Although Bose has become a sort of status brand to some shoppers, many find Bose products to be expensive compared to products of similar quality from other manufacturers. In the case of the Bose Quiet Comfort 2, we have to agree. Although the QC2 offer good sound and very good noise cancelation, they also cost more than twice as much as the excellent Sennheiser PXC 250. We actually prefer the sound of the PXC 250 to the QC2. However, the QC2 do provide better physical noise isolation, thanks to their circumaural (surrounding the ear) design, and they're very comfortable, so they're very popular travel headphones.

In addition, unlike most noise canceling models, which place their anti-noise circuitry in a box or tube somewhere along the cable, the circuitry of the QC2 is contained in the earpieces themselves. This results in bulkier headphones, but some users may prefer such bulk to having a separate enclosure dangling from the headphone cable.

(See our full review at the URL below.)--Dan Frakes

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