[Aqwis]

Bose is a damn bad example as a premium brand to compare Beats to. Their consumer headphones are widely considered to be way overpriced and gimmicky. The brands Beats should really be compared to are Sennheiser, Shure, A-T, Denon, Beyerdynamic and the like. Any offerings from these brands at a price point from $100 and up offer at least as good sound quality as Beats' cans and for a much lower price, and many of their phones look pretty good as well.

[peterarmstrong]

And yet... Bose QC15 are simple, light, comfortable and sound fine. The real point, however, is that they are amazing at tuning out the outside world, and thus are fantastic for coding. Their lack of audiophile cred means absolutely nothing compared to all the above, and if you are in an environment with noisy children or coworkers you won't want open headphones anyway. So for the actual use cases of many of us here, QC15 are actually a good choice. Regarding Beats, I actually have no opinion since I've never tried them, but people who like them enjoy them...

[sjwright]

I'll go one further and assert that in a noisy environment, the Bose QC15 have the absolute best overall sound quality of any headphone I'm aware of. By a very, very long mark.

I had a few very sophisticated sets of expensive headphones (plus a headphone amplifier) and I just don't use them any more. When I don't need to wear headphones, I'll sit down in my theatre room. When I need to wear headphones, it's because I'm in an environment with other noises (office, travel, etc) and the noise cancellation trumps any other cans' refinement.

[stcredzero]

Even Beyerdynamic 770 Pro? I tried active noise canceling in the past, but found the sound ultimately fatiguing. I prefer passive cancellation now, and 10db is a significant amount of isolation.

[sjwright]

Absolutely; the 770 Pro are one of the cans I own (the 80 ohms model). They're exactly the set I reach for when I want to listen at home with privacy.

In a noisy environment though, they just can't compete. Yes, the 770 Pro have excellent passive isolation characteristics, but they do absolutely nothing for low frequencies [0] whereas the QC15 achieves 20db [1]. This makes all the difference in the world when you're trying to escape into music while flying.

I know what you mean about active noise cancelling being fatiguing. I've been lured into noise cancellation before, only to be repelled by the strange feeling of pressure within the ear. I wouldn't have given a moment's consideration to the QC15 had I not been loaned a pair by a friend. I'm not going to say the QC15 are perfect for everyone, but to my ears the pressure phenomenon is pretty much nonexistent. I've worn them for an entire 13 hour flight without a moment's discomfort.

[0] http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/BeyerdynamicDT770.pdf

[1] http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/BoseQuietComfort15.pdf

[tomrod]

Wait--don't compare to Bose, compare instead to Bose?

[Aqwis]

Oops, didn't think straight.

[balls187]

Except their Noise Canceling line has been getting good reviews from many review sites.

[akandiah]

Indeed! Their active noise canceling headphones actually retain the bass while removing the external noise. Other active noise cancelling heaphones tend to blunt the bass.

[Intermernet]

I would second this statement strongly. The only other brand I'd add to the list is AKG as they also have some wonderful headphones at around this price point.

I've done AB comparisons with friends who've bought Beats, Sony, Skull Candy etc. and they're always blown away by the difference between the product they bought, and my AKGs, A-Ts or Sennheisers. I recently tested some Beyerdynamics and would highly recommend them, although I still think A-Ts are the best bang for buck around.

[iamwithnail]

This - I bought AT headphones (c£150) at Christmas, and they're astonishing. I had a listen to some Beats 'phones in the apple store (£279) last time I was getting a repair done, and they were astonishingly bad - fuzzy, tinny high end, massive overbearing bass.

But - from an Apple perspective, they're not buying just the headphones tech, but the manufacturing capacity as well, I'd assume.

[kubiiii]

I tend to agree when it comes to headphones. I'd go with sennheiser over any other brand anytime. But the bose soundlink mini (bluetooth speaker, they are quite fashionable these days) has an incredible sound and a similar price tag as the vastly inferior beats pill.

[rdl]

Bose professional and aviation products are actually superior to Apple quality. Their consumer noise canceling is pretty good. I agree about their consumer speakers.