Resurecting an old thread
I saw many posts on this subject and thought I'd add a point of view. I have both the Bose QC-2's and the Etymotic ER4-P's. I agree you can like both for different reasons. As far as music fidelity however the Etymotic ER4-P beats the Bose hands down. An IPOD and whatever internal amp is in the Bose is just not enough to drive the speakers easily. The etymotics are more spatial and have crisp accurate highs. The triple cone phalanges are very comfortable. I also got tired of lugging the Bose headphones in my brief case. I've used the etymotics much more as time has gone on.