Noise cancelling creates a sensation of pressure within your ears and a slight вЂ“ very, very slight in the case of the Bose QuietComfort QC3 вЂ“ white noise hiss occasionally intrudes. Of course, itвЂ™s not quite as perfect as all that. The peaks and troughs of the two sets of sound waves cancel each other, leaving you with blissful silence. The noise cancelling brains within the headphones then pipe sound waves equal to the inverse of this ambient noise through the speakers. Behind this is a microphone that monitors ambient noise. On the back of each QC3 earpiece is a small metal grille. Both types of headphone attempt to block out noise in different ways, but noise cancelling is far more technologically-advanced (or at least involved) than isolation. It has been around for over 10 years now, but in more recent years has had to deal with the rise of affordable noise-isolating earphones like the Sennheiser CX 300. The price of these headphones may dig them into a high-flying niche market, but itвЂ™s a niche that Bose has served extremely well with add-ons.Д«oseвЂ™s noise-cancelling range, currently made up of the QuietComfort 3 and 15, is the best-known of its kind. Six different plug adaptors are included, enough to handle every part of the world weвЂ™ve ever been to, a semi-hard case with a snap-on carry strap and an airplane adaptor.

The rest of the headphonesвЂ™ bundled accessories are impeccably tailored to the QuietComfort 3 audience of travellers and frequent fliers. Yes, you can have relationships with headphones. This will subsequently improve your relationship with the set. ThereвЂ™s often a big change in audio quality in over- and on-ear noise cancelling sets between active and passive modes, and ruling-this out this ensures a constant level of quality. Although almost certainly a non-essential choice of BoseвЂ™s, itвЂ™s one we understand. Without power though, any music playing cuts out completely. Even if, like us, you accidentally leave the QuietComfort 3 noise cancellation on overnight, itвЂ™s not hard to keep a backup on-hand. Charging takes around 30 minutes, which is impressively quick given how many hours of playback itвЂ™ll supply you with. Two battery packs are included in the box, and they slot into a neat custom AC adaptor to recharge. Just having the cable running down from the other side is enough to even this out.

This battery supplies up to 20 hours of use, something we can attest to having forgotten to switch them off overnight several times, but weighs just 11g. Quite where the circuitry sits isnвЂ™t clear вЂ“ it must be within one of the ear cups вЂ“ but the battery, which slots into the right cup, doesnвЂ™t unbalance the weight distribution. At 145g with the headphone cable, the battery pack and extra circuitry demanded by noise cancellation adds no discernable weight in practice. Part of the comfort factor is also down to the headphonesвЂ™ light weight. No fiddling required вЂ“ just put them on your head and you should be able to find a comfy fit within seconds.

In our experience, on-ear headphones suffer more frequently from comfort and fit problems than just about any other type (IEM issues are frequently raised, but almost always down to using the wrong tip), but the Bose QuietComfort 3 are blissfully easy. The headband exerts a well-pitched amount of pressure and each cup rotates horizontally around almost 180 degrees. This is in part down to the flexibility of the cups. Using ultra-soft material, theyвЂ™re actually much more comfortable than most headphones of this type. The leather effect covers will naturally heat up your ears more than an in-ear headphone on a long tortuous mid-summer tube journey, but no more so than any other on-ear set. Here, the pads sit directly on your ears. This on-ear pair is daintier than the Quietcomfort 15, which use cups that surround your ears. The QC 3 headphones are BoseвЂ™s smallest noise-cancelling set. What really matters though is how well it works out in the real world, among the engine noise and screaming babies вЂ“ and whether it justifies the ВЈ300 cost. Most headphones and earphones block out the outside world to some extent, but few employ as clever a method as this set. Noise cancelling earphones like the Bose Quietcomfort 3 have to contend with a lot of confusion about what their kind of ambient noise-busting really entails.

Bose quiet 3