Bose QuietComfort QC15

My Bose QC15 headphones (bought around 2009) are probably my best tech purchase ever. I've had to replace the foam ear pad pieces twice, but otherwise they're fantastic. These are wired (no bluetooth).

I had a few things I though "when did this got this banged up, I just got it" but it was actually almost a decade old. Usually tools or headphones, rode my QC15 for 7 years before upgrading.

A more comfortable solution is to get some good noise-cancelling headphones. I have used Bose QC15s for about 3 years and QC3s for several years before that. They are indispensable to me. Audio-Technica makes some less expensive models that block nearly as much noise but are less comfortable to wear. I also hear good things about noise-cancelling earbuds.

> More advanced noise-canceling headphones, such as the Bose QC35 IIs and Sony WH-1000XM3s, add feed-forward noise-canceling, which uses a microphone (or two) on the outer shell of the headphones to pick up the environmental noise. My oooold Bose QC15s already have microphones on the outer shell - not sure what they are used for, but they are definitely there, with a quite prominent grille...

My Bose QC15s have lasted so long. AA batteries are easily replaced and cheap aftermarket parts on ebay keep is going. It is now my backup as having Bluetooth and better noise cancelling is worth upgrading for but they still work incredibly well on flights. Sadly lithium batteries kill gadgets these days. I have an old gen kindle and I can't find a replacement battery for it. Seems such a waste for a device that is otherwise in excellent shape.

The QCs are unbeatable for noise cancelling. My QC15s are my best friend at school, or, at least they were until I got the new AirPods. If you’re using them on a plane, I doubt anything could beat the QC35s.

Some of the sounds (in addition to those already mentioned) that do (or have) driven me nuts: fast scraping to get last bit of yogurt from plastic container with plastic spoon, chewing/cracking gum where the chewer makes little air bubbles in the gum and then pops them (x10 if they're chewing with their mouth open), whistling, humming, tapping fingernails against table top, tapping foot against floor/chair/desk, digging in purse, cell phone ringing/dinging/alerts, sighing. I once worked with a guy whose normal breathing made a whistling sound. I was sitting about 20 feet from him and one day I was about to go insane. I immediately bought a pair of Bose QC-15 headphones and it made all the difference in the world. Currently, there's a lady who sits on the other side of my cubicle wall who wears a charm bracelet. The sound of her charm bracelet hitting and dragging across the desktop all day drives me batty. I suppose I must have misophonia (first heard about it in this thread). There are times when I wish I were deaf.

For whatever it's worth, I've had the same pair of Bose QC-15's for many years. I have replaced the cable twice and the ear pads twice. They are comfortable and have decent noise cancelling. I won't use wireless anything if I can avoid it, but I am weird that way.

On a plane, I double up. Either my Shure in-ear (noise-insolation) or my Bose QC30 in-ear (noise-cancellation) with my older Bose QC15 (noise-cancellation) over-ear on top. Seems to work really well for me. Obviously, if I have any music/film on then the in-ear are the ones plugged in. For my commute (train+tube/bus+walk) I use my Bose QC30. Full-on noise cancellation on the train/tube, then I dial it down to 50/50 on the noise passthrough when walking in London to avoid being crushed by a bus or cyclist. (And also in-ears are harder for moped based thieves to steal off your head)

I've been using Bose QuietComfort 15 for years. Unfortunately, something has broken in them so they aren't as good at noice cancellation as they were when I bought them.

I'm trying this out now and am really enjoying it. I work at home and usually just have my noise canceling headphones on with no music playing, so having the ambient coffee shop sounds plus music is a nice change. So far, I'm still able to concentrate on my work. Not sure if I'm being more productive or not, but it is a nice change. I just need a coffee to complete the illusion. The loud dish clanks don't really bother me yet. (I am using my beloved Bose Q15 headphones, listening to KCRW Eclectic 24 + the ambient soundtrack both volume levels are very low).

The work so far has been mainly testing, about to get programmers and its going to be quite busy. One of the issues is this office is in India in part of a city with high noise pollution, high enough that it comes into the office. The other issue is that the staff expansion plans would soon make the current office a tad small, in which case I would have to incur expenses for moving to a bigger office. So, it is also about stretching out the usability of the current office with a one time expense. Abt the Bose, the new ones (QC 15) are quite good in noise canceling (the construction does look quite cheap). Tried the QC 3, 2 years ago, didn't find them helpful enough, so I returned them. But the new ones are so good that I am keeping them, and this is from a guy who hardly ever buys $300 gadgets. You might want to check out the 15s I use them more for noise cancellation than for music, hmm.. for a simulated private office environment :)