Sound:
I bought these headphones to replace a pair of Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones that fell apart after about 4 years of use. The intent of this review is to compare the headphones from these two manufacturers. I use headphones to listen to an iPod in a computer room where I sit a few feet away from a rack of 15 PCs and 4 large file servers. The noise is from the fans and hard drives, and might be described a very like white noise. Both headphones do a creditable job of noise reduction, but unexpectedly the A-Ts are actually much better at handling this noise than the Bose. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm what some call a "senior citizen", although I tend to think of myself as "significantly experienced." Either way, my hearing isn't as precise as it once was. Never the less, I can still recognize quality sound, and both headphones deliver that. The music I listen to is a combination of classical, oldies, and contemporary country. I found that the A-Ts probably deliver slightly crisper highs, but the Bose is much better at bringing out the bass. Interestingly enough, the A-Ts provide much higher audio output at the same volume setting. Both are a pleasure to listen to.
Feature:
A feature I like about the A-Ts is that you can listen to music even with the noise canceling turned off, whereas if the battery dies in the Bose it shuts off anything coming through the headphones at all. This is relatively minor since both headphones give you advance warning that the battery is dying by flashing the power LED, but could be worthwhile if you didn't have a replacement battery on hand.
Ease of Use:
Slip in a battery, plug them in, and turn them on. What could be easier?
Quality:
I didn't weigh the two, but the Bose feel a little lighter when you put them on. And they just slightly more comfortable, probably because the padding is a little softer and because they don't seem to press together over your ears as much. Having said that, the A-Ts are still extremely comfortable. I normally wear headphones 4 to 6 hours at a run, sometimes for 8 hours in a day, and at the end of the day the A-Ts still felt just fine. In terms of physical construction, since I've only owned the A-Ts for about a week, this part of my evaluation honestly has to be called incomplete. But I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the A-Ts will carry this category hands down. After owning the Bose for just over 2 years, the plastic pieces that tie the earphones to the head band started to crack. At 3 years I had to start using wire ties to keep everything together, and at just about 4 years one of the ear pieces finally broke off. This has to be due simply to the stress of spreading the head band to get them on and off every day (this cracking is a well documented problem with the QC2s - see the Bose reviews). The A-Ts appear to be much more substantial, much better built, and I have little doubt at this point that they will give me many more years of service than the Bose.
Value:
I suppose if you're not going to wear them every day (and thus not cause as much physical stress to them), and you want absolutely the best comfort, the deepest bass, and you can afford more than 3 times the price, then the Bose are a good choice. But had I known as much 4 years ago as I do today, it would have been a no-brainer; I would pick the A-Ts. I believe that they are far and away the better value.
The Wow Factor:
I wouldn't describe these in term of "sexy" - they are just a good, solid set of headphones that performs well.
Overall:
These headphones are outstanding and I would purchase them again should the need arise.
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