Three days til Disneyland!
Nov. 14th, 2007 11:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhienellethOn the way home from Portland yesterday, Mark and I made several stops.
First, we stopped and bought new athletic shoes for Disneyland. Three trips to Disney have taught me that anything other than good socks/athletic shoes on my feet cause blisters and misery, so this time I'm starting out with the winning combo.
Next, we stopped at Frye's Electronics and got acrylic cases for the new iPods. While there, I was debating a new pair of earbud headphones while Mark was off looking at Xbox games or some such. While I was standing there debating whether or not I really wanted to spend $50 right before Disney, this (reasonably good looking ) guy came up and starting browsing whatever stuff they keep right next to the headphones. I could tell he was paying attention to me and what I was doing, and I wasn't certain if he'd missed the wedding ring, or just really cared about my internal debate over headphones. And then he started talking:
Strange Guy: "Are you looking to spend a chunk of money on really awesome headphones, or just a little money on really crappy ones?"
Me: "Um...maybe moderate money on middle of the road."
SG: "Cause Bose makes the best pair of in-ear headphones I've ever used."
Me: (thinking of the Bose surround sound system Mark has had for ten years): "Really? I didn't know they made in-ear headphones."
SG: "Yeah, they're different from regular ear buds. They're more comfortable, and super clear with Bose' amazing sound, but they still let you hear some of the ambient noise going on around you. And it doesn't detract from the sound quality of your music at all."
(Now, some of you might think of this as a drawback. Not me. I think noise cancellation headphones are dangerous, unless you're planning on only listening to your tunes in the safety and privacy of your own home. But if you walk, jog, ride your bike, or the bus or subway, or any other public activity, cutting out all noise is a way to really destroy your sense of awareness of what's happening around you. We notice just as many things through hearing as we do through sight, maybe more. For women especially, it's important to be aware of your surroundings.)
Me, interested, and wondeirng where Mark the Bose Freak has gotten off to: "Really? That's awesome."
SG: "Yeah, they're the best headphones I've ever owned. But they're $100. But they're Bose."
Me: "Yeah, Bose are easily worth twice the cost of these Sony."
(Mark suddenly appears.)
Me: "Hey, did you know Bose makes an in-ear headphone?"
Mark: "They do?"
He and Strange Guy launch into a back and forth extolling the virtues of Bose, in which everything SG had already told me is repeated. I put back the Sonys and tell Mark maybe after Disneyland we'll have to check into the Bose.
We finish up at Fryes and check out. Our next stop is the Factory Outlet stores in Woodburn, where we plan to buy new carry on luggage for our trip. We travel about half an hour down the freeway and pull in...right in front of the Bose factory outlet store.
Mark: "...that's right. The Bose store is here."
Me: "After Disneyland."
Mark: "We could just go in and look."
Me, knowing what that means: "We're here for luggage, not headphones."
Mark: "I knew you'd want to see them!"
Me, resigned: "All right. We'll just look." (I am already calculating what the $200 hit for two pairs will do to our Disney fund.)
So, yes. We walked out of the Bose store with two pairs of these. To be fair, we did indeed look at them and try them out in the store, before buying. But the sound quality is amazing, the bass much better supported than in the avergae earbuds. They sit comfortably in your ear without feeling like a pair of earplugs. A lot of our scores use deep bass. These headphones can soooo handle it. Plus, yes, I can hear Mark talking to me while still listening to my music. I very much like that feature.
After we got home, I went online and looked up reviews. I was amused and disgusted when they were below average for two reasons:
1. They don't fit so tightly in your ear that they create a seal, blocking out all noise like traditional earbuds. Um, reviewer people they aren't supposed to! Try a little product familiarity before you spout off. (Bose designed their in-ear phones this way for two reasons - there is some concern that the ear buds which sit in the opening of your ear canal may lead to hearing damage, and apparently a lot of people find that design uncomfortable for long wear. Bose designed theirs to be comfortable for hours.) One reviewer actually deliberately shoved them far enough into his ears to "create an artificial seal" specifically against the directions that came with the product, then complained that the music was then so loud it hurt, even if the headphones had fit comfortably that way, which they didn't. (Duh!)
2. Apparently the first run of these the silicon tips were too lose and kept falling off. Bose has since fixed this issue and shipped replacement tips to consumers who purchased their headphones earlier than April 2007. I get why this would have initially driven down reviews, but Bose fixed it. Adn replaced the faulty part for everyone. What's to complain about now?
We also bought our carry ons, the result of which was that we spent far more money than we really wanted to when we set out that morning. But, I will have superior sound for my iPod on the plane to Disney!
First, we stopped and bought new athletic shoes for Disneyland. Three trips to Disney have taught me that anything other than good socks/athletic shoes on my feet cause blisters and misery, so this time I'm starting out with the winning combo.
Next, we stopped at Frye's Electronics and got acrylic cases for the new iPods. While there, I was debating a new pair of earbud headphones while Mark was off looking at Xbox games or some such. While I was standing there debating whether or not I really wanted to spend $50 right before Disney, this (reasonably good looking ) guy came up and starting browsing whatever stuff they keep right next to the headphones. I could tell he was paying attention to me and what I was doing, and I wasn't certain if he'd missed the wedding ring, or just really cared about my internal debate over headphones. And then he started talking:
Strange Guy: "Are you looking to spend a chunk of money on really awesome headphones, or just a little money on really crappy ones?"
Me: "Um...maybe moderate money on middle of the road."
SG: "Cause Bose makes the best pair of in-ear headphones I've ever used."
Me: (thinking of the Bose surround sound system Mark has had for ten years): "Really? I didn't know they made in-ear headphones."
SG: "Yeah, they're different from regular ear buds. They're more comfortable, and super clear with Bose' amazing sound, but they still let you hear some of the ambient noise going on around you. And it doesn't detract from the sound quality of your music at all."
(Now, some of you might think of this as a drawback. Not me. I think noise cancellation headphones are dangerous, unless you're planning on only listening to your tunes in the safety and privacy of your own home. But if you walk, jog, ride your bike, or the bus or subway, or any other public activity, cutting out all noise is a way to really destroy your sense of awareness of what's happening around you. We notice just as many things through hearing as we do through sight, maybe more. For women especially, it's important to be aware of your surroundings.)
Me, interested, and wondeirng where Mark the Bose Freak has gotten off to: "Really? That's awesome."
SG: "Yeah, they're the best headphones I've ever owned. But they're $100. But they're Bose."
Me: "Yeah, Bose are easily worth twice the cost of these Sony."
(Mark suddenly appears.)
Me: "Hey, did you know Bose makes an in-ear headphone?"
Mark: "They do?"
He and Strange Guy launch into a back and forth extolling the virtues of Bose, in which everything SG had already told me is repeated. I put back the Sonys and tell Mark maybe after Disneyland we'll have to check into the Bose.
We finish up at Fryes and check out. Our next stop is the Factory Outlet stores in Woodburn, where we plan to buy new carry on luggage for our trip. We travel about half an hour down the freeway and pull in...right in front of the Bose factory outlet store.
Mark: "...that's right. The Bose store is here."
Me: "After Disneyland."
Mark: "We could just go in and look."
Me, knowing what that means: "We're here for luggage, not headphones."
Mark: "I knew you'd want to see them!"
Me, resigned: "All right. We'll just look." (I am already calculating what the $200 hit for two pairs will do to our Disney fund.)
So, yes. We walked out of the Bose store with two pairs of these. To be fair, we did indeed look at them and try them out in the store, before buying. But the sound quality is amazing, the bass much better supported than in the avergae earbuds. They sit comfortably in your ear without feeling like a pair of earplugs. A lot of our scores use deep bass. These headphones can soooo handle it. Plus, yes, I can hear Mark talking to me while still listening to my music. I very much like that feature.
After we got home, I went online and looked up reviews. I was amused and disgusted when they were below average for two reasons:
1. They don't fit so tightly in your ear that they create a seal, blocking out all noise like traditional earbuds. Um, reviewer people they aren't supposed to! Try a little product familiarity before you spout off. (Bose designed their in-ear phones this way for two reasons - there is some concern that the ear buds which sit in the opening of your ear canal may lead to hearing damage, and apparently a lot of people find that design uncomfortable for long wear. Bose designed theirs to be comfortable for hours.) One reviewer actually deliberately shoved them far enough into his ears to "create an artificial seal" specifically against the directions that came with the product, then complained that the music was then so loud it hurt, even if the headphones had fit comfortably that way, which they didn't. (Duh!)
2. Apparently the first run of these the silicon tips were too lose and kept falling off. Bose has since fixed this issue and shipped replacement tips to consumers who purchased their headphones earlier than April 2007. I get why this would have initially driven down reviews, but Bose fixed it. Adn replaced the faulty part for everyone. What's to complain about now?
We also bought our carry ons, the result of which was that we spent far more money than we really wanted to when we set out that morning. But, I will have superior sound for my iPod on the plane to Disney!
