The ear pads on my QC2s were in bad shape, so tried out a bunch of new headphones recently (i.e. the Klipsch at the Apple Store and a pair of Sony NC500Ds). Even received a pair of Beats by Dre Studio for free at an event. But did not find anything I liked better. So for $35 I purchased the replacement ear pads from Bose and they are almost as good as new.

My suggestion - pick up a set of QC2s on eBay and then purchase the replacement ear cups. You should be able to make that work at a decent price vs. buying the QC15s.

Otherwise I would just buy a new Bose pair. I messed around with lots of headsets before getting my QC2s. Did not want to spend the $$$ at the time. Ended up wasting money on other headsets that I thought (had read) might be as good, but just weren't. Eventually did buy Bose and have never regretted it.

One note on the Beats by Dre Studios. The performance is close. And I definitely feel cool wearing them! But they cost the same as the QC15s, so that is why I would not recommend them over Bose. But I do like mine - they are now my home computer headphones.