[stewieg]

Hi.
Bose AE2  do you recommend them as home/portable headphones?
How is sound quality?
 
Thanks.

 

[calipilot227]

No. I don't recommend them for anything. 

 
They ARE very comfortable, but they are also extremely overpriced and the sound quality is lacking (rolled-off highs, booming bass). I'd recommend the Creative Aurvana Live if you're looking for comfortable circumaurals. They use the same driver as one of the Denon models (I forget which). And you can get them on Amazon for $69. If the AE2 was the same price, I just might be able to recommend it.

 

[Folding Chair]

I just wrote an extensive review and comparison:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/540462/bose-ae2-vs-tri-port-ae1-comparison-and-review

 

[Andersslot]

I bought a pair. And i am starting to regret it. High price? yes, im begining to think that you might be paying a large percent of the price for the brand alone. One thing that was a real big surprice, was when i unpacked them. The cord and the jack stick!? How can i company like Bose, put a cord like that on a pair of headphones that are that comfortable and to that price? Lets say if Porsche were to build a new model, and it ended up with 14 inch steel rims on it?! Sure it will work and it will drive, but it will never drive or handle corners like its suppose to.
If you are suppose to use these phones with your iphone/HTC/Samsung/Ipod only, great! buy them! Here would causual observer just note that there is nowhere on the package, label for ipod use only. They might have a bigger signal value than sound value.
If i am using them its on a Argon Ha2 Tube amp, and i used them at my office, but i have now unplugged them and are using my well used Sennheiser HD 555. yes i might be as you call them audiophile, and you might asked why did i even bought them, well i didn´t, a got them as a gift, so i tried them on, i have read all the Bose bashing and i got a unique opportunity to hear what all the fuzz was about. 
The sound,  I have now + 50 hours on them, and they havent gotten any better after 40 hours of burn in and 10 + listening hours. 
The highs is my problem, the sound is really really mechanic,and the mids tends to drow a bit in all that bass and highs, but if you like DJ Tiesto, these phones just might be right for you.  
But offcourse, its a matter of personal opnion. So my recommendation, find somewhere were you can listen to them, and try out for yourself. 

   

 

[calipilot227]

I had the original triports and recently tried the new AE2. They both sound like Westone 3's from hell 

 

[Mark Williams]

Much maligned.....yet I like my Bose AE2's.   I have experienced no quality issues.   That's just ridiculous.   As for the "boomy" bass.   Huh?    I wouldn't say boomy.   I'd say the bass is more prominent and enjoyable than a pair of AKG701's that I am borrowing, yet the overall soundstage of the Bose is more focused than the great, wide soundstage the AKG's present.   Both are nice and neither suck by any means.   Just what you like.   
 
As for the price?   I've not heard bunches of headphones but for $150 I think these things are worth it.
 
As for mids and highs the Bose seem quite clear to me (maybe too much so?).   There is a bit of murkiness (a bit)  to the mids of the AKG's yet there is some natural quality, a palpable presense to the AKG's I like.   I can't pin it down.   It's almost like the AKG's are colored in the mids/highs a little bit, but it's a little bit I like.
 
Comfort?   Bose has it hands down.   The AKG's are yes, soft, but a little large for my small to average sized head.   
 
MW 

 

[RamblinE]

Quote:

Much maligned.....yet I like my Bose AE2's.   I have experienced no quality issues.   That's just ridiculous.   As for the "boomy" bass.   Huh?    I wouldn't say boomy.   I'd say the bass is more prominent and enjoyable than a pair of AKG701's that I am borrowing, yet the overall soundstage of the Bose is more focused than the great, wide soundstage the AKG's present.   Both are nice and neither suck by any means.   Just what you like.   
 
As for the price?   I've not heard bunches of headphones but for $150 I think these things are worth it.
 
As for mids and highs the Bose seem quite clear to me (maybe too much so?).   There is a bit of murkiness (a bit)  to the mids of the AKG's yet there is some natural quality, a palpable presense to the AKG's I like.   I can't pin it down.   It's almost like the AKG's are colored in the mids/highs a little bit, but it's a little bit I like.
 
Comfort?   Bose has it hands down.   The AKG's are yes, soft, but a little large for my small to average sized head.   
 
MW 

 
 
While the Bose AE2 and the AKG K701 have little in common (I own both), at least in the bass department they are BOTH right on the money. They both present accurate bass. Accurate to the recording anyway. I'm not a bass head and if you are than neither the K701s or AE2s are for you but what the AE2s do offer is surprising neutrality for a consumer headphone. Their light weight, closed backs and extreme comfort make them my absolute go-to cans for public use. 
 
The only catch really is that when I bought my first pair brand-new I returned them after less than a month. They were too expensive. I bought back a pair at a much more agreeable price-point, $50. Have not regretted that move. The two largest handicaps of the Bose AE2 are the name afixed to them and the price tag. Cut the price in half and brand them something else entirely and they'd probably garner much more love from those more interested in neutrality and detail than those interested in boom-sizzle (who seem to be the ones giving them the bad knock). 

 

[aras]

boomy bass on AE2? This is absolutely not true. They actually have very balanced bass response. Overall AE2s are not bad headphones in terms of SQ and they are the best in terms of comfort.