We got our hands on ‘THE’ most respectable name in the world of speakers and headphones, and are impressed beyond words. Why? Read on to know.
Most people would agree on the fact that Bose is a luxury brand in the world of music. This brand has created an entirely new category where few other manufacturers are as well known to the average joe. So when we got a pair of Bose QuietComfort 20 Acoustic Noise Cancelling In-ear Headphones, it was obvious that our expectation levels were quite high.
When you open the case and hold it in your hands, it gives you a rewarding feeling which resonates with Bose. The build quality and finish is pretty high and the inline battery and circuitry compartment, which is essential to a noise cancelling pair, is quite thin and looks pretty nice. In order to understand the level of noise cancellation the QC 20 offers, just put them in your ear, no wait, don’t connect it to any source, and switch on the noise cancellation using the button on the circuitry compartment. In no time it will create a vacuum in your ears and the world will become a much calmer place for you to be in. Such is the level of refinement, that during a flight to Mumbai, I just switched it on without playing anything, and the noise coming from the plane’s engines was eliminated completely. It also has its own repercussions, like it can alienate you from the world around you, which means your boss might be yelling at you standing next to you and you might end up making a mistake of smiling at him as you have no idea what he’s saying.
The built-in battery inside the circuitry compartment takes just two hours to get fully charged and serves you for 16 hours of playing time. And even if the battery runs out, it will still work as a normal in-ear headphone, but minus the noise cancellation. The overall unit weighs just 44gms which makes it extremely light to carry around. There is also a mic just few inches below the ear pieces which can be used to talk if connected to your smartphone. There is also a separate model for Apple users which is, quiet conveniently, known as QC 20i.
Now the topic to which it all boils down to – the sound quality. The Bose QC 20 in-ear headphone has amazing low end performance and rocks at high levels as well. I spent endless hours listening to everything from Daft Punk to Pink Floyd to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to some folk singers from Rajasthan in the last few days, and the QC 20 makes sure that I do not miss even the slightest of sounds. Turn on the noise cancellation and it actually punches you with what it offers, especially if you are listening to music with deep bass. The sound quality is supremely rich and doesn’t disappoint in any way. Just that on a few occasions I expect a bit more detail in the voice, but, again, I don’t know whether it was the sound file that was lacking in quality or was it just the Bose QC 20 or both.
According to the Bose India website, the QC 20 is priced at Rs. 25,200 which might sound ridiculous to some, but didn’t to me. It is a lifestyle product after all, which also performs brilliantly. You don’t buy a Bose product because you are looking for value for money, you buy it because you want an experience. And the Bose QC 20 delivers just that.
