Beats by Dr. Dre vs Bose QC15's

[JM Aggie08]

Upon listening to both pairs of noise canceling headphones, there is really no distinct difference between the two (at least to my ears.)

Obviously I've narrowed my purchase options down to these two, so as always, I come to you AT, humble, and asking for advice. Which pair is vastly superior and worth my money?

 

[BassBomb]

troll?

 

[darkswordsman17]

Is there some reason you're limiting yourself to these two?

The Beats are prone to breaking, so you might take that into consideration. I don't believe those Bose are the same ones that were also prone to breaking, but you should look into that at least.

You might also consider B&W's headphones. They're not actively noise-cancelling but they're supposed to isolate well.

Honestly, I'm not high on any of these headphones, though, so I'd recommend something else. I know these are well regarded on Head-Fi: http://www.headphone.com/headphones/sennheiser-hd-25-1-ii.php

You can find them on Amazon as well.

I don't know how well the new Denon AH-D1100 isolate, but they might be worth considering.

 

[JM Aggie08]

I was going mostly off of CNET reviews and personal experience with both pairs. Senheiser was also at the top of my list, but jm constantly in such a noisy environment that shutting everything off but the music is ideal.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Get a good pair of IEMs. Actually, I'd even expect a $50 pair of NE-7M's to beat both of those headphones in both sound quality and isolation.

For what you're looking at spending on either of those sets of headphones, you could get an EXCELLENT pair of IEMs. Here's a hint: they won't have Beats or Bose logos on them.

 

[hans030390]

Get some Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones. They'll be cheaper than both of those, be more reliable, and have much better sound quality. They're closed, so they isolate pretty well.

 

[Tiamat]

buy whichever one is more comfortable then. If the headphones aren't comfortable, it doesnt matter how good the other specs. are when the headphones are sitting on your shelf all the time because they hurt to use.

Some IEM's are very difficult to get a good fitting in-ear pieces, in fact, some models just don't come with any good sizes.

In terms of noise reduction, the Bose is pretty good. I don't really care for Bose products, but when it comes to noise cancellation, they are near the top if not at the top.

If you don't need the full noise cancellation that the Bose has, then you can easily get other alternatives with much better sound quality. However, if noise cancellation and comfort are the top 2 factors in your buying decision, Bose is near the top, specifically the QC15. Their in-ear model is junk, as is almost all of the rest of their entire product line for consumer electronics.

 

[JSt0rm]

If you cant hear a difference get the cheapest pair.

 

[Emulex]

bose have better warranty plan. they are so cheap now like 50-60K points - the beats are overpriced on most point sites - i think i can get 3 bose QC-15's or an IPAD 16gb for the same points these days. they are near worthless resale on ebay even new. they work awesome on a 737 - the true test.

 

[f4phantom2500]

i have the head-direct RE0 and they sound phenomenal. they are IEMs that sell for $80 now at head-direct.com. when they came out a couple of years ago they were selling for $200, and even at that price people at head-fi were considering them a good deal, as they were comparing them to $300~$400 IEMs. granted they don't offer the best isolation, they should be better than either of the two you mentioned in both isolation and sound quality.

 

[Aharami]

i dont know how good these are, but woot has a pair of samsung noise canceling headphones for $49.99 today
http://www.woot.com/

 

[JM Aggie08]

Currently looking through the Sennheiser noise cancelling line, as well as their pro/dj models.

Me likes.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Ended up picking up a new pair of the Sennheiser PXC450's on ebay for $250. Yuh.