Bose QuietComfort 20 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones, Apple Devices (Black)

I don't know if I would consider myself an audiophile, but I am always on the search for a better sound. Over the past five years I have purchased numerous headphones. If I could only keep one pair of headphones out of all my headsets, which includes the following:- JVC HA-FW01- VModa Crossfade M-100- Sennheiser HD 558- Sennheiser HD 650- Bose QuiteComfort 15- Bose QuiteComfort 35- Bose TriPort- Audio-Technia BPHS1- Sony MDR1RNCI would take the Bose QuietComfort 20, hands down.No, they do not sound the best. That award would go to the JVC HA-FW01 (with the VModa Crossfade M-100 and Sennheiser HD 650 coming in 2nd and 3rd, respectively). But they sound good enough that I enjoy listening to them as much as my other headphones, especially if I am coding and the music is background noise to help me work.Unlike most Bose noise-cancelling products, these actually sound decent with the noise cancelling off. In fact, that is how I use them 99% of the time. It is not that charging is a hassle (if I want to leave the noise cancelling on I just run a USB cable to them and they power up just fine; unlike most other Bose products these do not experience much if any interference while charging). It is that I prefer the sound without all the noise-cancelling DSP enhancements.However, if you need noise cancelling these are the best noise-cancelling headphones in Bose's lineup, for under $300. I feel they do a much better job of cancelling noise than the QC 15 or 35's. Works great if you are in an office building with a loud HVAC system or noisy computer.Next, these are the most portable headphones I have owned. Yes, I have headphones with a smaller case (e.g. the Bose TriPort) and they are always clunky to use. With these I can coil up the cord, put it in a case, and be on my way in 15-30 seconds. Easy peasy.Quality wise they are on par with other products. I have on more than one occasion gotten up from my desk, and got the cord tangled up and pulled the jack out of whatever device it is in. Never had the cord fray or break, and I am on my 3rd pair of these headphones (lost one pair commuting on a motorcycle; bought two pair more for work/home so I would not lose them during the commute). Never had any quality issues. The ear tips stay in place, unlike the Bose TriPort headphones.But the real reason I would pick these over anything else: Comfort. These are the most comfortable headphones, bar none. Even other Bose headphones pale in comparison (except the TriPort, which are equally comfortable). All over the ear headphones get sweaty eventually, and the faux leather on Bose products typically goes bad after 6 to 18 months. Never had the silicone go bad on these headphones, even after several years of 8 hour a day, 5 day a week abuse. In fact, although my JVC HA-FW01 sound better, the only way I can stand to use them for more than a few hours is by using the extra silicone ear tips that come with the QuietComfort 20 headphones.Overall, these are the headphones that stay on my desk. Other headphones come out on special occasions, or if I am listening to certain types of music. But if I am going to be wearing headphones for 8, 12, or even 16+ hours, these are the puppies I am using.Also, even though I do not use the feature, it is worth mentioning that there is a microphone built into these headphones, where the volume buttons are, and if you get a splitter jack from Bose, you can use these as a headset. I have a co-worker who does that. He sounds pretty good most of the time.

These are so good that it's hard to write a review on the experience. I use these primarily at a desk in a large office. They do great at filtering out the HVAC noise and the general 'din' that is always around. Our office is generally pretty quiet, so there is a slight perception of a hiss when using without music (just the activated earbuds in), but it is very slight. What is remarkable is that when men are talking, I can see it but can't hear them. Lots of us wear earbuds, so the generally accepted practice when walking up to a desk is knocking on the desk... can't hear it. With the higher frequencies in women's voices, I can still hear the voices, but at an enormously reduced volume, add music and they go away. There are some things that I didn't expect with them. One is that there are lots of sounds that you are just used to hearing, and their absence takes a while to get used to. For instance your own footsteps when going down stairs. It was actually a bit disorienting at first as apparently your body uses the noise as a bit of feedback. Now that I am used to it, there is no problem, but for a while I had to pay close attention going down stairs. Other sounds like setting a cup down on the table and closing a drawer just don't exist, it must be like being deaf but just in a certain spectrum. There are a few noises that it does not know how to deal with. For some reason shutting the car door is one, it is like a cannon goes off in each ear. Driving with them is what I would call dangerous, but I want to explain the sound side of driving. The wind noise and 'engine' noise goes away. What you are left with is higher pitched noises that when combined with vibrations that you didn't notice before (because there was an accompanying sound) leaves and uneasy feeling that something may not be right with the car. I turn them off, sure enough everything sounds normal, turn them back on and the same feeling comes back. It has left me aware that hearing is a precious sense that we easily take for granted. On the riding lawn mower, the engine sound fades into the background and what is left is the higher pitched sounds of the belts, bearings, and blades. Makes mowing a much more pleasant experience. For the audio quality, callers say it sounds as good as the iphone mic, on my end of course it's much better with the muted environment. Music sounds as good as any $50+ earbuds. Comfort is perhaps not as great as I expected, I am pretty sensitive to pressure from earbuds and hearing protection. The silicone pieces fit good and don't put much pressure in any one place. I can wear them for several hours, but am happy to have them off for a while after. As a comparison most cheap earbuds I can't stand the pressure for more than 30 minutes or so. My favorite two pair are on par with these.If you are noise sensitive but enjoy music, audio books, or interviews, you will love these. If you are noise sensitive and plan to use these just for active noise canceling without input, I think you will just perceive different noises but a reduced volume.I had a hard time spending the money (actually bought them used) but they are worth every penny. Again I tried to describe an unexplainable experience, but I would (will) definitely buy them again.