start out by showing you the accessories and then give you a closer look at the design and features.
Accessories
The included accessory package is good. There’s a high-quality protective carry case, an airline adaptor and a secondary cable. One of the cables features an in-line mic and remote, the other doesn’t. The in-line remote control works with most Apple products, and the play and pause will work for Android devices.
The cables terminate in a 3.5mm plug at a 45-degree angle for connecting with your audio device. I like that the jacks are raised which means you can use these with devices that have cases on them and be fine. Each cable also has an output level switch that allows you to determine how loud you’d like the volume to be.
So this has nothing to do w/ the noise cancellation and is really more of a loudness control which helps to boost the output when you’re using a lower-output media player. Just be sure that when you go to remove this that you use the notch to lift them rather than pulling on the cable.
The included hard shell case is soft-coated, flat and looks very nice. It includes a pouch in the back and a loop at the top. Inside the case is a business card holder and a nice mesh-fabric zippered pouch which attaches by velcro. There are also some raised bumps to hold your headphones in place and insure they won’t be sliding around. So overall, this case does a really great job protecting the headphones without taking up a bunch of space.
Design, Features & Build Quality
Regarding the design, the QC15 is fairly a straightforward, clean looking and light wearing headphone.
The ear pads are very plush and extremely comfortable feeling. In fact, the padding is so comfortable that you can wear these all day without any discomfort. Inside the ear cups there is plenty of room, even if you have larger ears. And the ear cups swivel 90 degrees for easier storage.
You can adjust the size of the headphones using a click adjustment, and there’s plenty of room here even if you have a large head.
The headband is padded very comfortably as well which again, allows you to wear these all day without getting any discomfort or hot spots on your head.
They do have a plastic feel to them but for normal, everyday use they hold up just fine. Just remember to use the case when transporting them rather than just tossing them in your bag.
Comfort
When I first put these on they feel very nice on the ears. There’s just the right amount of softness with the ear pads. The pads themselves are very soft, supple and cushy feeling. The clamping force is just right with these. It’s just enough to keep them from sliding around on your head, but not too much that it creates discomfort.
These are also comfortable while wearing glasses and secure enough to use for moderate activities like working out. But if you’re doing anything too vigorous these will start to shake loose.
The headband has a nice amount of padding and is also very comfortable. I didn’t experience any hotspots or discomfort on the top of my head even after wearing these all day.
So the bottom line is that everything about these headphones is exceptionally comfortable and as a result, you almost don’t notice you’re wearing them.
Active Noise Cancellation
Next, I’ll talk about how these worked as noise cancelling headphones. But first, I want to make sure it’s understood that noise cancellation is different than noise isolation, which is when external sound is suppressed by your headphones. Active Noise Cancellation is achieved by having inverse waves passing through the headphone speakers, which is what helps to cancel out the surrounding noise.
Also, I want to point out the noise cancelling headphones work best with lower frequency sounds such as the drone of an airplane engine, subway noise, or the whirl of an office air conditioner. So noise cancellation is less effective at cancelling out sounds higher up in the frequency spectrum.
Now when it comes to active noise cancellation, Bose is simply the best. The QC15 truly decimates all low-end noise. Airplane engines and similar type noises disappear on these making them perfect for use on airplanes, trains, busses and the subway. Even walking next to a road, it’s impressive how much these dampen the noise of passing cars.
Now as I alluded to earlier, these aren’t as effective at cancelling out higher frequency noise. So if you’re using these in an office, you’ll still be able to hear people’s voices, especially female ones but these do help take the edge off of nearby conversations.
Now to use the active noise cancelling feature you’ll first need to add one AAA battery (which is included). Then you’ll need to turn them on using the switch on the right ear-cup and a little green light will turn on letting you know it’s working. Now something to keep in mind is that once your battery dies you’ll no longer be able to use these headphones, as they require the ANC to be on in order to use them. Again, this means you’re not able to use them even as normal headphones, w/out noise cancellation unless you have a working battery.
Finally, one last thing to be aware of is that you can use these as noise cancelling headphones even without the headphone cable plugged in. So if you want to say take a nap without listening to anything but just cancel any noise going on around you then you can certainly do that.
So the bottom line regarding noise cancellation, is that these are absolutely fantastic. They’re truly designed to be used in noisier environments. And whether you’re on an airplane or riding the subway you’ll still be able to have very quiet and intimate listening experience.
Sound Quality
Next I’ll talk about the sound quality which is quite good, and these do have an enjoyable sound signature. Overall these are a warm and smooth sounding headphone with a little emphasis in the bass and a slightly withdrawn midrange. But they’re relatively clean sounding and provide good detail with instruments and vocals.
Bass is emphasized a bit but fairly well managed. It’s tight, punchy, deep and yet, even with the additional bass emphasis, mids and highs are still preserved and don’t loose their detail. But, when you get into heavier bass tracks, it can sound a tad loose and boomy. Overall though, the bass is reproduced quite beautifully with some nice texture to it.
The midrange has a smooth sound to it but it is slightly recessed and withdrawn. Vocals are smooth and pleasing to listen to. Acoustic guitars are engaging but they’re missing that super “life-like” quality you’d get w/ more of an audiophile headphone.
The highs are sweet, never strident and fairly textured sounding. Overall, classical music and the texture of the strings sound great and these do a really nice job. But while treble clarity is good here, the somewhat limited resolution and imaging stops these headphones from being on par with some of the better sounding headphones around this price range.
So overall these do a good job of bringing you into the music and give you a very smooth and pleasing listening experience.
Comparison to other headphones
Now compared to other headphones such as the PSB M4U, the PSB definitely sound better but the noise cancellation isn’t as good.
Then comparing the QC15 to the Klipsch Mode M-40, these are heavy and comfortable compared to Bose. Now you can use these passively but you get a boring sound with rolled off highs. Then when you have the Active Noise Cancellation turned on, you get an overall aggressive midrange with a depleted treble presence making the overall listening experience, pretty sub-par, especially compared to Bose.
Finally, comparing these to the Sennheiser PXC-450, these are built well, look nice and are comfortable to wear, but they’re hard sounding in the low treble, loose in the bass and missing a bit in the mids. So overall, they’re a disappointment when compared Bose which sounds better, has a much better battery life and has much better noise cancelling ability.
REASONS TO CONSIDER SOMETHING ELSE
Now even though these are a solid choice among on-ear headphone, there are a few reasons you might want to go with something else.
First, if you prefer to have have a noise cancelling headphone that you can use passively, meaning you can use your headphone without having to have the ANC turned on, then you may want to consider something else such as the Bose QC25.
Next, if you’re looking for something to block out conversation type noise or more higher frequency noise, then you may prefer a pair of headphones that has better noise isolation such as IEM’s or closed-back, over-ears headphones. You’re absolutely paying a premium for noise cancellation here, and while it comes with huge benefits, they won’t be worth the cost for everyone.
Finally, if having the best sound quality if a priority over having the best noise cancellation then you’d want to go with the PSB M4U 2. These definitely sound better than the QC15, but the noise cancellation just isn’t quite as effective compared to Bose.
BOTTOM LINE
So the bottom line of whether you’ll love the QC15 or not comes down to what your priorities are. If noise isolation, comfort and good sound quality are your highest priorities then this is really the headphone to get. But if you don’t necessarily need active noise cancellation or if you don’t plan on using it very much, and let’s say as an example you’re really just after a headphone to help block out noise like people talking around the office, then a good noise isolating headphone could do the trick. The trade-off here, is you’d be getting better sound quality for your money instead of active noise cancellation.
However, if you’re after a headphone that provides the best combination of being extremely comfortable, very portable, great sounding and offering the best noise cancellation, then the QC15 is the one to get.