QuietComfort 15 Headphone Offer Great Sound, Blocks Outside Noise

I had forgotten how noisy an aircraft can be — the engines, the hustle and bustle of passengers, and God forbid there’s a cranky baby on board. When I attended the “Up in the Air” press junket, I was delighted to be presented with the new Bose QuietComfort 15 Noise-Cancelling Headphones. As soon as I put them on, I was in my own little world of sweet, sweet silence.

As I tore into the box, I was impressed by the presentation. The cans are housed in a black, sturdy case about the size of a portable CD player which makes it easy to carry around, but it’s still a bit of a handful. The cans were folded neatly in the case with each earcup resting snugly in their designated place. Besides the headphones, there was the headphones cord, an airline adapter and the AAA battery necessary to make the magic happen. Assembly is a snap. Just pop in the battery, plug in the cord, hit the on switch and you’re good to go.

The headphones are black and silver with the top of the phones and the earcups sheated with a soft leather. The earcups are large enough to encompass even the largest ear and feel like little pillows around your ear. Thanks to new proprietary materials, the earcups form a tight accoustic seal that keeps the sound quality nice and high.

The QC 15s have some serious noise-canceling chops. Featuring noise-canceling microphones both the inside and outside of the headphones, the difference was clear as soon as you switched the QC15s on. One minute there was the constant buzzing of the airplane, the next was hear a pin drop silence. It also worked pretty well on the NYC subway system, even though I could faintly hear people’s conversations every now and then.

As far as audio, the headphones have solid sound quality. I could hear all the requisite high, lows, and mids. The bass is kind of lacking compared to other headphones I’ve tried, but it gets the job done. I can say these thoroughly bested the sound quality of my decidedly crappy in-ears. And with one battery giving the QCs approximately 35 hours of listening time, I got my jam on for the whole ten hour trip from NYC to L.A. and back without a hint of needing a replacement battery.

With every pro there is a con and the biggest one being that once the battery dies, so goes the music. That really sucks if you’re out and about with no spare battery especially if you find yourself 35,000 ft in the air. There’s also a sense of pressure on the eardrums, which is neglible to most, but can be annoying or even sickening to others. One of my fellow journos kept complaining feeling nauseous , but thankfully his sick bad remained undeployed for the length of the flight. The price is also a tough pill to swallow. At $299.95 a pop, these headphones are a serious investment, but worth the money if you travel a lot.

If you’re a fan of American Airlines, expect to be seeing a lot of these bad boys since they will be the official airline headphones on your flights starting in 2010. Overall, Bose QuietComfort 15 Noise-Canceling Headphones are perfect for airline travel. If you’re listening to music, expect great sound, but you can also use them to just to keep the world around you at a dull roar.