A battle of Headphones - Monster’s Dr. Dre Beats in one corner and the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 in the other corner. Let’s have a clean fight. Ding! Ding! Come out swinging!

On a rainy afternoon, I wandered into the Apple store with no particular purpose in mind. Do you really need a reason? It was a weekday at lunch time and the crowd did not resemble the mess that Saturdays and Sundays present. I found myself wandering and landed at the headphones. I first picked up the Dr. Dre’s and then switched to the Bose, each headphone had its own distinct look, sound and marketing pitch. Here’s the scoop.

Dr. Dre Beats-

Monster Cable. Let’s start with the unique design. I pulled this from Gizmoto…
“Beats by Dr. Dre” have a unique and avant-garde new look and that will revolutionize the headphone world. Everything about the sleek Beats headphones, from their glossy extra-wide headband and hip carrying case to the high-impact attention-getting packaging reflects impeccable style. The wide adjustable headband, hinged ear cups and high-quality Monster cable makes the Beats listening experience unmatched for comfort and function. A push-to-listen Mute button adds to the flexibility and convenience.

“Beats by Dr. Dre” headphones will come in a beautifully designed carrying case with anti-microbial cleaning cloths, a special Monster headphone cable, a mini-stereo to ¼-inch stereo cable adapter, as well as Monster’s iSonitalk, a microphone/headphone adapter for iPhones.”

Hear is what Dr. Dre had to say about his consumer electronics debut:

“When I’m making a track I’m trying to capture the sound that makes me go ‘now THAT’s the S%$^&T! And I want that reaction from everybody who hears it. I spend a lot of time in the studio listening to my music through headphones…with Beats, people are finally going to hear it the way they should: the way I do.”

Bose QuietComfort 2-

Here is the Product desription from Amazon for the Bose headphones:

Experience the innovative combination of the best noise reduction technology and the best headphone audio performance with the QuietComfort 2 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones. The premium headphones dramatically reduce unwanted noise, and advances in Bose technology make what you want to hear sound even better. Their ergonomic design allows for a comfortable fit and the fold-flat feature makes storage of these lightweight headphones even easier.Slip on a pair of QuietComfort 2 headphones and hear your music come alive. Decades of Bose research combine with the Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphone technology to deliver the ultimate in audio performance. This award-winning technology electronically identifies and reduces the unwanted noise around you. So you hear more of what you want to hear? and less of the tiresome sounds that have so often distracted you.

So much is said from both about design. The Dr. Dre going with the sleek and sexy and the Bose for quiet and comfort.
We get it.
How do they sound?

The test: I made camp between the two contenders sharpening my elbows just in case another customer approached. Me in my zebra stripes, the ref…right? Each headphone was connected to an individual iphone with the itunes application playing. I quickly discovered that I could unplug one headphone and just barely plug it into the same iphone (at different times of course). This would eliminate worrying about finding the same song on both iphone (itunes libraries). It would also avoid any setting differences…yep, the same source… so back and forth between headphones I went… was is a fair fight? I tried to make sure it was, here’s my music and listening parameters.

I chose a G Love and the Special Sauce song “Blues Music”.
This is what I found:

• Both sounded excellent. They better for $300+ headphones!
• Immediately was struck by the lows in the Dr.Dre Beats. A Full tight bass.
• The lows were not as impressive the Bose Headphones.
• I had to turn up the volume when I put the Bose QuietComfort 2 in the jack . This was the only way to resemble a fair fight. Just a thought: The issue here may be efficiency. How much power are these going to draw from your iphone or ipod or other device. For portables like these the battery life will come into play. This was NOT a proper test…just an observation.
• The Bose Quiet Comfort 2 set felt as though I were not even wearing something on my head.
• Although the Dr.Dre’s were comfortable, they were bulkier and felt heavier than the Bose.

My Conclusion, I liked both and here are my reasons. If you are traveling and want an excellent set of headphones go with the Bose. They fold into a more travel friendly size. Beware the possible battery issue. If you want to go low (in frequency response that is - bass) go with the Dr. Dre.

Footnote: It looks like there is a Bose QuietComfort 3 out there now. This may have not been a fair fight, after all. Nonetheless, they are priced at about the same level. 

Tony Momo - Feed your Head & Heart with more Sound!

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