Headphones fit for a king and an excellent value for all
"If you can swing the price, you'll be treated to a deluxe set of
headphones that delivers an unparalleled audio experience that's well
worth the price of admission."
For
Full sound
Refreshed design
Stunning noise-cancellation
Doesn't require battery for use
Against
Color customization costs extra $100
The Bose QuietComfort 25 are the best headphones I've ever
used. I say that as someone who strives for maximum performance per
dollar when purchasing headphones. I say that as someone who believes
that, in most circumstances, you can find a cheaper product that
performs as well, if not better, than a more expensive option if you do
some research. As someone who has never spent more than
$40 on headphones, I'm up to the task of telling you why, starting at
$300, the Bose QuietComfort 25 headphones are worth your money.
Design
The
arrival of the QuietComfort 25 headphones coincides with Bose's 50th
birthday and with that, a look in the mirror revealed that their line of
products needed to be spruced up, made more accessible and stylish for a
new generation. Packed into a leather zip-up carrying case, the
headphones lay in a sporty pose, already riffing off of this new
injection of style. Similar in overall looks to the QC15 headphones from
years ago, the design of the QC25 offers many subtle improvements upon
its predecessor. Moving away from the leathery,
executive-style of the QC15, Bose has refreshed the headband materials
with a cotton and felt combo that's less prone to becoming warm and
dampened from continuous use. The new materials look cool, but do
nothing to reduce the "headphone hair" you'll inevitably get if you use
these for more than a half hour.
The
headphone cups have received an overhaul. Sealed with automotive-grade
paint, the signature ovular over-the-ear cups have done away with the
roundness found on the QC15 and incorporated some sharp looks in place.
On my review unit, accents of black, charcoal and blue create a nice
palette of plastics. A nice design touch fixed what I
hate about most headphones, that I commonly find it to be too hard to
tell which ear goes where. With the QC25, a big "L" and "R" are etched
into the sporty speaker mesh's design. Each headphone
houses unique features, making it easy to distinguish which ear it
should be on after some practice. The left cup has an auxiliary port,
the point of contact for the included three-foot 3.5mm cable with inline
controls. When you want to pause a song, adjust volume or ask Siri a
question, it's on your left. The right cup houses the noise-cancellation
switch, so if you're annoyed by the outside world, your controls are on
the right.
For
an extra $100, a fourth of the unit's total price, you can customize
the color appearance of the QC25 headphones. I found the stock options
to be appealing enough for my taste, and there's no denying how cool you
can make the custom headphones look, but that price seems like a
spanking.
Performance
In the past, using the Bose
QuietComfort 15 meant that noise-cancellation was required to be
powered on or else you wouldn't hear anything. It was a bummer shelling
out the cash and being stuck with this "all-or-nothing" conundrum.
Thankfully, Bose has addressed this flaw by allowing the QC25's to be
used without noise-cancellation, battery-free. With a
AAA battery in, I found the noise-cancellation to be extremely effective
at zapping out ambient noises and it kept me distraction-free for
longer than I knew was possible. It's possible to use the
noise-cancellation feature for up to 35 hours per battery, but I was
able to squeeze more time out of mine.
The
sound engineered in the Bose QuietComfort 25 is exemplary. The lows,
mids and highs come through clear as day, never stepping over each
other. Music of all sorts sounds predictably incredible. With the
noise-cancellation, I'd liken it virtual reality for you ears. I've
never felt further immersed and concentrated than when I let the QC25
engulf my ears. I played some games on my PC and the results were
fabulous and memorable. Near the tail-end of Batman: Arkham City, the
QC25 drew me further into a particularly trippy sequence. With
noise-cancellation off, these headphones still pump out a totally
respectable sound with all of the highlights I mentioned earlier. There
are times when noise-cancellation makes me a little too focused and once
I switch it off, I feel like I stepped out of cryo-sleep, so it's great
to have the option to listen to music with noise-cancellation switched
off.
We liked
The Bose QuietComfort 25 is a cohesive unit that balances design, features and sound profile delicately, and excels at it all. While
$300 is certainly a chunk of change, the QC25 represents a good value
based on its stunning build quality, feature set and vibrant sound.
You're getting a finely-tuned set of headphones that provide over 35
hours of very good noise-cancelling performance with one AAA battery.
We disliked
The ability to customize the QC25, while awesome, costs a fourth of the total price.
Final verdict
The
Bose QuietComfort 25 bring out nothing but the best in my media. They
are a unique piece of technology in that they not only deliver a
mind-blowing first impression, but offer it during each and every use,
again and again. If you're serious about sound and want to hear your
favorite movies, music and games in a new immersive way, or if you just
want the best set of noise-cancelling headphones you can get for $300,
the QC25 is for you.
