Another great response to this one guys! Seems everyone wants the chance to road-test a pair of Bose QuietComfort 20i Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones (valued at $399) and review them for Gizmodo. Well, the winners are…
Winner #1: Sam
I was recently on a flight to Singapore, sitting towards the front of the cabin and noticed a significant number of young families with kids boarding the plane. By the time the cabin doors closed, I was completely surrounded by newborns. Staring down the barrel of an 8 hour flight with no aural anesthesia – I panicked.
At that moment, one of the father’s of the many, many young families stood up and started handing out lolly bags accompanied by one of the most sincere “apologies in advance” i’d ever heard. The bags contained a Mars Bar, a lolly pop and a bag of ear plugs. It was one of the most decent travel acts I’ve ever witnessed.
Had it just been his kid crying during the flight then the gifted ear plugs probably would’ve sufficed, however, the chorus of toddlers was too much for the small lump of styrofoam I had rammed in my ears…
It was also during the flight that I wished I’d had a second pair of earplugs for my nostrils as the toddler next to me lost temporary control of bodily functions during an extended period of turbulence.
As a father-to-be myself I have a high degree of sympathy for parent’s travelling with kids, but at that moment, I would have given any for the solace of Bose noise cancelling headphones. I’ve since been on the lookout for a pair at a reasonable price. No such luck when it comes to “nose-cancelling”…
I travel a lot for my job (pre-sales) – usually one flight per week – and am on the phone most of the day. I feel I am in a great position to put these headphones through their paces and give a fair and honest review of their capabilities.
All the best.
Winner #2: Jim H
I share an office with a young IT engineer who has an abnormally severe case of verbal diarrhea (let’s call him Rick for privacy’s sake). Now don’t misunderstand me, Rick is a stand-up guy who works hard while maintaining an approachable demeanor.
His vocal hyperactivity isn’t normally an issue, as the iPod earphones I use aren’t too bad at stemming the seemingly random chatter (at high volume of course!). The problems have started since Rick has discovered the heavily discounted energy drinks at the local 7/11. Now my once trusted earphones have become leaky cans that won’t stand up to the Caffeine/Sucrose fueled verbal onslaught.
My only respite has been from the ear plugs that I borrowed (stole) from the onsite workshop. These plugs while effective make it feel like I have been re-situated to a library or recording booth. So it seems for now my options are limited to dead silence or mind numbing natter… Please, only a set of Bose QuietComfort 20i’s could possibly put an end to my plight.
Winner #3: Warren K
This will be a common response, but it was in the gym. I forgot my headphones one session, so not only did I have to workout to a Channel V one hour Miley Cyrus special (seriously – I had no idea she had an hour worth of music in her catalogue), but I spent a good 10 minutes on a bench next to 3 teenagers giving each other the WORST fitness advice I had heard in my life (aka Bro Science) without performing a single exercise properly.
It took every fibre of my being to not either (a) laugh, or (b) lose my rag at them. Natch, a pair of noise cancelling headphones would have kept me BLISSFULLY unaware of their shared ridiculousness!
Congrats guys! We’ll be in touch!
Thank you to everyone who entered!
These are the first in-ear headphones from Bose with full-on noise reduction. The company had to re-engineer its acoustic noise cancelling technology to shrink things down. Two measurements are used — one from a microphone outside the buds, another from a mic inside. That data is beamed down to the little control stick that sits in line, right before the jack that plugs into your phone, computer, etc.
The QuietComfort 20i buds fit cosily in your ear, staying put thanks to squishy little ‘stability fins’ Bose calls StayHear+ tips. On the cable, you’ll find an inline microphone (supporting almost any smartphone) and 3 button remote for use with gear like your recent iPhone, iPad and MacBook.
The most interesting new feature: ‘Aware Mode.’ This lets you have music keep playing rather than cut out when you need to talk, a gripe we’ve had with some other noise cancelling headphones.