You know something, these last couple of week I have gained a new respect for Bose! I was really on my TechSnob tip and just regarded Bose as the old guard of the audio industry. Make know mistake Bose has been around for a long time, but they have managed to to gain my attention lately with some of the products they have been coming out with it. I recently covered the Bose Soundlink Wireless System, and that product was great. I haven’t see a wireless speaker that small with such power and clarity.
This bring me to the Bose OE2i headphones. First off I must say I don’t like the name of these headphones at all! The OE2i headphones look great, they are stylish, lightweight, and compact. These headphones fold up and fit in a cool little carry case, even the carrying case is cool. The Bose OE2i comes in two price points, $149.95 for the OE2 which is for just for music, and the $179.95 model which is designed for specific Apple models. The OE2i models comes with a inline mic and player controls for volume, track selections, and voice applications.
Style
The OE2/OE2i comes in either Black or White (the ones we have are Black). The are light, and compact up very well in its carrying case. The ear cones are egg shaped with the Bose logo on front of it. The headband is soft cushion which is similar to the cushions on the inside of the ear cones.
Experience
When I say these things are light, I mean light. Picking the headphones up almost feels as if I’m picking up a feather, there is a feeling of literally no weight at all to these headphones, which is great. Unfolding and folding them up for transport is easy and painless as you just rotating and fold close the headphones. The 3.5mm cable comes out of the headphones so you can pack that in the carrying case with the phones.
Since the headphones are so lightweight, wearing they is very comfortable. Even for an extended user the headphones feel great. This I would have to give to its lightweight one and two because of the cushions used on the ear cones.
One minor negative would be the position of the player controls/inline mic. It is very high up on the cable, which I guess makes sense for the MIC, but when it comes to the controls, it basically means I can’t see what I’m pressing. Sure after a few uses you can pretty much reminder which buttons you need to press, but I would like to be able to see the buttons I’m pressing. Again minor, but thought I should mention.
Sound
Sound of course was superb! This is a Bose products, so anything less and I would consider it a fail. The bass on these headphones, especially for something so light is awesome. If you have read any of my other posts on headphones or earphones, you know I love good bass response. The Bose Oe2i has that and more. As with the Soundlink Wireless System, I was also able to hear the music with clarity.
Now the sound volume didn’t go as loud as I would have like. I connected it to my HTC Inspire 4G and I had to crank the sound all the way up to max, for a good loud sound volume. But then again when connected to an iPhone 4, the volume seemed to pump out more. I didn’t need to turn it all the way out, maybe because of the device. This could very well only happen based on the device you are using, but I thought I note it.
Overall
In an time when right now it seems like Beats by Dre seem to be everywhere, it is good to see some other brand pumping out quality. Both in style and sound, the Bose OE2/OE2i are a very good option for the on the go headphone set. And at $150/$180, they are definitely a little easier on the pockets then the Beats by Dre. Ha never thought I’d hear, as well as have me saying Bose and easier on the pockets in the same sentence lol.
