Boss IE2 - thoughts?

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elektronisch

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I'm looking for a portable set of headphones for my laptop to travel with - preferably in-ear.

Are the BOSE IE2's any good?

Thanks,
Jason
 
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Beware, BOSE are not well thought of. They sound good. I got a pair for Christmas. I think they sound good, but definitely not worth the price. There are tons more in-ears that sound much better at the same price.
 
Bose, fixed the mistake :)

Shadow,

Could you give any examples of some nice in-ears around the same price?

Thanks!
 
Well there are Ultimate Ears, or Etymotics. Stay way from the Beat Audio junk. Head-fi has a ton of reviews for in-ear's at your price point. I would check out their forum. Great resource.
 
i recommend the monster turbine headphones, 1 because they are in ear, 2 because I had bose headphones and they were shitty!
 
orijin said:
i recommend the monster turbine headphones, 1 because they are in ear, 2 because I had bose headphones and they were shitty!
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Lol Monster..


I personally would suggest Shure, Ultimate Ears, Sennheiser or even the Grado iGi are very nice for the price. Shure SE115's i quite like, isolate ambient noise very well, they should be around the same price as the Bose you're looking at.
 
I have to agree with the RE0. I don't own them but I have heard them and they do sound really great.
 
I'm going to buck the trend here and say the Bose IE2's are the best ear buds I've ever heard. I agree with everyone that Bose usually makes a overpriced product. Where I differ is that I also think their products are of high quality. They are high quality overpriced products. Their wave radios for instance sound great....... for a tiny little bedside radio. But for $500? You have to be joking. My grandma bought one --- I groaned when I heard that she did - but I was surprised when I demoed it at her house that it actually was impressive ........for it's size. BUT $500? Seriously? It doesn't even have audio outs? no subwoofer out? $500? You can buy a whole Onkyo HTIB that will blow that Bose wave radio away for $500. That being said -- the Bose IE2's are excellent and worth the price IMO.

I think a lot of the subjective impression of an earbud is probably based on the actual unique shape of one's ears, so my praise of the IE2's may not equal your exp. But lest you doubt my credentials to make the claim that the IE2's are excellent -- you should at least know that I've owned and heard a fair share of quality ear phones and earbuds. I've owned about eight different sennheisers. I currently own the HD595, and previously owned the HD-600's. I've owned the Grado SR-225. I've owned high end Sony headphones, and Denon headphones. I mention the ear phones to say I've owned some high quality, very respectable equipment in which I've based my positive evalution of the IE2s. I've also owned some high quality earbuds. I've even owned the Ultimate Ears TrippleFi 10. Retail $400! The IE2s are the next set I will purchase. A co-worker has them and I've borrowed them on a couple occassions. In my subjective opinion they are one of the best headphones (and certaintly the best earbuds) I've ever heard.

They REALLY just fit my ear perfectly and sound absolutely excellent. The fit on that unique ear bud is perfect for me. I love that they don't seal in my ear canal --- meaning I don't feel that pressure in my ear as I push them in, they lock in tight and don't fall out, yet they have excellent bass and excellent musical quality. Again --- it is subjective, but I really strongly recommend the Bose IE2's and personally think they are fantastic. I very much plan to buy a set soon. Compared to the $400 retail Ultimate Ears Tripple Fi 10 ear buds --- IMO the Bose IE2 sound better and are vastly more comfortable to wear. I have compared them side by side several times on the same songs - on the same source. I'd take the Bose IE2's over the Tripple Fi 10's anyday of the week.
 
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Rossi~ said:
Lol Monster..


I personally would suggest Shure, Ultimate Ears, Sennheiser or even the Grado iGi are very nice for the price. Shure SE115's i quite like, isolate ambient noise very well, they should be around the same price as the Bose you're looking at.
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The monster turbines are actually very highly regarded in many circles as sounding amazing for the money (even at $120ish) but their durability is horrible. Ever single person who has claimed to owned them that I've read about has had to RMA the set at least 3 or 4 times for the cable stress relief breaking.

OP, I've read good things about the etymotic research er6's. Maybe check those out. $70 on amazon right now.
 
Rossi~ said:
Lol Monster..


I personally would suggest Shure, Ultimate Ears, Sennheiser or even the Grado iGi are very nice for the price. Shure SE115's i quite like, isolate ambient noise very well, they should be around the same price as the Bose you're looking at.
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Monster does have a reputation for overpriced shite, but the turbines are actually decent, but they are not worth retail, more around the 60$ price range that amazon had them for a while...
 
Archaea said:
I'm going to buck the trend here and say the Bose IE2's are the best ear buds I've ever heard. I agree with everyone that Bose usually makes a overpriced product. Where I differ is that I also think their products are of high quality. They are high quality overpriced products.
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Ok, I've seen some of the older Bose products and might admit they once made high quality products, but that simply isn't the case anymore. I honestly don't think that is subjective, they don't care about build quality. I can't even fault them for it, people will buy them with or without it, they'd be quite foolish to not save the money considering that.

Having made that statement, I'm not going to argue that they're the best earbuds you've heard. They really could be the most enjoyable to your ears and I mean it when I say I'm happy for you having found that. I've spent noticeably more on ear buds and am still looking (happy with my speakers and over ears though).

I would like to ask though if you've gotten the chance to hear Grado iGi. I may get some flak for this, but I think both Grado and Bose hunt after the same sound signature, just Grado tries to refine a bit more (again, Bose simply can stop earlier in the process. I'm not making a claim one way or another whether they don't achieve something better with less committed work, just that they don't go through the same refining process). I'm honestly curious though how a fan of Bose would compare the two products. It you haven't heard the similarly priced Grado, and you ever get the chance to compare the two, I'd appreciate a PM. It is relevant to my interests.

Almighty ODST said:
OP, I've read good things about the etymotic research er6's. Maybe check those out. $70 on amazon right now.
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I have owned the er6is and honestly think they're very much fluffed by the "anything but Bose crowd." I got em for $60 three years ago based on the internet buzz and even then I remember noting they were worth precisely their cost, and I don't think that has changed in these past few years. They are $60 headphones. If you don't want to pay more and they're at that price, they're a good choice. Honestly, the whole "competes with products of much more cost" is the greatest bull. It seems that's every single product I hear about (though Bose pricing gives it some merit for a lot of products... last shot I swear). I like the triple.fis for their price. In honesty, I know little about the market at this price.
 
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Yeah, I did hear that from others, but I was just making the statement in general that I hate that phrase.

Edit: I actually just recalled that they need regular filter replacements. So yeah, no one should be buying those. I simply do not understand them.
 
I bought my pair of IE2's today at amazon. I HATE paying retail for things, but there doesn't seem to ever be any sales on those headphones. I checked price history with nextag, and slickdeals history. The cheapest I saw from a reputable source was $98. Bose really controls their product retail very well - much like Apple. You want a pair - you pay full price.
 
Rossi~ said:
Lol Monster..


I personally would suggest Shure, Ultimate Ears, Sennheiser or even the Grado iGi are very nice for the price. Shure SE115's i quite like, isolate ambient noise very well, they should be around the same price as the Bose you're looking at.
Click to expand...


Truth, IMHO Bose is selling the name they WERE know for back in the 70's and 80's, they used to produce quality equipment back then. Now days Bose is the "scam" of the century, much higher quality IEM's and Equipment can be had for FAR cheaper. Invest that savings into a quality external headphone amp/dac, or an internal card like the asus essence stx.
 
w00tMkay said:
Truth, IMHO Bose is selling the name they WERE know for back in the 70's and 80's, they used to produce quality equipment back then. Now days Bose is the "scam" of the century, much higher quality IEM's and Equipment can be had for FAR cheaper. Invest that savings into a quality external headphone amp/dac, or an internal card like the asus essence stx.
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I'd say if you haven't heard the IE2 models specifically then I'm not sure you have the authority to talk on these headphones. Just saying Bose sucks in general isn't valid when questioned about a specific headphone model. They were ranked among the mid top in a panel of about 30 earbuds recently tested by Consumer Reports. The ones that placed higher than the IE2's typically had a retail price much higher - in fact up to $300 and were all sealed/noise isolating type earbuds. You can see this information if you have a subscription to the consumer reports website - I do and I recently checked just for curiosity. The IE2's are ranked higher than a few models that are far more expensive. Most notably they were also ranked the highest of any of the non sound insulating earbuds -- all earbuds that achieved a higher score were the in ear canal or sealed type that I dislike because they put uncomfortable pressure on my eardrums when I put them in or take them out. Those kind are also TERRIBLE for flying because the cabin pressure changes is often overcome by intake or expelling air through your ears. With those sealed earbuds in --- it's terribly painful to me.

Another curiosity on that consumer reports list is that the Dr. Dre beats models were all over the board, there were a couple near the top, and a couple near the very bottom. All about the same price --- I didn't know they had multiple models named after different singers. Apparently the quality is very different through the Dr. Dre beats line.
 
I have indeed owned these "Earphones" and have since sold them and upgraded to some sennheiser IE7's, which are superior in every fashion, and can be had on ebay in the 100-150 range.
 
w00tMkay said:
I have indeed owned these "Earphones" and have since sold them and upgraded to some sennheiser IE7's, which are superior in every fashion, and can be had on ebay in the 100-150 range.
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Then your opinion is valid! I still just think it must totally be the unique shape of our ears that determines which earbuds, earphones, etc sound the best to you/me. Like I said in a previous post -- having owned the MSRP $400 Ultimate Ears Tripple Fi 10 earphones which are very highly reviewed - even on this forum...I much prefer the Bose IE2s for my ears both in sound and comfort.
 
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