Customer Ratings & Reviews

Bose, a brand name that most people can recognize when it comes to audio. I was looking for a more comfortable set of headphones for traveling that still had quality sound and figured that for the price and name, these would fit the bill. My comparisons come from a variety of previously owned headphones, but most recently the B&W C5 S2. First off, the active noise cancellation. It really does work amazingly well. I can't say that there are really any faults with that. Had a couple of 8-11 hour flights and they almost took you out of the noise completely, probably a 90% reduction of your general engine and chatter noise. The box is a little cumbersome but nothing you can't manage and the battery life is phenomenal, I would say I got my 12+ hours per charge out of it. Now the part that left me a little disappointed and wanting more. The sound quality itself. Don't get me wrong, it sounds better than I would say your average set of headphones that come with your phone. But the richness and clarity that you experience with some of their home products, well that wasn't there. It's a very unoffensive sound, if that makes sense. It's good at all ranges, but doesn't shine anywhere. Now I don't mean heavy bass like Beats, don't care for that. The lows are mild and unobtrusive, but meddled. The mid's are fine enough, but if you listen to anything with a variety of instruments and sounds, they all blend together, not in a sweet harmony, but as if it were just a single entity. The high's are in the same category. They are definitely comfortable though, wore them for 8+ hours straight and only felt a little soreness that quickly dissipated by taking them out for 10 minutes. The seal is about 95%, I couldn't really get one side without twisting it a bit which kind of led to the discomfort after a few hours. Overall, much more comfortable for long trips than the B&W C5. All that said, if you want good sound, phenomenal noise cancellation and surprisingly good comfort, these might be worth the cost. But if you care more about the quality of sound than perhaps the ANC, I would look elsewhere.

I must admit I was very skeptical of these because I have owned the Over the Ear ones for a few years now and did not think the Earbuds would be able to cancel out the noise sufficiently. I am pleasantly surprised and thankful they work phenomenally and are very comfortable as well. I have extreme sound sensitivity from a TBA so silence is a necessity for me. Now make them in just black and they would be close to perfect.

after months of indecision, i bought the bose QC20i's from a best buy vending machine at the airport. i've owned it for a couple of months and i've decided they're worth every penny. the noise canceling tech works great on airplanes or anyplace where you need to block out background noise. they work equally well as headphones with my iPhone and iPad, for listening to music or watching movies. i own bose noise canceling headphones as well, and i find the 20i's to be so much more convenient due to their size.

These came highly recommended, so I knew I was going to love these headphones, but I had no idea how INCREDIBLE the noise canceling feature is. I have issues with tinitis (noise in my ears) and it even cancels out most of that as well as the noise in the airplane. I also did not believe they would STAY on my ears...they do, and are comfortable. I bought my husband a pair too! Color me happy. :)

I was a previous owner of the QC15 over ear noise cancelling headphones from Bose which worked great. I used those mainly for travel/ long flights. However, those are extremely bulky especially when you transport in the case (which you feel you need so you don't break them in your bag), and they are also hot when you wear them on a long flight. I saw these "earbud" like noise cancelling headphones from Bose shopping one day and thought i'd give it a try. I absolutely love this product. They are really compact, produce good enough sound, and the noise cancelling is good. I especially like that i can recharge the battery via USB and the different easy to switch ear comfort pieces. I also like that you can listen to music with them on or off (unlike the QC15) and there is a mode for intermediate noise cancelling. 2 small drawbacks; the price obviously, and the noise cancelling isn't as good as other Bose products. However, its quite sufficient for me and when you also take into consideration the portability and added features; this is an all around better product/ value in my opinion. I now use these around the house vice just on travel because they don't look ridiculous to wear.

I bought these for my daughter to use but I tried them in a Starbucks and loved them! They are pricey but so worth it. These headphones are comfortable and work incredible well at noise canceling all these little things. Bonus they work on my computer and phone they have a mic, volume and call controls. I recommend these headphones so highly I will be buying more for my son and me.

I bought these headphones for business travel as a replacement to an older pair of QC25 over the ear headphones. I never imagined ear buds could compare but I was wrong! These are amazing. The noise cancelling is as good as over the ear in a much more compact design. The sound quality is excellent. Battery life is at least 8 hours. They are so good I frequently use them around the house for everything from mowing the lawn to drowning out background noise from kids, dogs, etc.

Being in the market for new earphones, this product was recommended to me by an audiophile sales rep. I purchased them and do not regret it one iota. They come with additional ear 'pads' in case the default do not sit comfortably in your ear canal. The noise cancelling itself is among the best I've heard, and that's including actual over the ear headphones. I highly recommend this product for anyone in the market for top-of-the-line earphones with money to burn. 10/10.

These headphones blew me away! I originally bought these at Christmas, but ended up losing them. So I bought them again for my birthday. That's how much I like them. The ear inserts are extremely comfortable and provide a great seal - limiting outside noise. The active noise cancelling worked like a champ! I can't even hear my wife sitting next to me in bed! Can't ask for more!

Used these on two recent flights and was amazed at how well they cancel out background noise. With my 2 sets of other brand head phones, I'd have to crank the volume on my tablet to maximum to be able to hear it over the plane noise. With Bose, I was able to keep the volume down to a more comfortable level and hear the movie. The battery life seems very good. The sound quality without the noise cancellation is very good as well. Expensive, but impressive!

I do a lot of traveling and I love the way these fit and the sound quality is perfect with long batter life.

I have had trouble with in-ear devices in the past since my ear holes are rather large. These Bose plugs fit quite well and are comfortable. They don't fall out and I'm not constantly fiddling with them to make them stay seated tightly. The battery life is good and the noise canceling performance is quite impressive. The cables are thicker, yet they are flexible. This gives me some belief that the durability will be there. Only time will tell. The short core from the battery pack to your connected device is short. I can remedy that with a 6" extension cord from eBay, but I am getting used to the short cord. It does put some tension on the cable so I don't know what the life will be in the long run. Again, time will tell. Bose service has always been good and most times reasonable. I have their other 2 Quiet Comfort headphones and these in-ears perform as well as the Quiet Comfort on-ear and over-the-ear units.

Let's get the bad out of the way first. That's the price! Sticker shock. Bose first release of a ANC earbuds for those who's ear get hot or don't like wearing the cans on your head. That said these are just as comfortable as their sport one which I own. They are probably one of the best fitting earbuds I own. The sound quality is very good to my ears and immersive. The music is balanced right out the box. The the ANC is pretty darn impressive for these little buds. Once you find the right size to fit your ears as soon as you turn on the ANC it immediately shuts the noise out and it is pretty noticeable. There is just a silence. The AC disappeared. The hum of the plane disappeared. Just silence. The controller with the battery could be a bit slimmer but didn't bother me. What I am skeptical is once the battery fails as all batteries eventually do you lose the ANC and a $250 earbuds.

I have had over the ear Bose noise cancelling headphones since they were first introduced to the general public and was reluctant to get ear buds which I typically do not like. After a trial in the store I was convinced! They are extremely comfortable and they do their job at least as well as my old headphones. And are much more comfortable. I love them.

I have used Bose QC2 and QC15 over the ear phones extensively - great products and very comfortable, but not very convenient for sleeping on long airplane trips if you have a lie-flat seat and like to sleep on your side. These inner-ear phones are comfortable, noise canceling is superior to the other Bose products and they can be used to listen even when turned off - for example if you like to listen to the pilot to air traffic control channel while taking off and landing. The only slight gripe is that the length of cord between the battery and the 3.5mm plug is too short, resulting in the battery box hanging from the seat on some aircraft (which is where I primarily use mine). Buy a short extension cable such as the New Valley 6-inch 4 pole 3.5mm one ... but make sure whatever extension you buy has FOUR connectors, not the usual 3 - otherwise the in-line control for pausing/resuming play will not work. Overall, excellent quality and functionality backed by Bose' solid warranty services. A little expensive, but highly recommended.

These in ear noise canceling headphones are definitely a step up from previous models and are worth the high price. They're easy to use, pretty easy to charge, and work extremely well for the airplane, office, or at home. My only complaint is that the battery pack is still pretty cumbersome, which makes them more difficult to use at the gym than the non-noise canceling variety.

I bought these to replace my QuietComfort 15 headphones for travel as I wanted something less bulky. I was amazed at how well the noise cancelling worked on an airplane. These were great for watching a movie on my tablet. And I find them to be more comfortable than the on-ear headphones. I was leery of these because of the price but after using them I am extremely happy with the purchase.

I recently purchased the Bose earbuds for my husband and he is very happy with them even though he has not had a lot of opportunity to use them. He already owns the same Bose earbuds but without the noise cancellation and uses them on a daily basis for business. He has had them for a couple of years and uses them the entire day as he is on the phone for work so much. I also own same earbuds and we both love the comfort and sound with them. I purchased the noise canceling for him to use for travel. He has the large Bose noise canceling to use for travel but as he is always trying to fly with less, these new ones will provide less bulk. He feels that the noise cancellation works great in these new earbuds and was very happy with the purchase. There is a battery to charge in the new earbuds but it is supposed to last for sixteen hours after a charge so we don't thing that will be a problem. The earbuds are comfortable, have great sound and the noise cancellation works.

So audiophiles are always quick to say how Bose is overpriced for the sound quality, and I'm not one to disagree. However, I was willing to sacrifice a bit of sound quality just for the noise cancellation. These are GREAT for travel. No more bulky case as with the QC15s or QC3s. Also, these work passively, which means even if the battery goes dead, you can still listen to your music without noise cancellation! I couldn't do that with the QC15s or QC3s. Even if you don't like Bose because you think they're over-priced, their customer service can't be beat and these noise canceling headphones fit in your pocket!

I'm a frequent business traveller and needed a good pair of noise cancelling headphones. I thought very hard about getting the QC 25's but I did not like the idea of having Headphone hair every time I wore them and more importantly those took up too much space in my bag. I read plenty of reviews on the QC 20i's before I purchased. My first trip I wore them on a flight from Chicago to Phoenix. OMG, they are awesome. The noise cancelling is top notch. It does take a bit of getting used to though and I only like to have the NC on if I'm listening to something. The sound is excellent and the fit is very comfortable and does not hurt my ears even after a 3.45 minute flight. I almost felt refreshed when we landed, it was though I had not been on that long flight, I'm not kidding. Never felt that way before on a long flight. The one negative is that quirky control/battery unit that right where you plug your headphones into the jack or phone or whatever. If Bose could figure that out these would be even better. It also comes with a nice pouch that you can squeeze everything into. Charge seems to last for a long time.