Bose QC20i Earphone Review

I’ve been itching to try these out for a while now. The lure of new technology is always exciting, but the Bose QC20i seem to have a special kind of folklore surrounding them of people who have heard tell of people who are lucky enough to own a pair and guard their magical headsets with their life - or possibly fire-breathing dragons. Combine that with Bose’s legendary speaker quality, and their long record of great noise-cancelling headphones makes these very attractive. The knowledge that you’re essentially using something designed for use on the Space Shuttle always adds to the excitement - this is definitely not why I bought a memory foam mattress.

It wasn’t too long ago when the Bose Quiet Comfort range were huge lumbering headsets, based on their aviation range, that you’d sure notice over your ears. The technology involved, including the battery, added size and weight onto the headphones that meant there was a certain trade off involved in active noise cancellation. There’s a certain nice feeling about a substantial set of headphones that makes them feel like they’re quality - see B&O H6 for example. For listening to music at home size is no problem, but when everything’s mobile - why shouldn’t your quality headphones become mobile too? 

The Bose QC technology has improved tremendously over the years, so the size and weight of the QC range is pretty comparable to the rest of the Bose range. but the QC20i is a huge leap even from those. The QC20i are earbuds are lighter and smaller than some non-noise cancelling earphones I’ve owned. Plus Bose’s unique ear fittings mean the earbuds are comfortable and secure, fitting to the shape of your ear both inside and out. There is still a small trade-off here, most of the technology, including the battery, sits in a little box near your phone. This is a minor point at best. The box is about as thin as an Apple TV remote, a little shorter, and its a whole lot lighter.

The rumours I’ve heard when talking about the QC20i is the quality of the noise cancellation, every person I’ve spoken to has told of how you hear far less background with the 20i compared to others in the QC range. Miniaturisation all too often results in a poorer quality product, as inevitable compromises have to be made. This can be true of speakers more than most. So this had to be something to I need to hear for myself. After a few days of using these; I’d like to add my voice to those rumours, I certainly can find no compromises here. The QC20i blocks an incredible amount of noise compared even to its larger siblings. A lot of this has to be owed to the fact these actually fill your ear, rather than just enclose it, but its also down to the great Stay-Hear tips Bose have developed for the QC20i which have an extra layer of sound insulation.

If anything the noise cancellation on these earphones may be too effective. My neighbour would probably agree with this after nearly running me over this morning while I was still getting used to exactly how effective the noise cancelling in these headphones are. It seems Bose may have noticed this themselves as there is an option to allow some sound through. This is not an option on the larger QC models, so this shows how much more effective these models of the QC are.

The sound quality is paramount with high end headphones, but with the QC20i its probably the last thing you’ll notice. You won’t notice it because it shares the incredible balanced quality that all Bose headphones have. Its clear and crisp, but most of all its flat. There’s no accentuated bass here, which will disappoint some, but means you can really hear the music as it was intended. Plus the noise cancellation means you don’t need the extra low end boost as it can clearly be heard over what little background noise does manage to pass through.

The QC20is are not completely perfect, but the downsides are really nothing more than minor irritations, and well worth working round to enjoy the quality these headphones provide; The cable could be a little longer, the control box can be awkward at times, the remote & mic is in a really inconvenient place. But the enduring impression I have of these headphones is great, and makes it easy to forgive. The Bose QC20i are incredible set of earphones, top-notch sound, with the best noise cancellation there is, they are comfortable and a pleasure to use.

Review by - Rob Whitaker @ KRCS Derby Store

Manufacturer - @BoseUK