About 5 years ago I decided to purchase the Bose QuietComfort 2 Acoustic Noise Canceling headphones so I can use them on my trips. Since I’ve been flying in the last 5 years almost every week, the QC2 headphones have been one of the most important things to take with me on flights to enjoy the music in my iPod or just to enjoy the silence. It is amazing how well these headphones will reduce the amount of noise in the plane. From a crying baby to the noise of the plane engines – this is a must have for the road warriors.
About a year ago I noticed that the inside plastic of the headband broke. First on one side and then on both. This caused the headband to open up instead of holding tight when extending it. I went to the Bose store to show this to them, check the warranty and see if I could replace the expensive headphones or fix them and was disappointed to hear that it had only one year of warranty and there’s nothing they could do. Since Bose wouldn’t fix or replace them, I decided to fix the headphones on my own using duct tape and after applying it on both sides I was able to extend the headband again with no trouble. I was happy that I was able to keep on using the headphones (although it wasn’t a pretty fix):
A couple of months ago the next problem appeared. The right ear cup cushion’s fabric seemed to completely tear from the inside exposing the foam. This is very ugly and although I couldn’t find a way to fix this I kept on using the headphones since they still functioned correctly:
This week, on my flight back from Tel Aviv, I noticed that my shirt was covered with black residue from the shedding fabric covering the ear cup. I took of the headphones and went to the bathroom to look at the mirror and I saw that my ear was full of the same black residue. I noticed that the fabric on the ear cup is so dry already that is falling apart piece by piece. At that moment I decided that enough is enough and unfortunately it is just not worth using the headphones anymore.
Although I’ve used the headphones almost every week on my trips I must say I took care of them very well and always stored them inside the carrying case that comes with the headphones. I enjoyed the headphones very much and recommended them to many colleagues, but I must say that I’m disappointed with the quality of the materials the headphones are built from. I would expect that for the money these headphones cost they would last longer than 5 years.
4 comments:
5 years is amazing for headphones you used weekly (or even daily) I use and abuse my headphones every day and I'm lucky to get 2 years out of them. Although I would consider your case different, Send a high up Bose official a letter, describing the incident with the shedding fabric as humiliating and embarrassing and that you deserve to receive a replacement product as you expected more from such a name as Bose.
Thanks for your comment James. Maybe 5 years was a good run...
I went to their store and they said they cannot do anything. I didn't send any letter to their customer care or management, since I realized that if they give such a short warranty on their product it has a reason - They know the material won't last for long...
The same thing happened to my QC2's (not the earcup problem, but the plastic sliding guide problem), and I took them to the store in Short Hills, NJ, less 2 years after I purchased them there. They told me there was nothing they could do, but I insisted, and they offered me an upgrade to QC3s for the price difference ($100) which I jumped on.
--Jason
I've had 2 pairs of QC2's which had the problem where the small piece of plastic on the headband broke, which I was able to get warranty replacement on. My most recent pair I am having the issue with the flaking black material and eventually the foam became exposed in the right earcup, just like yours. Very frustrating.
The sound quality is amazing and they fit great. Bose seems to have reinforced the plastic piece that was breaking in the earlier runs of the QC2's, but the black material coming off the headphone earcups has been a problem since day 1.
Can anyone vouch for the QC3's? do they have either of these problems? I might get a pair if so. They are smaller, which is always nice.
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