The Bose QuietComfort 3 is the successor and improved version of the QuietComfort 2s. The QuietComfort 3 is Bose’s attempt to make the previous version of this headphone smaller and more compact while keeping the same level of noise cancellation and sound quality. To do this Bose chose an on-ear headphone design. The original QuietComfort 2s were built on an over-the-ear design. These headsets are pricey (currently listed at $349) but totally worth it. If the price of these headphones are not out of your range, you are definitely getting your money’s worth in terms of quality and comfort. The Bose QuietComfort 3 has set the standard for high end noise cancellation headphones.
Nose Cancellation Performance – Bose has made some interesting choices in their engineering for this iteration of the QuiteComfort models. Besides choosing and over-the-ear design, they have used an innovative new memory foam in the ear cups. As soon as you put them on, the earcups will mold itself to fit perfectly in your ears, effectively making the fit of the headphones air tight. This in itself is effective in cancelling out 85% of the noise. For the remaining noise that does not get muffled, Bose QuiteComfort3s employ pretty sophisticated technology to electronically filter out what comes through. The verdict is that these QuietComfort3s do a sweet job at noise cancellation and giving you the peace you need in noisy or crowded environments.
Sound Quality – As always the bass on the QuietComfort series is excellent, the QuiteComfort 3s are no exception. The sound quality is as good as the Quiet Comfort 2s, I could not hear any difference at all in my music. I played a variety music, rock, jazz and classical while listening with my QuietComfort 3s and the sound quality was excellent.
Comfort and Ease Of Use – This is a very comfortable set of headphones, Bose uses very soft high quality leather, and the memory foam works great. Because these are leather headphones, it might be problematic to wear these in hot and humid weather as you might get sweaty around your ears but that is to be expected with most of these types of noise cancelling headphones. I like that these headphones are more compact and easier to travel with. Also there is a new batter design, the quiet comforts come with a rechargeable lithium battery that provides 20 hours of life, a definite improvement over the previous models use of AAA batteries because these new batteries are smaller and more compact. Also, the cords are now of a plug in design, so that means if you want to just put these headphones on for noise cancellation only and not listen to music, you don’t have to walk around with a big fat long wire dangling around any more. Also, like the previous designs, these QuietComforts can fold flat, come with a nice travel case and are easy to carry around.
Cons – Well the biggest negative might be the price, $349. These headphones are not cheap and are out of the range of most people. If you can afford them though, these are a very good set of quality headphones. Another possible con is that the headphones require a battery in order to listen to music, so you have to be careful to make sure you always have your charger or an extra set of batteries with you.
Verdict – Bose has done a terrific job re-engineering their QuietComfort series. The Quiet Comfort 2s are terrific and still are. The Bose QuietComfort 3s series takes all the great things about the Quiet Comfort 2s and makes the package much smaller, lighter and mobile. The smaller package, the on-ear-design and the new battery pack make this a much more enjoyable set of headphones to have, especially if you travel or on the go a lot.
