If you've ever spent 24 hours on a long haul flight you may know what a blessing noise cancelling headphones are. While the headset Apple ship with the iPhone is OK (the all-in-one answer/ hang up, pause/ play, and next song button is great), they do sound tinny after experiencing the depth and background quiet of the QuietComfort 3 from Bose. Unfortunately the pre-iPhone set I bought in New Zealand weren't accommodated by the iPhone's recessed jack—nor was my wife's Sennheiser PXC 250.
Apple say:
iPhone has a standard 3.5-mm headphone jack, so it is compatible with most portable stereo headphones. Some stereo headphones may require an adapter (sold separately) to ensure proper fit.
But when you pass most through the Apple reality distortion lexi-transmographier, that recessed design means hardly any.
In the wake of the iPhone Bose modified the cords of some of their headphones. Although the airplane adapter that came with my QC3 does fit (sort of) into the iPhone jack, using it in this way is clumsy and seems to degrade audio quality.
There are plenty of audio adapters now available (Apple Store, eBay, etc.) that use less plastic in order to bury themselves deeper into your iPhone, but I decided to ring Bose UK (0800 085 9021) and find out if I could purchase a replacement cord, or "official" adapter.
The Guy from Bose was obviously familiar with the problem. Bose UK's Parts Dept. sent me a legacy adapter "because you want to be able to continue enjoying them", no charge.
The QC3 is a great product backed by great service: well done Bose.
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That's great. The Bose service, I mean. Not the stupid form over function recessed iPhone jack. The "Bose premium" leaves some room for good customer service, it seems. It is not expensive for them. A $2 adapter (bulk cost guesstimate) and $1 postage makes an extra happy user.
I tried the original v1 version back in the day while in transit at an airport and wasn't sold on the quietness. Did you try those at the time? Is there a substantial improvement that you're aware of?
I was actually wondering today if I reached the bottom of Customer Care. Namely you buy a garden table with a glass top. After assembly you carefully unpack the glass, place it on top and notice a small defect in the glass. There's a 1-7 yr warranty on parts, frame, etc. Instructions tell you not to return the product to the store but to call a toll free number. So you call and hear there is no warranty on the glass even though it is a manufacturing defect or something that happened at the time of packaging. The person on the other end of the phone argues that the merchant signs off upon delivery and that releases them from any liability and warranty?! Take it back to the store.
I don't want to make a big deal about this little thing - I debated whether I'd call or not and if you put something on the table chances are it is hidden - but they ticked me off and I really wonder what the merchant thinks about that signed off no warranty line, so I sent the retailer a little email.
Put a consumer advocate hat on this rabbit and it bites like a pitbull ;)
I don't recall trying any other Bose 'phones icerabbit. But testing them in-store isn't a fair trial; they excel at reducing (not canceling) regular background noise, like the monotonous drone of a plane or bus engine. If someone speaks to you while you have the QC3's on you can hear them quite well (providing the music isn't too loud!), but you also hear your music (or inflight movie) with much better clarity. I'm not sure of the physiology, but if wear the 'phones for a while during a flight and then switch off, the sound of the engine seems much louder than it did when you first put them on! I'm guessing that human hearing "acclimatizes" to the QC3's filtering; so powerful is this effect that when I've finished listening to music I'll turn the iPod off but keep the QC3's switched on, purely to enjoy a significantly quieter flight.
I have to agree with you, Bose is great in customer service. I recently picked up a pair of QC2s after being impressed with my Dad's QC3s. While I personally haven't had any experience with customer service, everywhere I go I hear kind words about their support. I feel relived knowing that should something ever go wrong with my headphones, support shouldn't be difficult to deal with.