Bose QuietComfort 20 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones, Apple Devices (White)

I'll start by saying that I have never been a Bose fan. I generally think their products are overpriced and not always better than brands you can find for much less. They advertise A LOT which always makes me suspect of a brand...if they are so good, the products shouldn't need so much advertisement. With that said, these are fantastic and worth every penny.I actually bought these for my wife but I've had a pair for over a year. She wasn't really interested in having a pair no matter how good I said they were.So I bought her a pair for our anniversary and she is SUPER happy with them and wishes she had gotten them sooner (I was right for once!)These are the best headphone purchase I've ever made and I have bought quite a few - not all of them have been cheapies (several pricey Etymotic and Shure models).The active noise canceling is superb and works great on a plane, in a car, at the office, etc. Even if you aren't playing music, it gives you utter silence from background noise unless it's really loud. Sound quality is great as well and the battery has lasted at least 6 hours continuous and would likely go longer but I've never used them for longer periods than that without charging.The ear tips are very comfy and do not come off in your ear or accidentally fall off and roll under something like some other brands. They fit on securely so you never have to worry about losing them. This has long been an issue for me with other brands...I'd arrive at my destination and pull the headphone out to use them and voila, one of the buds is mussing. I don't miss those days at all!They seem to be very durable. I carry them back and forth to work, on trips, etc and no issues with wires fraying, or coming loose, or anything like that. Can't say the same for some of the aforementioned expensive models I've had in the past. Every last one of those broke down in some fashion after less than a year of use.I only have 2 small nitpicks so my rating would actually be 4.5 stars since there's room for improvement:1) the on/off switch is raised (as opposed to recessed) which makes it easy to slide on and off which is a good thing. However, it also seems to get turned on accidentally while in my bag every once and a while so I go to use them and they are dead :( It would be better it it were recessed with a small raised bar in the center that was only as high as the unit itself so it would still be easy to switch but not be as susceptible to accidental movement. The good new is, even when the battery is dead, you can still use them. There is just no active noise reduction and the sound quality diminishes greatly.2) the unit on the cord which houses the battery and the switch is kinda clunky and gets in the way sometimes. It also makes it tough to wear for any kind of physical activity. I understand they have to put the battery somewhere so it can't really be helped but maybe it can be streamlined into a cylinder shape to make it less obtrusive.I guess I could complain that they are little spendy and rarely go on sale but as I said, I really feel like they are good enough to justify the price.My only worry now is that the new iPhones are supposed to be coming out without the tradition headphone jack which means I won't be able to use them with my iPhone unless there is some sort of adapter. :(

I wanted a more portable noise cancelling headphone that was not as bulky as the QC15. QC15 cannot be beat for its comfort and ability to cancel all the airplane noise. I have grown weary of having to accommodate the QC15 case in my briefcase. My 20 hr. international flights have been comfortable because of QC15 but wanted to acquire an alternative without having to compromise Bose's NC quality. After trying the new QC20 several times, I finally grew satisfied with it and it will be going with me on my next international trip in a few weeks.When I first tried QC20, I used the original earplugs (medium size) and thought it was too big so I replaced it with a small one. That felt more comfortable. I used it for a few hours and became dissatisfied with it NC quality - too much noise bled in and I thought this won't work for me. It worked relatively well overall but I felt like I was compromising too much. After thinking about it, I replaced the earbud tips back to the medium size thinking that might be the problem - initially too snug but then voila, its NC quality worked almost as well as my QC15. Overtime, I became very satisfied. All the external noises in my house disappeared! It is a keeper!One big negative: the little "box" that controls the NC function awkwardly hangs on my iPhone. I can't see that working out well if I am walking around with this unless it is in my jacket or I am sitting down.For its portability and its superior noise cancelling function, I highly recommend this. Looking forward to my trip with this without the bulky QC15 case!I bought the white one for the full price. Not convinced it should cost that much.

I am a college student who uses the train to get back and forth to school which is about a seven hour trip. I thought it would be a great investment to get a pair of headphones that would not only allow me to enjoy my trip back and forth to school without having to hear the conversations of the people sitting around me, but would also allow me to focus on my assignments on an incredibly loud train. At first, these headphones worked incredibly well. With the noise cancelling function on, I was able to be completely immersed in my music and my assignments. With the aware mode, I was able to easily switch off the noise cancelling aspect in order to hear important announcements regarding my train. As I said, at first, these headphones did their job incredibly well. Now, about six months later, the batter no longer holds a complete charge I can fully charge the battery but it will only last for about 6 hours as opposed to the 16 hours Bose says it should last. Also, there is no warning or low battery indicator light anymore. At all times, the battery pack will show two solid green lights (one indicating it is on and the other indicating that I have plenty of battery left) and then after about six hours, it will just switch off. I am extremely disappointed in this product. I own many other Bose products that have lasted for years without any issues and for $300 I expected a lot more from Bose. Now I am left with an extremely expensive pair of ordinary earphones that are no better than the ones that came with my phone.

The noise cancelling feature is not as good as the older version. The old version cuts out the airplane’s engine noise completely but the newer version does not. Don’t waste your money on this under performing newer version.