I went through a similar decision. I have always thought Bose products to be overpriced for what you get. Not that they are a bad product, just not deserving of the price. After trying a couple of different cheaper brands that didn't fully cup the ear, and hating them, I finally bucked up and bought the Bose. I'm really glad I did. I had a chance to try them many times in International Business, and really liked them.

What made it easy to swallow, at the time, was Bose spreading the cost over 12 months of automatic credit card billings, with no interest. They unfortunately do not offer this anymore, or I'd buy some QC2's and keep the QC1's for my travelling lady friend.