Bose TriPort: Hi-Fi ear armor at a Low-Fi price
By Shoshana Berger
Business 2.0
Editor's note: Gizmos Weekly is produced by Business 2.0 and features gadget reviews and gift ideas
(Business 2.0) -- Having come of age under the influence of MTV and Ms. Pac-Man, I have more than a mild case of attention deficit disorder. My symptoms are aggravated by my open-plan office, which boasts all the quiet calm of a shopping mall. Needing some way to drown out the ambient noise, I've been on the hunt for headphones that I can plug in to my computer and wear like ear armor all day long. My requirements: Real noise reduction, crisp sound, and none of that bulky, ring-around-the-ears feeling.
I tried out two of Bose's latest: the new TriPort and the QuietComfort headphones with noise cancellation, which have been on the market for a while. I tested both while listening to a CD on a PowerBook in a noisy room.
Ears don't hurt
Let's talk TriPort first. The padded leather headphones envelop my ears with such a gloved touch, I hardly notice they're there after an hour of listening. (Though they fit me perfectly, the cups may not fit individuals with ears more elfin than mine.) I was concerned that their minimalist design -- they weigh just 5 ounces, and have a slim, adjustable headband -- would mean compromised sound. But when I put on a Jay-Z CD at full volume (that's subwoofer-heavy hip-hop, y'all), the bass has so much thump and so little fuzz, my earlobes start vibrating. The sound is equally crisp in the trebly high notes of breathy Sinead O'Connor tracks. The TriPort headphones are available in metallic blue or gray and come with a 5-foot extension cable, a quarter-inch stereo adapter, and a carrying bag.
No difference detected
Paying $150 more for the QuietComfort set, I expect to them to deliver the music of the spheres. Though there are shelves full of noise-canceling models on the market, these Bose phones have received raves from the press. Miniature microphones embedded in the headset's cups identify different species of sound, from roaring jet engine to chatty cube mate. Then, like a double negative, they create a correction signal that snuffs out ambient noise. The QuietComfort headphones are bulkier than the TriPort pair and come with a high-low anti-noise control box attached to the cord. I can't detect any difference in sound quality between the two headsets -- both have superb range. But the QuietComfort's noise cancellation doesn't live up to the hype. I can still hear too much chatter and background music, even with the anti-noise control set to high. Sure, it has a muffling effect that might work when you're seated over the wing, but with the steep difference in price, I'd just as soon get the TriPort for sound, and a pair of 99-cent earplugs for when I'm flying.
Next week: New trends in earplug technology, from finger to crumpled napkin.
Bose TriPort headphones: $150; QuietComfort headphones: $300. More at www.bose.com.
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