Even before they've made any kind of sound, things look good for the Bose OEs.
A relatively light headphone at just 147g including cable, they're eminently portable thanks to their pivoting ear-cups.
The appearance of two lengths (0.4m and 1.1m) of detachable cable in the package means excess-cable-misery should never be an issue, either.
The OEs' ear-pads have a single profile all the way across, rather than just running around the edge of the cup – which we find more comfortable.
Put them on, though, and the first doubts creep in – at least, they do if you've a mirror handy. The headband is almost perfectly semicircular, so with the cans in situ there's a great big gap between the band and the wearer's head above both ears – not a good look.
Performance is a mix of pros and cons
Sound is similarly comprised of pros and cons. With a high-bitrate file of The Orb's Perpetual Dawn playing, the OEs serve up a balanced, tidy presentation with the emphasis firmly on separation and low-frequency control.
Politely punchy and with the same restraint demonstrated at the opposite end of the frequency range, they're pretty imperturbable – even if the music you're playing is single-mindedly trying to perturb them. Integration is good, and dynamic upheavals can't ruffle proceedings.
The OEs are a little deficient where fine detail is concerned, though – the midrange, in particular, would benefit from a little more information – and, while they do well resisting thumping through their detachable cable, movement of the ear-cups at can be heard clearly.
So while they are far from a disaster, you don't have to spend very much more to do quite a bit better.
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