As I’ve travelled a lot recently either by public transportation or airplane, I tried to look for a pair of noise-cancelling headphones to get rid of loud noises during my trips.
My first headphones are of course the Bose QuietComfort 25, which is considered the best in the category at the moment. Let’s see how it performs.
Unboxing Video
Design & Features
The QC25 has a simple packaging but I love every piece inside the box. There is a compact carrying case that keeps everything inside, including the headphones which are folded flat, an AAA battery, a detachable cable with inline microphone/remote and an airline adapter.
Although most parts of the QC25 are made of plastic to reduce the weight, the headphones still have a premium feeling with metallic accents on earcup covers and suede-like material on the headband.
The right earcup holds the battery compartment and the noise-cancelling switch. Bose uses one AAA battery to power up the noise cancelling and Active EQ technology. The battery life is rated at 35 hours and I managed to use it for about 25 hours without any problem. Many people asked for an integrated battery but the AAA battery is fine for me because I use the rechargeable Panasonic BK-4MCCA8BA Eneloop AAA. It is not as convenient but it still does the job.
I’ve tried a lot of Bose headphones at retail stores and they are always the most comfortable ones. My ears don’t feel hot or painful even after a few hours of listening because the headphones are very lightweight and the earcups are spacious and well-padded.
Audio Quality
Bose always has the best noise-cancelling technology in the industry and the QC25 is not an exception. To see the awesome performance of the headphones, you can check out the video below that I recorded the sound with a dummy head.
Amazing, right? Of course, it can’t block out everything but it managed to get rid of background noises fairly well. If you are looking for headphones to give you some silence on subway or airplane, look no further because Bose QC15 is simply the best.
In terms of audio quality, I was extremely disappointed when listening to music in passive mode. The headphones produce a terrible sound with a boomy bass and subdued mids and highs. I hardly can enjoy music after 10 minutes.
When I turned on the active noise-cancelling and active EQ feature, everything changed. The sound became much brighter, clearer and details were brought back. The dark sound I got earlier disappeared and I started enjoying music with the cans. The mids are stronger and more open than before while the highs are also more detailed and airy. There is a little bass boost but it is insignificant and doesn’t make the sound muddy like many headphones on the market. Suddenly the QC25 became my favorite closed-back headphones so far but I know it won’t last long because the battery will need to be replaced or recharged very soon. Therefore, if you want headphones that sound great in both passive and active mode, the QC25 definitely shouldn’t be your choice.
Conclusion
Pros
- Lightweight and nice design
- Brilliant noise-cancelling performance
Cons
- Terrible sound in passive mode
No other noise-cancelling headphones can compete with the QC25 at the moment, so I highly recommend it if you can afford the high price tag and replacing battery is not an issue for you.
