Review: Bose QuietComfort 25

If you look around at any airport, you’re most likely to see at least one person with a set of Bose headphones. Why? Because they’re fantastic. The QuietComfort 25’s are no exception. With fantastic active noise cancelling features and sound quality that wow’s, you’d understand the $400 RRP price tag. The QuietComfort 25 is the first update to the headphones in over 5 years and the improvement in design and sound quality, is worth the upgrade.

Design

Right off the bat, the QC25’s have a conservative design but this is for a reason – so they are portable and comfortable. The cushion around the cans mean that it isn’t an effort to wear them for long hours at a time especially for those long flights. The cans are attached to the headband with a hinge which allows the headset to fold into a small and compact package, perfect for storing in the included carry case. We received the grey model for testing which had a dark blue accent which is a rather constrained but attractive design. There is a soft mesh inside the cups which are labelled “L” and “R” so you can quickly pop the headphones on. You’ll find a power switch on the right side with a small green LED light to signal power status.

Using Them

To use the QC25’s, simply remove them from the box and plug in your source – done. For the first time, you can use a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones without a power source. But you don’t want to. The noise cancelling feature doesn’t work and they don’t sound any good either. However, the headset is powered by a single AAA battery (included!) and you’ll enjoy up to 30 hours of noise cancelling epicness. There is also a small slot in the carry case to keep a spare AAA battery for those emergency situations. However, I found it a little unusual that Bose have decided to stick to the old alkaline cell batteries – almost everything these days is charged via Micro USB. But hey, AAA batteries are able to be purchased from everywhere – so it’s probably a good thing.

Word of warning though, the QC25’s really don’t like using that little bit of juice from your dying battery. I found the the noise cancelling feature would drop in and out if you battery was running low. So it’s best to keep a AAA battery with you, just incase.

The headphone cable includes a small button remote so you can control volume and control your device without needing to take it out of your pocket. However, you do need to purchase the correct version of the QC25’s for your device as two versions are sold – one for iPhone and one for Android. I received the Android version and the remove didn’t work at all on iPhone. Sorry to those who switch between devices on a regular basis – you might be in for the price of an extra cable.

Noise Cancelling and Sound Quality

The Noise Cancelling feature of the Bose QC25’s are the reason you buy them. It’s the best in the game and offers a fantastic compromise between being completely in your own zone and still being aware of your surrounds. While other noise cancelling headphones will completely block out any outside noise with dull noise, the QC25’s will instead dull out any external noise – meaning you won’t hear people around you or children yelling and screaming but if you were standing in front of something, you’d still be able to just make out what they’re saying, unless they were yelling at you.

Wow, the sound from the QC25’s is excellent. Audio quality is strong and clear with powerful bass which is improved by the fact that you’re not interrupted by external noise. Anything that I’ve thrown at it from Heavy Metal to Acoustic tracks to EDM, the QC25’s have outperformed themselves and you won’t be unimpressed. In saying this, they only sound this good with the noise cancelling feature turned on. The entire experience is dulled down and almost ruined when the feature is switched off. So in those last few hours of a flight with a dead battery, you’ll be able to get by.

• Score:

  10/ 10

• The Good:

  Everything! Great sound quality and fantastic Noise Cancelling

• The Bad:

  Requires AAA batteries, different versions for Apple and Android

In conclusion, the QC25’s are an amazing companion when needing to zone out and be disconnected from the world. If you travel on public transport often then these are a must. Should you buy them? Well if you have the $400 RRP – definitely!