I think they sound very good and, as I travel a lot, the small form factor is key.

Hey everyone
So after thinking about it for a few weeks now and spending yesterday reading all types of reviews and this entire thread i thought i would try them out.
The store i went to was out of stock unfortunately :( Take about 3-4 days to get them in

But while i was there i was able to sample the QC3's & QF15's
A few things i noted with these ones. With no music or anything playing all the background noise was gone but i could clearly hear conversations going on around me (some sales guy telling some dude to buy a lenovo tablet rather than a samsung).

Another thing i noted was that the sound wasnt that great. I plugged them into my phone and turned the volume right up but it wasnt all that loud.

What are peoples experiences with the above with the QC20's?
ie sound volume and still hearing conversations clear as day.

For me, the QC20's suppress steady-state background noise but transient noise (things like voice, etc) come through pretty clearly. They are noise cancelling but not noise blocking (YMMV depending on fit for the ear pieces). I have a pair of Audio Technica ANC-23's and I will say that they are better noise blocking than the Bose. Their sound quality is good but not on par with the Bose.

I tried some QC20s in-store over the weekend and this is my experience, too. They blocked out things like air conditioning and the background "murmur" of the shopping mall I was at, but I could clearly hear the salesperson talking to someone else as well as some music playing from a music store across the hallway - the music wasn't loud by any means, but once the background noise was cancelled out, it became much more discernable. At one point the salesperson began speaking to me and I was able to have a brief exchange with her and my wife without removing the earbuds or turning off the ANC. The store had three displays out for demo, and I got the same performance out of all three.

I know that ANCs aren't magic, but for the price and brand reputation, they were a bit of a letdown. The noise cancellation wasn't much better than an old pair of Panasonic over-the-ears I got for $50 at an airport several years ago, and certainly not worth the price difference, IME. I just stopped travelling with the Panasonics because of the bulk.

My current travel set, which I'll probably now just keep, is this non-ANC, noise-isolating set (http://www.amazon.com/PureGear-PureB...regear+earbuds). They aren't fancy, they don't have audiophile sound, and the cord is a bit noisy when it bumps against your chest. But it has a tangle-free cord, comes with a carrying case about the size of a post-it pad, and the earbuds fit comfortably and for me they block out more of the annoying noises than the QC20s were cancelling. I still hear the rush/hum of an airplane and other low-level noise, but I'd rather listen to nondescript white noise than Chatty Cathy in the row behind me.

They are also cheap as dirt, so you can buy 5 pairs and not worry about replacement/warranty/losing them.

As a current owner of both QC3 and QC20i, I can say both are equally good at cutting out airplane and noises which are constant. Neither are good at cutting out voices or conversations to 100% YMMV. It's impossible as these are not designed for that. They may mute them a bit or slightly more (YMMV) but don't expect insane asylum quiet.

As for the audio sound, IF you just plug them into any device and listen to music, they are alright but not perfect. I have a music app called Neutron player on my phone which I purchased. It has a million settings and EQ that can be set. NOW with this app, the headphones sound amazing and dare I say will be comparable and acceptable to many audio enthusiasts.

So bottom line, these headsets are great for NC

Couple them with an app that allows for EQ and music settings and you will have a mobile concert hall.

Peace!

Thanks for the tip on Neutron. I tried the Eval and then bought it. I have pretty much been using Poweramp (which is very good) but I did feel that Neutron had some good features. In particular, with the QC20's, if the gain on the original is a little low, it is hard to get to a good volume. Neutron allows some pretty good ability to boost the gain and get a proper volume (which might go a good way towards drowning out background chatter).

The problem with the QC20's is that they really aren't designed to be noise isolating (in addition to noise suppressing). If your ears fit the buds well, then you probably get better noise isolation. If not, you get some bleed through. Ironically, on an airplane, it does cancel out the ambient white noise but then allows conversations to penetrate through. The white noise blocks out a lot of audio signal. Once that is cancelled, it is amazing the conversations/talk that one can hear (people rows away, FA's in the galley...). That same effect does make it easier to hear AVOD, mp3/4 player... The boosted gain on with Neutron can help mask that bleed through.

WOW you seem to totally know more about how to adjust the audio quality using Neutron and/or other similar apps.

I'm a relative newbie and simply slide the bars up and down til I hear what I want to hear. I know.... not the right way to do it. I need to google up how to set it up properly.

FYI and the others our there. I just did a non scientific but seat of the pants test comparison of noise cancellation effectiveness between the QC3 and QC20.

In a room where one can hear only computer fans going, both 'kill' that sound really easily BUT I noticed the QC20's leave you with a white noise 'hiss' where as the QC3 do not! QC3 does not seem to have that white noise hiss effect.

In essence, the QC3's are quieter as the silence is more...well... silent.

Hope that makes sense.

Anyone experiencing a HISS??
 

i really like my QC 20 but what is bothering me about them is a hiss. If i am in a quiet room i can hear the hiss and it really bothers me. i have the 15 and it is DEAD quiet.

for the money i spent on these i would have thought the engineers would have solved this.

anyone else experience the hiss?

YES YES! Thank goodness someone else verified this. I compared my QC20i's with my QC3 and noted the QC3 was dead quiet and the QC20i's hissed.

They call it white noise and say its normal.

WEIRD if you ask me for a next gen version.

but i could clearly hear conversations
 

The main intent of sound canceling is to deaden all the random background noise (especially jet engines). They let talking come through.

However, I would claim that with the 20i's I have often had trouble hearing direct conversation. When I use the 20i's, and a flight attendant verbally offers me something, my response is "WHAT?!".

EW

Stumbled upon a good price on 20is. $259 is the best I have seen them.

http://www.lacomputercompany.com/cgi...=sku&sku=28013

Just traded my broken MIE2i for QC20i. Paid $200 + tax.

Called Bose, at first the agent offered to trade in for $249 + tax & shipping. I asked if he could do better for a loyal customer :). He agreed to $200 + tax and free shipping.

I used to have the QC15. Sold it because I wanted something less bulky. I can't wait to try the QC20i on my next trip.

SO I do very much like the 20i, but I find the NC to be too much NC. The problem with that is, they're the most comfortable earbuds I've ever used. I'm going to return them and get the non NC version.

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How do these compare to comparably priced non-NC earphones from say Shure or Etymotic? Thanks.

Sound quality my Shure 425 that I use for general at home listening and in ear monitoring when I am playing beats the QC20i.

Long wearing comfort (I sleep on my side)and NC is where the BOSE excel.

I use the QC20i for flights.