Bose SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless Headphones II- White

If you're looking for pleasant-sounding, comfy, light wireless headphones with sensical playback and volume buttons, seriously consider Bose's Soundlink II around-ear headphones.Passive noise-cancellation on these things is fantastic. I haven't walked down a noisy street yet, but when I press play on any song at moderate volume, my environment (usually a busy home or talkative workplace) fades away. The volume gets loud enough when listening on Bluetooth, and although I've never personally wanted to go past it's max output, I'm sure there are some headbangers out there who would want a little more volume out of these things.Sound performance is gonna depend on your personal preference, but I like the balanced, detailed, open-air feeling of my music on these cans. Highs and mids come through clear to my ears, and in my opinion, these things excel with vocals. The bass is probably the most polarizing aspect of the sound signature: it's full and present, but you don't "feel it" the same way other headphones *cough* Beats *cough* deliver. The trade-off here is that it doesn't overpower anything, so vocals don't get washed out when the bass drops. On some tracks I wish the bass were a bit more powerful, but I still think they're on par with other wired headphones priced around $200 (and if you really miss the detail of wired sound, there's an included 3.5 mm cable). I listen mostly to alternative which employs a wide array of instruments, and I think these deliver consistently clear, strong sound across the genre.In terms of battery life, I've only charged them once in the 3 weeks I've had them, so I'm led to believe the advertised 15 hours of listening at moderate volume.The headphones themselves were smaller than I was expecting when I opened the box. They're unexpectedly light, but still feel sturdy, and it can be easy to forget they're on when you're "in the zone." In fact, that's one of the best features: these things are comfy, and they don't heat up my ears like how other leather ear cups do. The black version I have is low profile because it's all a matte finish instead of gloss, meaning people on the street won't point and yell at you, "Hey everyone, they have Bose headphones!" In other words, if you're a show-off, look elsewhere.Some people might not like the button design, but after a week, it feels more or less natural to navigate. Three small buttons, one of them depressed for feel-only operation, on the back of the right earcup control volume and playback (pause, skip, rewind, Siri) the same way Apple earphones do, and the microphones on here are entirely capable of handling phone calls.Bluetooth performance is pretty excellent, and even though it's not perfect (it'll skip when I leave the audio source and go behind a wall 20 feet away), it works well for my listening purposes. Pairing to my phone and computer was easy as could be, and everytime I turn the headphones on, my device identifies and connects within 5 seconds. Easy peasy lemon-squeezy.Lastly, the overall value: I paid $230 for the headphones on sale, and even for a college student looking to "treat myself," it's a pretty hefty investment. I can't say yet if I've gotten my money's worth, but these headphones are definitely on track to prove themselves worthy. From the reviews I've read of other Bose products, I'm expecting quite a few more years of solid performance from these cans, and right now, they seem entirely up to that task.

EDIT: After owning these headphones for just a few days over a year, read my updated review beneath the original!After reading reviews and seeing nothing but outstanding remarks for these headphones, I decided to drop the cash and give it a shot. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. I'm definitely an audiophile; I produced EDM music for quite a while which trained me to care about proper balance in songs. These headphones have AMAZING balance! Most expensive headphones that I've tried on just have a crazy boosted bass and it gives me a headache. Not to mention, it just doesn't sound good haha! Anyway, these headphones have super crisp highs, good mids, and crunchy bass. They really are perfect.As for comfort, I could easily wear these things all day. Sometimes I forget I'm even wearing these headphones... They look pretty stylish and they aren't too big. The carrying case is pretty lowkey and it works fine, no problems there. Headphones charge fast and the battery lasts me about a week with daily usage.I enjoy the little voice that sounds whenever you switch devices or turn on the headphones. It's not obnoxious in the slightest. Bluetooth is always a little finicky but these headphones connect almost flawlessly. They automatically reconnect to your last device and that makes things go A LOT faster! Switching devices is pretty simple too.Using the included aux cord doesn't effect sound quality at all. Good for conserving battery life is you don't particularly need the wireless feature at the time of listening!Overall, I'm more than satisfied with my purchase. It was well worth the money and I would recommend these headphones to anyone AND everyone! If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.EDIT:As mentioned above, I've owned these headphones for a little over a year now and I'm still impressed. Even after 1 entire year of extensive use (multiple road trips, a whole school year in the backpack, recording, listening, calling) these still work flawlessly and I've had ZERO major problems whatsoever. Long story short, I'm still sticking with the 5 star review. Below is a little more detail:Physical: No physical damage at all. I try to take care of my stuff, but accidents happen and these headphones have not sustained any scratches, dents, or cracked despite my heavy usage. The foam-ish headband piece still holds its shape. The earphones are still fluffy and squishy (no tears or deformities). At some point in my 1 year of ownership, the little piece of fabric that has the "L" on it (inside the left ear cup; it covers the electronics and such) started slipping out, but I was able to finagle it back in and there's been no problem since. I use the case basically whenever I transport these headphones and that's probably the main reason they've maintained physical integrity. Highly recommend using that case. It's small, sleek, and effective.Sound: I haven't owned any other headphones since these so I can't compare the sound of other headphones to these, however, I'm about to purchase a Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro which is known for it's studio quality, neutral sound. I'll compare the sound when I purchase them. I have noticed problems occasionally when connected to multiple devices. If the headphones are connected to my iPhone and my MacBook I sometimes have a little lag when watching YouTube. But as mentioned by another reviewer, turning on and off the headphones solves this. I don't get too many phone calls, but the several calls I've had while wearing these headphones were crystal clear and easy to understand (on both ends, I asked). I've had several VERY minor issues with the Bluetooth connectivity overall, but Bose regularly puts out firmware updates for their hardware and they've solved many of these issues. I'd say check about once a month for updates on their update site: http://btu.bose.com/The only negative: since these are over-the-ear headphones, they have some natural sound cancelling properties, but after I tried out some Bose Active Noise Cancelling Headphones at Target, I can't even BEGIN to explain how amazing the active noise cancelling was. With the Bose SoundLink headphones, the natural noise cancelling is good. It blocks out a majority of background noise and outsiders cannot hear my music at all (unless it's turned up very high... don't do that!). But with the active noise cancelling headphones, it's almost magical. You put those headphones on and it's just dead silent. These headphones are perfect as they are, but if you can afford it, go for a pair of Bose headphones with active noise cancelling. Just my suggestion.Tip: If you use these headphones for mixing (which I'll update the sound comparison part of this review when I get my new DT770 Pro's), make sure to use the custom aux cable provided. This ensures there's no Bluetooth interference and you get the clearest sound quality. These aren't studio headphones, but if you want headphones to use in combination with studio monitors (as a reference listening device) or if you need a good pair of monitor headphones that can double as comfort/listening headphones, these work great.