Bose QuietComfort® 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Consumer Headphones

Initially worried about the price, I had settled with a cheaper unit made by Sony (Sony makes a few models and I had chosen the cheapest one). Although it cancelled some of the humming noise especially while flying, it did not work too well and a pair of ear plugs worked much better to block out unwanted noise. Luckily (or sadly), I misplaced it.

Several months have gone by, and I've ran into situations when I wished I still had the headphone. Even sitting at home, I thought about how nice it would be to block out the noise from the running dishwasher, or general cooking noise coming from the kitchen (running water, chopping, etc.) located immediately next to the living room with wide open space.

The end of my research led me to Bose Quiet Comfort 2 which I thought had the essential "enclosed ear" design. I thought this design was crucial to block out noise since the electronic noise cancelling circuitry only blocks out certain noise such as low rumbling engine. Since I regretted getting a not-so-well-working cheaper headphone, I thought it was inevitable to pay whatever to get the product that worked. Actually there are other noise cancelling headphones that are much more expensive than the Bose, so it seemed justifiable to spend what Bose was asking.

While it electronically blocks out steady noise, it won't block out human voice. I believe it is the the ear cups that blocks out a chunk of noise anyway. Having said that, it is difficult to hear a person speaking once the headphone is turned on for music even if the music is not loud. My wife gets annoyed by having to repeat again and again while I have my Bose on with music. Therefore, it gets less useful if you live with someone. For that matter, I see a very little use around the house. Wearing it while mowing could be a nice idea except the grass cutting season is always too hot to wear the headphone. Vacuuming could be another activity ideal for the use of Bose headphones, but again, it gets sweaty wearing it unless you wear it while your spouse vacuums. Using it outside home probably attracts too many people in a strange way due to the bulky design.

This boils down to one specific use of this unit. That is to use it on the airplane. I see the clear advantage of using it on airplanes to reduce fatigue induced by engine noise. If flying is something you frequently do, I'd say this is a valuable thing to have. If you don't fly often, I see no great use for this product. (although it does work great blocking out the dishwasher noise)

It uses a standard AAA battery that lasts forever. And it comes with a nice carrying case with adapters for airplane plugs. The thin cord that can be unplugged from the unit while not in use may be easily damaged if not carefully handled. For example, if someone walking down the airplane isle "hooks" the cord while you wearing it sitting down, could easily cut or stretch the cord. I'd prefer having a sturdier coiled cord despite the bulkiness it may add to the unit.