In my lengthy quest for personal audio listening perfection I’ve searched long and hard, only coming close to the dream when I discovered the HarmanKardon CL headphones.
But as much as enjoyed the design and audio quality of that Harmon Kardon set, they fell short for two fundamental reasons; they weren’t practical or comfortable if it was warm as they’d make me sweat, or if it was cold and I needed to cover my head. Finally as is the case with many over-ear audio solutions, repeated use makes them fragile and they’re constantly at risk of snapping – which they eventually did.
In-Ear Comfort
The Bose QC20i in-ears with active noise cancelling however are supreme in the comfort category, they come packaged with soft silicone buds in small, medium and large variations. Once you’ve decided which fit best suits you, they sit and stay in your ears effortlessly, resting in your ear by naturally fixing to the cartilage around your ear hole. I can run whilst wearing them without having to constantly push them back in and they’re so soft that they don’t begin to hurt after hours of wearing either.
Design
Featuring Bose’ trademark twisted black and white cable and modern metallic/monochrome buds, the QC20i’s are a slick looking pair of earphones. With an understated sophistication to them, the QC20i’s look good whether you’re business smart or casual, making them more versatile than Beats By Apple for example that make people look as though they’re years younger than they actually are or worst still, trying to be.
The only downside to the QC20i’s design is the battery housing. Noise cancelling unfortunately cannot run on phantom power so a battery unit is required. Unlike other noise cancelling sets, Bose have opted to place the noise cancelling section of the earphones near the 3.5mm jack. The size of this section hanging out of your chosen listening device, looks a little awkward and may put some people off trying this set – their loss honestly. Despite its apparent size, the noise cancelling section is very slim and does slip into your pocket along with your phone or iPod easily. In use, we barely noticed it.
A remote control is also featured on the QC20i earphones, compatible with most devices including Android as well as iSheep phones, providing track pausing with a single press and skipping at a double tap – however you only get volume control with iOS devices. The remote also features an innocuous microphone allowing you to take calls whilst using them and an “aware mode” button that can switch off the noise cancelling without you needing to delve into your pockets.
Active Noise Cancelling
The audio quality is good enough that a wide range of music genres will sound crisp and rich in most conditions, but if you want a real sense of isolation or if you’re tired of the hustle and bustle that comes with the daily commute or travelling, flick the active noise cancelling switch and something quite magical happens.
As the noise cancelling kicks in, you’re plucked away from wherever you are and transported directly into the world intended for you by the creators of whatever it is you’re listening to. One song that particularly showcases the power of these earphones is Michael Jackson‘s Liberian Girl, once you’ve experienced that, you will never go back to listening to another pair of in-ears, ever again, or at least until Bose somehow make something significantly better.
The QC20i’s are superb at cutting out low frequencies such as train carriages, as well as softening the cries of whining children, their only weakness I’ve found is wind and the occasional pressure changes you experience on trains, which will produces a slight popping noise as your ears adjust to the pressure. But that’s not the QC20i’s fault, that’s your stupid ears so blame yourself if you find this bothers you.
You’ll get about a week’s use before running out of noise cancelling power which is impressive in itself, and the battery can be charged by the standard microUSB port used by most (non-apple) smart devices these days.
Verdict
At over the £200 mark, these certainly aren’t cheap, but what’s the point of plugging a cheap pair of earphones into a £400+ smart device? Your ears deserve better than cheap.
Sound quality is amongst the best I’ve experienced from consumer earphones and thanks to the effectiveness of the active noise cancelling, you don’t have to continuously threaten your ability to hear in later life by cranking your volume to maximum. All tones from Base, right the way through to Treble are reproduced superbly, so well in fact that you will find yourself discovering new sound elements in songs you’ve listened to for years via inferior head/earphones.
The Bose Quiet Comfort 20i active noise cancelling in-ears are simply the best personal audio solutions I’ve found at a consumer price tag. They deliver on sound quality, durability and comfort like no other alternative currently on the market. Only pro monitoring solutions such as the pricier Shure’s SE535’s or Sennheiser IE80‘s (no noise cancelling) will merit an alternative suggestions, and may offer slightly better dynamic range performance and separation for around the same price, but we’d argue that most wouldn’t be able to tell the difference and would find the Bose options the most comfortable in-the-ear.
Ultimately the decision is yours, but since we tried the QC20i’s we can’t let them go.
Rating: 5DDs out of 5
ps. with Father’s Day around the corner (June 15th), these would make a peachy gift!
