I don’t review headphones in the website, and the reason I’m reviewing the QC3, it’s because they came with the Nokia N81 8GB Special Edition.

I had seen them before on the internet and I was expecting the package to come with them, as I had read Abul’s review of it at Symbian in Motion.

What I wasn’t expecting is that the ear “cushions” would literally be as huge as real pillows, and feel even better.

I had no clue of what they meant by saying noise cancelling technology, I mean how far could they go with it? I found out that when you flip the switch, you hear almost no outside-sounds.

The package it came with was quite interesting, and I already spoke about the box when I reviewed the N81 8GB Special Edition, but the QC3 itself comes with:

• Single, detachable audio cable
• 2 x Rechargeable battery with charger
• Dual-plug audio adapter
• ¼” stereo-plug adapter
• 5′ extension cord
• Portable carrying case
• 6 electric plug adaptors

I myself have two pairs of headphones and few earphones, and hadn’t come across headphones that worked off batteries, but this one did. Each one of the batteries of the QC3 lasted 25 hours (according to Bose), and have 200mAh.

These weren’t cup or over-the-ear headphones, so the ears don’t exactly go inside them, but they pretty much fit the whole density of a average-sized ear. Of course no two ears are tilted the same way, so the QC3 not only features an extendible headband, but strategically-located swivels, so that the earcups can rotate 90 degrees horizontally, and rotate vertically as well. As they are quite big earcups, when you move your head, they misplace themselves, and the problem here is that the sound quality is poor if the headphones aren’t in a determined position.

When the headphones are in a determined position, sound quality is simply great. They key here is not to touch the equalizer, and the last thing you could do is do select bass booster mode, as the earcups jump without sense on the ears, and it changes the quality of the music. The active equalization keeps changing the frequency response so that the music is just perfect. Of course this “just perfect” isn’t what many people want, so I clearly missed the bass controls, so that I can select exactly what I wish.

Having the noise cancellation technology is the most important bit to music enjoyment. Without it, you won’t be able to fully appreciate the active equalization, or the low that sound through the headphones. There seems to be some cancellation without the headphones turned on, but with them turned on, it’s difficult to hear anything in average-sound conditions, especially if you got music on. It changed my experience of listening music in the car, whereas with earphones, you can hear quite a lot of outside noise, especially from the car engine, while here, even with the sound at 80% it’s difficult to hear the engine, or any other sound for that matter.

I practically never let the sound go above 80% as after that it would be deafening. At 100% the bass bumps are just too much for me, and at 80% it’s more than enough for perfect music playback. However if you like your sound really loud, music doesn’t distort at 100%, so QC3 are a clear winner at it.

Price is a problem. Not everyone can afford Bose products. They are made out of quality material in order to give the best of music, but to the ones who can afford it. The Bose QuietComfort 3 retail at US$349 at the Bose website, but at that price, I would like two more features: battery-less playback, and Bluetooth.

I might be pushing for Bluetooth, but battery-less playback is a must. This was pointed to me by one of my friends who was amazed that they wouldn’t do that, as one of his headphones did it. I don’t think this would be rocket science, but a simple addition to these magnificent audio cushions.

Bluetooth is a must nowadays, as most mobile phones have Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, which means that they can playback high-quality stereo audio. This would make the QC3 fully-worthy of its price.

The carrying case that comes with the package is useful and comfortable to transport the headphones, although some electric plug adaptors and wires have to crammed inside.

Truth is, when it comes to sound, the Bose QuietComfort 3 lives up to the expectations, and are great headphones.

Advantages: 2 long-lasting batteries; comfortable pillow-like earcups; accoustic noise cancelling technology; active equalizer.

Disadvantages: No bass controller; earcups move out of place as head moves; no battery-less playback; price too high, where Bluetooth could have been included.

Rating: 9.1/10

References from Bose QuietComfort 3 website