Product Description

The next step in Bose noise reduction headphones. A smaller, lighter on-ear design--delivering the same levels of acclaimed performance as our around-ear QuietComfort 2 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones. You enjoy the same total noise reduction and audio quality, with an equally comfortable fit.

No headphones will eliminate all noise. But the Bose technologies in QuietComfort headphones work together to make almost any listening experience more rewarding.

For travel, work and home
Wear QC®3 headphones when you fly, and you'll notice a dramatic reduction in engine noise the moment you turn them on. For quality audio, simply plug them into your portable player or the inflight entertainment system.

Use them at home or at work and you should find distractions fading softly into the background. You can pair QC3 headphones with most music-enabled mobile phones too, using our optional mobile communications kit.

Hear the difference for yourself
Our full-spectrum noise reduction fades background distractions and dramatically decreases engine roar on planes. Quality Bose sound reveals audio nuances you might have missed. And a lightweight, on-ear fit provides hours of comfortable listening.

Bose Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphone technology in QC3 headphones electronically identifies, then dramatically reduces noise, while preserving the audio or tranquility you desire. Proprietary signal processing and TriPort® acoustic headphone structure also assure quality audio performance--and deep low tones--from these small, lightweight headphones. It's a unique combination of benefits and technologies available only from Bose.

What's in the box
-QC®3 headphones
-5' detachable audio cable
-5' extension cord
-1/4" stereo plug adapter
-Dual-plug adapter
-Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
-AC battery charger
-Carrying case
-Owner's Guide

Product Details

• Color: Silver
• Brand: Bose
• Model: 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling
• Dimensions: 7.38" h x 5.25" w x 2.25" l, .35 pounds

Features

• On-ear fit: Earcups rest gently on your ears
• Bose noise reduction and quality sound for travel, work and home
• Comfortable, lightweight design with an on-ear fit: headphones rest gently on your ears
• Rechargeable lithium-ion battery: 25 hours average use per charge
• Fold-flat earcups for easy storage in slim carrying case

Customer Reviews

QC-3 vs. QC-2 (side by side comparison)
I have used the Bose QuietComfort QC-2 headphones for about a year, and have traveled to Asia over 5 times with them, and domestic travel as well. About 120 hours of air time. Never took them off. Vastly reduces my jetlag. A pleasure to own and use.

On an impulse buy, I bought the QC-3's after a demo at the local Bose store. 30-day return policy. Compared them side-by-side... both on the airplane, home, with and without sound.

My impressions (your mileage may vary :-)

Noise Cancellation:
The QC-3 has impressive noise cancellation, I think it's incrementally better than the QC-2. Perhaps it's a little too 'aggressive'. Let me explain. I feel a little uncomfortable from a (perceived) pressure on my ear. Note: this is not physical pressure from the ear-pieces, nor is it air-pressure, but rather a physco-acoustic result of noise cancellation. I felt this only slightly with the QC-2's. Bose did an amazing job of noise cancellation given the challenges of an "on-the-ear" design which offers less physical noise isolation due to lack of cups. Everyone has a different tolerance to this pressure, the only way to tell is to try them out. Vote: QC-3 for noise cancellation, QC-2 for comfort (again, will vary from person to person).

Audio Quality:
Using MP3's encoded at 192 kbps, and CD audio, the difference in the two headphones is clear (excuse the pun). The QC-2's are brighter sounding with adequate bass. The QC-3's are a little heavy on the low-end, to the point of sounding muddy. Vote: QC-2.

Construction:
Some have complained about the QC-2's breaking at the stem that attaches each earpiece. I never had this problem, but I am also very careful, especially given their cost. I did notice a person break a QC-2 on the plane trying to turn the earpieces to hard. The build quality of the QC-3 is about the same, the stem may be somewhat narrower, so they could be more prone to breaking, however I do not think it's an issue if you treat them with respect. Vote: equal.

Comfort:
The QC-3's are lighter, but I still prefer the "over-the-ear" type of headphone. They feel like they stay in place better. I would be upset if the QC-3's fell off my head while loading luggage in the overhead bin, only to have someone step on them. I never felt that could happen with the QC-2's. I also would rather have a little physical pressure around my ear, instead of on my ear. Vote: QC-2.

Accessories:
The QC-3 has a less complicated jack that attaches to the headphone (it's detachable, just like the QC-2's). The QC-2 has a hi/low volume control on the jack stem, while the QC-3 has no adjustment and is adjusted somewhere in between (which is why they are not quite as loud as the QC-2's, given the same volume setting from your MP3, DVD, computer, or stereo). The airplance adapter does serve to attenuate the audio further, if needed. The QC-3 carrying case is a little smaller than the QC-2, but not a significant difference. The covering on the QC-3 case is smooth, which I prefer over the QC-2 case. I do not like the way the QC-3's fit in the case, the ear-pieces do not sit firmly where they are supposed to go. With the QC-2, you know exactly how they fit in the case, it just seems like a better fit. Vote: averages to equal.

I hope this quick review is helpful. I elected to stay with the QC-2. Rgds,

QC2 is Same Quality with Less Ear Pain
I was preparing for a long trip to Ukraine. This involved both a very long initial flight, then a flight from Kiev to Lviv, plus many 3+ hr long van rides to various destinations and an overnight train trip between the main cities. I knew I would really need a noise cancelling headphone. With the Bose QuietComfort 3 just coming on the market, I was willing to pay the top dollar in order to maintain my sanity.

When I first received my headphone set - only days after it was released - I was thrilled. It was small, easy to carry in its slim case, and it had a rechargeable battery. This seemed like the perfect headphone for travel. I already had my 60 gig iPod ready with "sleep music". Now all I had to do was plug it in, and encounter pure bliss.

The headphones were really comfortable to "put on" - they fit on top of the ears rather than "around the ears" like the previous model. They were very light and non-intrusive. Lying sideways on a pillow didn't pose much of a problem. I waited the proper time to charge up the battery, and then I put them on and turned them on.

WHOMP. It wasn't a *physical* sensation. It's not that the foamy earcups pressed against my ears strongly. It was an INTERNAL sensation - the pressure of the waves of the speaker against my eardrums. It actually hurt. I turned it off. The sensation went away. I turned them on again and WHOMP, there was that pressure again.

This intrigued me so much that I did research and made a specific playlist of songs on my iPod that involved left-right sounds, i.e. songs like We Love You, Lightning Crashes etc. where songs only play out of one speaker or the other (left or right). The pain would definitely come more strongly out of the speaker that was not playing music. Whenever there was "silence" or soft levels of sound, the pressure of the "anti noise generators" would hurt my ears.

My boyfriend thought I was insane :) He did sense it when I played the left-right song set. We went into a local outlet where they had the demos set up of the QuietComfort 3 and the QuietComfort 2 (the older over-ear model). Both are rather good at blocking sound, to pretty much an equivalent degree. However even with their store models I could feel that same pain when the QuietComfort 3 headphone was turned in without a strong sound signal coming through. Of course their sample sounds are all loud, throbbing music, perhaps for this very reason. It's easier to mask an "airplane engine simulation" if you're listening to Santana blasting away on Smooth. I mentioned my ear pressure issue to the clerk, and he said he found the exact same thing.

Finally after about 30 days of testing, I called up Bose and asked to exchange this in for the QuietComfort 2. I would much rather have the around-ear headphone (which really, the case is about exactly the same size and the headphone itself is just as comfortable for me) and have far less pain. My thought is that with the around-ear shape they didn't need to blast directly towards your ear as much with the noise cancelling waves in order to counterbalance the ambient noise.

If you're looking at these, I would really compare the two side by side in a store. I tried my very, very best to stick with the QuietComfort 3 since I already had them in my house and they were smaller. I just couldn't do it - they bothered me too much to imagine using them for 2 weeks straight.

QC-2 v QC-3 Comparison
I did a fairly comprehensive A/B test this evening at our local Bose store (their first stock arrived today).

I had given my QC-2s to my wife and bought ER 6i's because of the bulk of the QC-2 case when travelling, but have never been wholly comfortable with the ER 6i's stuffed in my ear canals.

I saw the QC-3 ads and since I am travelling to Europe next week I hoped to secure a pair before leaving.

What I found physically: QC-3s are for me less comfortable with the required pressure on the ear. The QC-2s feel 'lighter' to wear, though they are actually around 20% heavier. The QC-3 case is slightly smaller and thinner, but not significantly, and with the battery charger, if anything slightly heavier.

A small, but potentially critical design flaw: the QC-3 'on' light is incorporated into the switch, rather dull and much easier to miss, certainly under store lighting. But if you leave them on from your last use, since they use a rechargeable battery requiring a mains charger, you will be out of luck on that long flight! With the QC-2, the risk is far less and the remedy a single spare AA battery (30 hours of use with the QC-2s v 20 hours per charge with the QC-3 rechargeable battery).

What I found aurally: to my ears, and those of a Bose staff member who joined me in the test, the QC-2's are slightly more detailed, with slightly more depth. This is in a quiet store, not an airplane, mind you, and listening to a CD not (a compressed) iPod source. I would guess that any aural difference would be much harder to hear on a plane.

Fact is, in a store one has no way of knowing just what the acoustic differences will be on a plane. Evidently the QC-3s have stronger noice cancellation to compensate for their open design. What is the net effect of this?

I was tempted to purchase the QC-3's to allow an on flight comparison with my wife's QC-2's (and of course to be the 'first kid on the block'!)

But just on a comfort level alone, for me, the QC-2's win out and I purchased another pair (albeit the recently updated version).

So why didn't I buy them on Amazon? If it hadn't been for the 4-5 day initial shipment delay and my imminent departure for Europe, I would have One-Clicked my way to the QC-3's but in this case I'm glad I didn't!