BOSE complaints

My Bose headphones did the exact same thing after a few months.

I have a Bose stereo in my living room, the cd changer (it's very old) gets stuck. I sent it in to be repaired and the same thing started happening after a week or two. I guess it's a common problem.

I don't have anything against Bose except their products are over priced, over hyped.

Much like monster products.

People seem to like Shure and Etymotics earphones. I had a pair of Etymotics that lasted a couple of years before biting the dust.

Bose has a terrible reputation among audiophiles (I'm not one, I just spend too much time on the internet). But earphones are going to break eventually unless you treat them like a newborn baby, which is just a pain in the ass considering their purpose.

An ear dying is a common with their earbuds, if you call their support they will replace them.

I own some BOSE over-ear headphones I bought to replace some Sony ones that broke. I love the sound... but they constantly break. I've had to MacGyver them like 3 times now

1) The cords start to break, exposing wiring near the base of the phone (what I assume the pieces that go over your ears are called). I've had to use a ton of epoxy to secure that


2) Now the wire is coming out near the plug... I'm not sure what to do about that

3) Whenever I wear them too much I feel like I'm getting an ear ache, it's awful


So, I like the sound, but they are alot of trouble. They cost like $130 so I'm not exactly eager to replace them either\

EDIT: 4) Oh, and one of the phones broke off from the head band piece. Thankfully enough of the connecting plastic remains that I can sort of fix it whenever it pops out, but sometimes it pops out when I'm wearing it and jabs me in the temple. Oh, and also now the phone can spin around inside the housing (but usually it only wants to spin half way so I have to struggle to get it back to it's normal position)

BOSE is overpriced and overrated. For the price you pay for most of their stuff you can buy way better product.

PK- Buy Audio Technica headphones for over the ear style. They're meant to take the abuse of day-to-day studio work. They also sound a lot better. You can also get a set of ATH M30s for around 60 bucks.

There's an expression amongst audiophiles: "Friends don't let friends buy Bose".

I love my etymotics, and they've proven far more durable than any other expensive earbuds I've purchased.

BOSE is perfectly fine for your mom's under the counter radio/8 Track combo but anything else bites it hard. Fuckin' muddy pieces of crap.

IME, If you want lasting, good quality ear-buds, buy Sennheisers. My previous pair (CX 300 II) lasted for almost 2 years, before they were stolen.

Sennheisers are the real deal...especially their professional series cans, which are a treat for home theater use.

I will also put in a nod for Koss Porta-Pros which, even if you end up not liking their quality (which I highly doubt), come with a lifetime warranty. They haven't changed their basic design for decades, as there hasn't been a need to tweak what has been working so well all along.

Bose? Just stay away.

The man speaks the truth. They're practically immortal and sound great.

I love the sound quality of Senns but always have issues with their cables. I don't know if I'm way too rugged with them but they always need re-soldering and they seem to fall apart.

I hate the design on the Koss Portapros but they do sound nice.

I will try that, thanks!

Bose even sucks for home theater. I'm an Onkyo fan along with Polk for speakers.

I got a gift of bose headsets from a girlfriend at the time. They were merely okay, but I said I loved them to make her happy. They broke pretty fast. Now they suck.

Also, the cushions for the ears sometimes get like flattened out and pushed out of position, and then when I put them on they jab my ears with bits of hard plastic from inside the phone


PS These were my old headphones, I think:

Just a few I've tried. Smaller first:

Shure e4c: Sounds great, cheap cables and unpronounced but detailed bass. I don't recommend shures if you've broken cables in the past. I broke two pairs of these and they're so ridiculously expensive I haven't even gotten my latest pair repaired.

Ultimate Ears Triple-Fi: These sound really great, but again kind of flat (better for monitoring than for the hip-hop). Incredibly detailed, esp. on high hat hits and particularly impressive on reverb-filled multi-tracked bullshit produced by Nigel Godrich rather than Justice or DJ Toomp tracks on repeat, which kind of benefit from being distorted a little. Overpriced but worth it if you can find them for $100. I've heard they aren't that durable but they still work after like a month.

Sennheiser HD280: Great closed headphones and durable (for the first couple years). Not as warm or natural-sounding as open headphones or as precise as IEMs but really the best closed headphones that are affordable. Once they wear out they sound worse but they get more comfortable. You can't wear these in public or even move your head much. Sennheiser has like fifty models that are similar and most I've tried are good. There's an open pair for like 30 dollars more that's great and the HD-650 is what you'd expect (based on five minutes in an Apple store).

Sony MDR-7506: Really nice. As good as the Sennheisers but with a different sound quality, kind of hard to describe but maybe less clinical. Popular on low budget sets.

Grado SR-60, SR-80, Sr-125, SR-225: I demoed some of these and then decided I couldn't afford them. The most hipster cred of any headphone and they sound incredible but they aren't really accurate monitors from what I understand. Open, warm, and kind of lively in a way the Sennhesiers aren't. The SR-60 is a good deal and the returns diminish with each model (though the 225 is kind of awesome).

The HD280 are great monitor cans because they allow the signal to go clean to your ears. You won't get any false positive bassiness like you do with a bunch of other cans. Senn claims that sound comes through uncoloured but that's inaccurate. It's just that the colouring is minimal. I would never recommend them as music headphones but if you're in the studio, you could do worse.

I've had the Sony MDR-7506 and I really like them. I had the Denon equivalent before and the Sony are much better. I agree they're as good as the Sennheisers but each sounds very different from each other. Always try headphones before you buy them people. Sound quality is very subjective.

I never had Bose. Never gonna try.

I always had Sony stuff as I like a good bass. So when my old pair died, Sony wasn't making the model I had, which was the Sony MDR-Q22LP, which is kind of an over the ear with a clip on ear. My ears are different from each others, so earbuds are quite unconformable.

Got my self some Sennheisers OMX80, which is similar to my old ones, but with ear buds instead of regular over the ear speakers. I hate them. Poor quality, considering it's Sennheisers.

My next ones need to be less than a 100$, and similar to my old Sony look-wise. Anyone has a suggestion? No Skullcandy please!

Most stores that sell instruments and recording equipment have a large range of headphones to try.

Most electronics stores have always let try their demo models.

In-ear I've also never seen any demos. For cans, you need to go the specialized audio/electronic stores instead of Best Buys. I can't name any specifics, those are usually local.

Instead of creating a new thread, I figured I'd ask here: I'm looking for an amp and speakers for a home theatre system, something that won't take up too much space. Any suggestions?

Well, I've never tried bose headphones, mainly because I'm pretty satisfied with the ones I have, but I can recommend you a brand called V-moda. Should look em up, Awesome brand.

They've never failed me, extremely durable and unbrakeable with awesome sound. They have a small variety of products but I think it's fine.

Should really check them out.