[jorich]

Right now I am using a pair of Bose QC15. A friend of my dad gave them to me a couple months ago. He had lost the original cable that Bose makes for them so I went and picked up a Belkin Auxiliary cable so I could try em out(mainly cause I'm lazy and impatient and didn't feel like waiting for em to be shipped). Not a good cord or anything but it gets the job done. If any of you are familiar with the QC15's you would know that where you plug the cable into the headphones is embedded pretty deep in the headphone.

Since its so deep in the headphone, you have to use like a key or something to push it in there. When I push it in all the way the sound only comes out of the right phone though. If I push the cable up into the headphone without using something to get it all the way in there it works just fine, but the cable doesn't click in and is only halfway in, so I have to be real careful or it falls out. Is this the cable or the headphone? If it is the headphone is there a way for me to take the headphones apart and fix this by myself?

Also, I am looking to upgrade from these cans, but not quite sure if there are any upgrades from these in the sub $150 range. I like the way the QC15 sound because I get some nice bass while still being able to hear all of the other stuff.Thanks for any help and sorry if I put this in the wrong section, wasn't quite sure where to put this.

 

[obobskivich]

Why not just get a replacement cable? It's only like $15.

Anyways, those look pretty beat up, so it's tough to say about any damage. But no, it's unlikely something you could repair yourself. As far as alternatives, nothing will sound exactly like the QC15 - the AE2 is the closest though. Outside of Bose, I would look at the Koss TBSE and R/80, Creative Aurvana Live!, and Sennheiser HD380Pro.

 

[jorich]

Anyways, those look pretty beat up, so it's tough to say about any damage.

Ya I know, they wouldn't be like that if I had bought em new Person who gave em to me had beat em up pretty bad. Can't complain about free headphones though, they get the job done lol

 

[Doc-holliday]

The 380's that obobskivich recommended can be had for 108 dollars refurbished at vminnovations.com

Also the philips citiscape uptown would be a nice upgrade for $65 from ben's outlet.

 

[jorich]

Would something like the M50's or a pair of Crossfade's be an upgrade sound quality wise? I really like the way my QC15's sound but I know Bose generally isn't respected around here so I am getting this feeling of ignorance I guess where the only reason I am content is because it is the best I have heard. I also am looking for a pair that doesn't necessarily need an amp but would receive noticeable benefits from a cheap one. I obviously don't have very much to spend on headphones so I definitely don't have much to spend on a nice amp. Looks don't matter to me, only the quality (which is the case with most head-fiers), because if my music is sounding good enough, I shouldn't notice them staring at an akward pair of headphones anyway( although it definitely is a nice little bonus when a pair of headphones are sexy lookin'). I also don't care about portability really either because the QC15 aren't that portable and it doesn't bother me, so portability is not an issue. Open back or closed back is fine for me, but I think I would prefer a closed headphone cause it is pretty noisy at my house sometimes. Isolation isn't really a concern of mine because I've seen that almost any closed headphone will do fine with isolation if you turn em up a bit. I wouldn't deny an open back though and really want to stay open to most possibilities. I just want the best sound quality I can get.

A big thing for me though is comfort, because its no fun to listen to music if it is painful or you are only getting 10-20 min sessions in at a time. Plus I would probably just go back to my QC15 because the ear pads are just so squishy and fit around my ears so nice. Like I have trouble putting on my Turtle Beaches when I play Xbox just because the ear pads are so hard and akward feeling after putting on the bose phones. I want something that I wouldn't mind listening to for hours on end and not feel like my ears are gonna fall off afterwards.

Now we don't have very many meets here in Ohio, so I don't really get the chance to try out these headphones before I order em online or whatever. So if you guys could, if you personally own the headphones, tell me some pros and cons you feel the headphone has that stand out the most to you. And if you have also had experience with the QC15, kinda compare them for me.

I have like this itch in my brain that I just can't seem to satisfy until I get a new pair of headphones. I have slowly upgraded from cheap buds up to what I have now, and the itch is coming back. If only this hobby were cheaper...

 

[obobskivich]

IMHO no the M50 wouldn't be an upgrade - they are less comfortable, heavier, and have no soundstage to speak of (the QC15 have decent staging for a sealed can), now if we're talking $130 versus $300, the M50 come out okay, but we're talking $130 versus free.

Personally I'd say keep the QC15, get the correct cable from Bose (so it stays together and all that), and keep them for when you want isolation (since you can't do much better when it comes to isolation), and look at an open-back headphone as an improvement. Something like the Ultrasone HFI-2400, Grado SR-225i, or AKG K701.

 

[jorich]

Personally I'd say keep the QC15, get the correct cable from Bose (so it stays together and all that), and keep them for when you want isolation (since you can't do much better when it comes to isolation), and look at an open-back headphone as an improvement. Something like the Ultrasone HFI-2400, Grado SR-225i, or AKG K701.

Thanks for the advice. Haven't really thought about it that way, I already have some of the best noise cancelling phones made so why not go for an open back that will give me the sound I have been craving. I'll do some research on those cans you mentioned. Think I'm going to look into the HD 558 and the HD 598 as well. I've heard mostly good things about those too. Plus I think the 598's are just an absolutely sexy set of cans.

 

[obobskivich]

I would say consider the Sennheisers sure, personally I'm not a big fan of them, but they aren't bad (if that makes sense). And if the weird aesthetics work for you - that might be a winner!