A nice present came from ‘Father Christmas’ to go with my new Zune - a pair of Bose Triport IE earbuds, I’ve long admired the Bose headphones, especially the quietcomfort 3’s which seem to offer excellent noise isolation coupled with a nice form factor that stops them being too heavy. However, I’m not a fan of headphones, even as a DJ - I’ve always worn my headphones behind my neck - using Technics DJ1200’s to bend into shape for that - so I’ve always favoured earbuds for general listening (especially when travelling) and have owned 3 or 4 sets of the Sony Fontopia buds, which are superb.
The Bose earbuds are a class above - they come with three sets of silicone tips which mean you can find the perfect fit for you, the medium worked just nicely for me, and they form a nice snug fit in the ear bowl. The actual buds are quite big, but very light - and the sound quality is superb (as you would expect from Bose), I’ve tested them out with a wide range of sources -the Zune, the PC playing MP3’s through Windows Media Player and CD’s directly through the PC - and all sources sound clean with great response - particularly at the bottom end where older earbuds always suffer. My only (minor) criticism is that the plug is not a right angled one - which is a bit of a pain if you keep your Zone/Ipod in a jacket pocket etc - butthis really is minor as the plug construction is excellent and very sturdy.
These are a great purchase - and I highly recommend them - especially as the little carrying case is so lovely.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Phil Huddlestone // Apr 4, 2007 at 04:34
The IE headphones are everything we’ve come to expect from Bose in terms of sound quality, but the silicone ear buds are, for me, their weak point. Even with the greatest of care they’re too easily dislodged from the headphone nozzle. I’ve only had the set five weeks and I’ve already lost one of my medium sized tips as I pulled the right headphone from my ear. The silicone bud simply ‘popped off’ never to be seen again!! On previous occasions I’ve been lucky in as far as they’ve landed at my feet. I’m currently trying to source a replacement. Despite this minor (but frustrating) flaw in their design, I would highly recommend them. They are, beyond question, the best in-ear headphones on the market.
2 mattr // Apr 4, 2007 at 16:40
Phil - I’ve lost the ‘buds’ off mine as well, but a quick call to Bose and they sent me two free pairs as replacements (I lost one on the floor getting into a cab in London….never to be seen again!).
The guy on the phone told me that the newer buds have a groove cut inside them which makes them ‘lodge’ onto the nozzle - and to be fair, it does feel like they have a much more robust fit now.
Give Bose a call (freephone : 0800-085-9021) - I hope this helps!
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