Audiophiles - Bowers and Wilkins Headphones?

[TheVTCGuy]

I use Noise Canceling headphones a lot, I travel a great deal but also at home when relaxing and listening to music. I am a dedicated Bose customer, with the Lifestyle system for home, wireless sport in-ears for running, the sleepbuds for sleeping in noisy hotel rooms, and the QC35s for airplanes and general listening to/relaxing with music. I honestly feel Bose quality has degraded to the point I can no longer purchase their products. Case(s) in point:

1. The sleep buds - They are an awesome product design! Basically wireless in-ear phones that produce white noise or nature sounds or several other options to mask hotel and loud-environments. A couple months after I purchased the pair the right bud went out. Bose sent me a new set, and I was allowed to keep the charger case and left bud, OK, no harm no foul. A few months later and the LEFT bud went out, no big deal because I have the left one from the previous set right? WRONG! Bose tech explained you can not use one bud from one set and the other from a different, there is no master reset or re-pairing or whatever option. Oh, and BTW, since they had just passed the one-year mark my warranty was no good, another $295 to replace them. Thanks Bose. I purchased the $50 warranty for two years on this set, let's see how long they last. GREAT design and when they work, great product, but the QC must be terrible.

2. My QC-35s are held together by gorilla glue (literally) and I anxiously awaited, then pre-ordered the replacement, NC700 headphones. They sound excellent, very good quality and noise cancelling.... BUT (and get this), IF YOU ARE MOTIONLESS FOR MORE THEN TEN MINUTES THE HEADPHONES AUTOMATICALLY POWER OFF. ??? ??????? ?? ?????? So... uhm… if I'm trying to sleep on a plane (I am usually motionless when I sleep, silly me) the headphones turn off every ten minutes with a loud-waking signal that they are powering down. Or, if I am relaxing at home, meditating, or just kicking back and listening to some nice music, and don't move my head for exactly 10 minutes the same things happens..... Great Idea Bose. There is a setting in the app, Never, one hour, three hours and I think some more, but regardless of the setting, after ten minutes they power down. Here is the thread on the Bose community site with numerous complaints and nothing but Bose's BS response: "It's a feature" and "We have forwarded this to our engineering team." After more then two months I have had enough of waiting and their ignoring the customer base.

https://community.bose.com/t5/Around...ed/td-p/218061

So, looking for a replacement (anyone want to buy a set of Bose NC700 headphones cheap?) I am considering the Bowers and Wilkins. They are about the same price, I am willing to pay for a good product but know nothing about this company, can any audiophiles help me out?




https://www.bestbuy.com/site/bowers-...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Dr. Robert]

For noise canceling, how about the new Sony model? Their top tier one.
I utilize Grado headphones, not noise canceling but awesome sound.....they look old fashioned though.
I have Bowers & Wilkins speakers which are terrific, they are used at Abbey Road studios.

[function12]

I love my B&W headphones but then again all my speakers at home are B&W with the exception of a few Sonos in the bathrooms.

[daveathall]

You won't go far wrong with B&W.

https://www.whathifi.com/bw/px/review

[V25V]

B&W has gone the way of mainstream, I would steer clear.

You can go pretty crazy on headphones at the true audiophile level, what is your budget for this?

[Fredcohiba]

I have B&W home speakers and Sony (WH-1000X M3) over the ear noise cancelling phones for airplane. Sound great, are quiet and comfortable for hours.

[haven_seeker]

Originally Posted by Fredcohiba

I have B&W home speakers and Sony (WH-1000X M3) over the ear noise cancelling phones for airplane. Sound great, are quiet and comfortable for hours.

This is the perfect setup right here.

Had a pair of P7’s but I’d tire of them after only 30-40 minutes. Sold then and went to the Sony’s mentioned above and have zero regrets.

I also have a pair of Bose QC3’s that are fantastic.

Unfortunately for home speakers I only have Kefs- the 805 Diamonds are the dream setup

[haven_seeker]

Also - had the QC35’s and didn’t like them. They didn’t have depth.

As for sets turning off, my QC3’s don’t do that. They have a hard switch to turn on and as long as there’s battery life they’ll cancel noise or play music. One small quibble from owners though is = no battery, no music.

[uscmatt99]

I have separate rigs for home and travel.

For travel I've moved to in-ear monitors. You can go either the universal fit route, where you'll need to put the proper size and material tips on to get the right fit in your ears. If you're up for spending more and don't have a habit of leaving things on the plane (I do!) the custom in-ear monitors are the best. Perfect fit, made to order based on impressions you get of your ear shape at an audiologist. Noise isolation for either option can be good enough that you don't need the noise-reduction that Bose and other manufacturers use when they can't seal out the sound.

I previously had Campfire Audio IEMs, which I sadly left on a plane. I just got some Fiio FA-7 IEMs that are quite comfortable. I use it with a Radsone Ear Studio, which is a tiny Bluetooth adapter so that you don't need the cable plugged into your mobile device if you don't want to, or if like my iPhone and iPad there is no headphone jack. This is also awesome for the gym. The Ear Studio has a relatively advanced app for equalizer settings, and has a switchable microphone so that you can hear what someone is saying even while you have your sound isolating earbuds in, without having to remove them. You can also use this while walking outside to maintain situational awareness, unlike 99% of the other people walking around with headphones on

At home, I have a little setup plugged into my computer where I stream my music from. USB cable from the computer to a DAC, then cables from the DAC to the tone controller, then to the amplifier, then plug in the headphones to the amplifier. All pretty inexpensive items. My headphones are Hifiman HE-400i and I can't believe how good they sound for the price, and how comfortable they are for a couple hours. Feels like I'm getting a private concert, no matter what I listen to. In fact, I try out all sorts of different music not normally to my taste just to hear all the cool details in well-recorded music.

Headphones by uscmatt99, on Flickr

[JasoninDenver]

Tough choice here. Honestly, for the best noise cancellation features the Bose you have and the Sony’s mentioned earlier are the best options.

The Sony WH 1000 have been getting good reviews. Maybe it would b worth a try for a high mileage traveller such as yourself.

For sound quality, B&W is a large step up from Bose. Cannot speak as to these exact headphones for their noice cancellation. My old P3 phones are great and I still love plugging them in when I want to listen to music.

Dream cans - Grado.

[Dr. Robert]

These are the entry level Grado headphones, I upgraded to their better foam ear pads, I've had these for a long time & the sounds are great

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[77T]

Paul - I can save you money, your hearing, plus cognitive processes.

Warning: if anyone is skittish about headphone use just skip the rest of this post

IMHO, if you’re wearing headphones/earbuds daytime and nighttime (listening a long time plus sleeping in them) then there could be damage. I know you’re not using high volume but...headphones don’t have to be extremely loud to damage your ears.

So maybe the sleep buds turning off after 10 minutes of inactivity is a good thing. Maybe those cheap Flents would be better?



Even listening to headphones or earbuds at a low to moderate volume can damage your hearing over time. That’s because your ears are not just damaged by the loudness of a noise, but by the length of exposure as well.

Over time the sounds from your headphones cause the hair cells in the cochlea to bend down too much or too severely. If they don’t get time to recover, the damage can be permanent.

White noise in noise cancelling technology is low volume but constant across a wide range of frequencies.



Not only is hearing affected, but also cognitive processes. Researchers cite animal studies that suggest prolonged exposure affects their brains. Over time, long-term exposure to nontraumatic noise can induce central auditory nervous system changes called disinhibition of the auditory system.

This includes a reduction in neural inhibition - that’s the ability to filter unimportant information. It also lengthens of the amount of time it takes for the brain to process changing signals - that’s how information is represented in the brain.

This is almost like constantly working under the influence of 3 alcoholic drinks. Brain drunk but not physically drunk.

Sorry for the long dissertation. I just suggest the earplugs vs the earbuds for sleeping.

Not saying anyone should cease normal listening.


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[gnuyork]

Originally Posted by uscmatt99

My headphones are Hifiman HE-400i and I can't believe how good they sound for the price, and how comfortable they are for a couple hours. Feels like I'm getting a private concert, no matter what I listen to. In fact, I try out all sorts of different music not normally to my taste just to hear all the cool details in well-recorded music.

Headphones by uscmatt99, on Flickr

This. I have the same headphones and they are really quite good for the price indeed.

I personally don't like noise canceling headphones...whatever frequency they produce to cancel the noise makes me slightly nauseous for some reason...almost like a sea sick feeling.

[V25V]

Originally Posted by gnuyork

This. I have the same headphones and they are really quite good for the price indeed.

I personally don't like noise canceling headphones...whatever frequency they produce to cancel the noise makes me slightly nauseous for some reason...almost like a sea sick feeling.

My wife has the same problem.

[JasoninDenver]

Originally Posted by V25V

My wife has the same problem.

That would be horrible for me as I found I need the noise cancelling on long flights to mitigate vicious headaches that I seem to get from the droning of the engines.

[TheVTCGuy]

I think I decided on the Bang and Olufsen PX 3rd edition. Pretty amazing performance.
$500 but I am willing to pay for quality. About to pull the trigger.

I got a notice from Bose that said they plan on releasing a firmware update that will extend the no-motion power down from ten minutes to one hour. Gee, isn’t that great... Anybody interested in a pair of Bose NC700 headphones cheap?

[MSchu]

Focal... accept no substitute.

[BreguetRolex]

Just getting into headphones and headphone amps myself today as soon as FEDEX arrives with the goodies. Like everyone else here always wanted and interested in headphones. Nice to read others have such interest also..

[V25V]

Originally Posted by JasoninDenver

That would be horrible for me as I found I need the noise cancelling on long flights to mitigate vicious headaches that I seem to get from the droning of the engines.

Yeah. I got them for her since she does travel quite a bit so she can use them on the plane, etc. Didn't work but I get to use them now! LOL

[V25V]

Originally Posted by haven_seeker

Unfortunately for home speakers I only have Kefs- the 805 Diamonds are the dream setup

I had KEF's for years, got a set of diamonds several years ago and they were nice. Much like B&W, have gone a bit mainstream however and quality is not what it used to be, lots of their parts are made in china now.

I went to tube stuff after those and haven't looked back. Audio Note and Synthesis.

[haven_seeker]

The Kefs were a great buy. Decent sound for an unbeatable price.

The goal is a set of previously loved 805D2’s, but a well-cared for set still fetches about $4000CDN on the secondary market.

[tyler1980]

my P9 signatures are the best headphones i have ever owned. There is no competition to bose with those. if you go down the product categories im sure there is a good bose head to head. They are big... less portable than say B&O but they sound better than those too

Im a big B&W fan. I also have their formations soundbar and sub, and a bose 700 sound bar and sub. B&W Is far, far superior.

I prefer over ear, not on ear so noise cancelling isn't a big deal for me

[NateInBama]

I would die without my PX. I also have B&W in my den theater. Love their stuff.


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[JasoninDenver]

Originally Posted by NateInBama

I would die without my PX. I also have B&W in my den theater. Love their stuff.


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Everythign in that photo screams “single guy loving life”.

[SearChart]

Bose build quality for headphones is trash, I've owned three pairs and will definitely step up to B&O in the near future (I mainly use my Shure in-ear monitors lately). I still like Bose speakers though, they're solid and well priced.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by JasoninDenver

Everythign in that photo screams “single guy loving life”.

I agree




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[uscmatt99]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

I agree




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That was our house a couple years ago.

Simply substitute in YouTube with some show where a teenager provides a running diarrhea-of-the-mouth commentary while playing a video game I don't understand, and you'll have our house today.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by uscmatt99

That was our house a couple years ago.

Simply substitute in YouTube with some show where a teenager provides a running diarrhea-of-the-mouth commentary while playing a video game I don't understand, and you'll have our house today.

not looking forward to that

[BreguetRolex]

Originally Posted by MSchu

Focal... accept no substitute.

Yes the Focal Utopias here..

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[MSchu]

^yes!