The Best Bose AE2 Audio Headphones for lifestyle

The Best Bose AE2 Audio Headphones for lifestyle

The Good . Lightweight and comfortable design; sealed earcups isolate wearer from ambient noise; headphones fold flat; detachable cord; detailed sound with well-defined bass.If you can't afford Bose's noise-canceling models, the Bose AE2s--and their improved design and sound quality--make for a good alternative at half the price. As noted, the Bose AE2s don't offer active noise-cancellation, but they do offer a tight seal and filter out a lot of noise from the outside world. When you put them on, the first thing you notice is that these are very comfortable headphones that have Bose's trademark plush, black leather earpads. They also feel lighter than your average full-size, closed earcup models from the likes of Sennheiser, Koss, and AKG. The headband is fairly thin and covered in a springy neoprene, which also helps increase the comfort level. A simple cloth carrying bag is included for storing the headphones. It's OK, but offers only minimal protection.

Bose's headphones are best-known for their class-leading noise cancellation, but the company makes perfectly normal headphones and earphones too. The Bose AE2 are a pair of these standard cans, but in stripping out the extra tech, they cost far less than most of Bose's other over-ears headphones. Despite this wallet friendly appeal, they also pack-in several of Bose's best bits, resulting in one of the most enjoyable commuter sets around.When a range of headphones is heavily marketed, it's easy to ascribe a demographic to them. In our heads, and many others we'd wager, Bose is a brand of the affluent, white, middle-aged, middle-class individual. You can see it in the designs of most of its headphones – conservative, sensible, not too flashy.

Triport to AE2 - ugly duckling to black swan?

They look a little meaner than the average Bose pair, but we can't imagine they'd offend the usual Bose audience either – those healthy of bank balance, if not quite so healthy of hairline at times. They don't stick out too far from the head, use an inoffensively thin headband and are demure in their styling.For at-home use, you can easily pick up a 3.5mm cable extension for pennies online. If you're just after an at-home pair, though, consider an open-back set. They tend to provide more expansive sound and heat up your ears less than the Bose AE2. 
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