Customer Reviews

Bose Tri-Port In-Earphones

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

There are so many different listings here for what look like the same product. I was almost scared away from purchasing these by all the reports of the tips falling off. As the top review of another version of these earphones notes, THE KEY to getting the new (updated) "version" is getting the black-and-white cord, lanyard/clothing clip, and angled plug. It is this "version" that has fixed all the problems mentioned here and elsewhere. The only ADDITIONAL HINT I might offer for making sure you're securing the right ones is that my box is labeled, "Bose in-ear headphones". I see no mention on the box or in the manual of "Tri-port". The Bose product code on the box is listed as "044435". I just got mine, and, well,.....THEY ARE FANTASTIC! The sound is amazing. The fidelity and sound quality from highs to lows are just exquisite. They are incredibly comfortable and probably safer for your ears due to their innovative ear-cup-placement. Using the lanyard, there is NO problem with them falling out when you're working out--and, frankly, they stay in fine without it for the most part. Get the RIGHT ones, and I promise you won't be disappointed!

I understand the previous reviewers low ratings based on the initial release of these earbuds. I have recently purchased the current version (black and white cords) and I am delighted with the performance of these little gems. I have no problem with the tips falling off as Bose has modified the way that the tips attach to the buds. They are super-comfortable, and stay in place perfectly (for me using large tips). And the sound quality? Absolutely stellar across entire spectrum. I must note that the bass response is the best I've ever heard with earbuds. I am using these with a Sandisk e200 series MP3 (e280 8GB) player with equalizer setting on normal (flat) settings. BOSE will also send free replacement tips through their website. Price is a little high, but you get what you pay for (sound quality makes up for this). I can't rate durabilty yet as I've only had for a few days. Only complaint...volume a little low...but I don't wish to destroy my hearing anyway. Great job BOSE.

My review could be 5 stars, but give it 5 when there is better out there, just not for the money. That depends on your taste.

The comfort level of these earphones about equals the sound quality. The IPOD earphones are not comfortable in my ears after 15 minutes compared to these..I can almost sleep with these in my ears.

The sounds is nice, and the base is plentiful. There is a few songs out there with HIGH treble that don't song that good in these, but who cares.

If you want the best, buy the professional ones for 250 dollars or buy the big earphone types.

If your looking for Perfection, don't buy small. These are close enough to perfect for the average music consumer in my opinion.

The buds will fall off, even the newer types that "click" in, so make sure you take the time to buy some extra ear buds. Try EBAY, some ebay sellers sell them with multiple pairs for under 10 dollars.

Just bought these (black & white cord) and am very happy. Bose can sound quite 'basey' and - to some- supressed but the trick is turning off your equalizer and other sound enhancing software then adjust up to suit. I find that, on the iPod (5th gen 30GB but I suspect the EQ logarithm's the same on all iPods) Acoustic setting as this seems to balance out the base with the treble while emphasasing the vocals. Once you've found your preference you won't turn back - cuts out all the tinny crap and you'll hear stuff you never heard before - deeper, richer quality sound. The difference is similar to a track being played without Dolby (with standard earphones) then with Dolby (with Bose) - but better. Just expect to play around with your EQ first.
An update (22/9/07) - been listening to Pink Floyd (Dark Side) and let me say - it's amazing how much you miss with cheaper audio. These have brought a new fascination to old favorites. If you have equipment with SRS Wow - even better but you can download that for iTunes now - great combo.

This is the second pair of Bose in-ear headphones I've owned. The only good things about the first pair was the sound quality and comfort in my ears. The silicone tips did come off way too easily, the plug was straight so the cord was always bent and had a tendancy to break (like mine did)if your active while enjoying your music. And the carrying case didnt help b/c it was tiny and you had to coil the headphones to put them in the case, further stressing the straight plug. Sadly, looking at some of the other reviews it seems that people are rating the version of these earbuds I just described and not the ones being shown on the page (the black and white cord is the new and improved earbuds). Bose has fully addressed all the shortcomings of the first version of these earbuds. The silicone tips and the earbuds now fit together like a lock. The tips now have a "canal or hole" in them and the earbuds have a "tang or tooth" on them that fits into the silicone tip. Imagine a fish hook (the earbud tang)sunk into something, the only way to seperate the two is to grab hold of both of them together and take the hook out the way it came. That is how well the silicone tips stay on the earbuds. The plug now comes out at an angle so it isn't always bent and over stressed from the weight of the cord dangling. There are two new accessories that help control the cord and its weight pulling on the earbuds while your listening to them. The first is a lanyard that goes around you neck and keeps slack in the cord near your ears so the rest of the cord's weight isn't pulling down on your earbuds. The second is a simple clip that can be used to clip the cord to you clothing to keep it out of your way. The carrying case is now huge compared to the last one, I can put the earbuds, the lanyard & clip, as well as my iPod inside and zip it up with ease and go. When my first pair broke on me I was disappointed with Bose b/c of their reputation in the audio world. So I was mulling whether to pay $100 and buy another pair of Bose and be gentle the second time around, or go with another brand of high quality earbuds. When I saw that Bose had re-designed their earbuds I decided to take a chance on them again. I have no regrets buying Bose again; these ear buds are durable, they improved the design while keeping the price the same, and you can't argue with Bose sound quality. I use these earbuds everyday all day long, I recommend them to anybody looking for a high quality set of earbuds at a reasonable price.

Comfortable? Yes. Worth the money? NO!!! Seems like every other time I use these headphones, I lose the stupid one of the stupid tips. I have never owned any pair of headphone that were such complete "high maintenance." I would never buy another pair. As a point of fact, after the free tip replacement offer expires, I doubt I will continue using them.

The sound quality of the Bose in-ear headphones (earbuds, actually) is excellent. I use these earbuds with my iPod and find the audio quality far superior to all other earbuds and portable digital media ear/headphones ever owned. That said, I am disappointed with these "headphones" for the following reasons: 1) the tips are removable and they come off too easily if caught on anything in your backpack, car, etc., and 2) the cord is very long, which may be good for home audiophiles, but it's excessive for something like an iPod that you may carry in your pocket or backpack. The previous comment about these earbuds being "high maintenance" is unfortunately true. Try spending 10 minutes looking on the floor or between the seats in your car for one of these errant tips and you'll get the picture.

At close to $100 a pair, it's a lot to pay for good sound wrapped in a flawed package.

Tried the new updated bose in ear plugs at the Bose store and did a side by side comparison with my ipod with Ultimate ears (5 pro and 3 superfi). The bose in ears are comfortable-relatively, and the sound is definately better than the ear buds that come with apple ipods. BUT, for the money, the Ultimate Ears are WAY WAY better.

Here are the couple things I noticed:
1.) Bose had decent bass and highs, mids were a little lacking
2.) You need a lot more volume on the bose to hear the music. Compared to Ultimate ears, you needed a lot more.
3.) Clarity, fullness, and richness were definate much better on the ultimate ears.

The Bose fit was ok and was much easier to put in your ears than the Ultimate Ears products. But it felt like it was loose or was going to fall out.

For the money, I recommend the Ultimate Ears Super Fi 3, and if you got 50 more bucks the Super Fi 5 are a VERY good upgrade.

The BOSE did sound better than the 4i Eytomoic though and were more comfortable.

By the way if you are looking for over the ear cans instead of in ear I also have the Bose Triports and have found that they are ok, but I believe the Grados SR60s or SR80s sound better (though not as clean in look or cord).

Even the Bose rep was amazed at the Ultimate ears compared to his product. He thought his were the best. One caveot wth the ultimate ears, if you don't like the ear fit it could ruin it for you.

My 2 cents.

Each earphones are 2 pieces stuck together.

The one I bought worked well, but it kind of broke open. So I went to the Bose showroom and asked what could be done. Though I bought it at Amazon.com for like $70 in 2008. The showroom promptly exchanged it and gave me a new one "NO QUESTIONS ASKED". I didn't have any proof of purchase bcoz I bought it at Amazon.

The guy did check the piece to see that I didn't do any damage on purpose.

So now you know the customer service is AWESOME!

Pros: Excellent quality, Can be exchanged if any defect anywhere (@least in my case)

Cons: Bass is a little on the higher side, treble could be increased. Getting used to the earphones will take time like a 3-4 hours, but very good after that, Ear pieces (Silicon) tend to come off easily in hot weather. So if you left them in a laptop bag, you will have a hard time searching for them.

I have seen reviews in cnet, which have Shure Ec3 or Ec4 as better, but the price is $250 on them. 4 times of what I paid for these!!!

Klipsch is reviewed as very good, but the treble on them is VERY HIGH, like taking an injection into the ears.

So Bose Overall, Great purchase.

I've had it for about 3 months now.
It works great with my iPhone.
The fit is good, at least for me. Maybe everyone has a different ear structure.
Pro:
1. can fit losely just outside ear pathway by using smaller size tip so you can still hear outside sound (for safety reasons) or you can opt to use the snug fit tip and block out 95% of the outside noise and focus on your music or whatever.
2. Unlike the factor headphones that come with iPhone, with this Bose in-ear, your ears don't hurt after wearing them for 5 hours.

Con:
1. The sound is not as crisp or clear as other high end in-ear headphones. (Shure, etc.)
2. the neck hanging system is quite trouble some (should give them credit for trying very hard). These extra cables tangle up everytime, it takes 1 min to detangle them to be able to use them. If they had tried hard enough, they should attach a free cable management system with the headset for easy storage.

I don't think Bose calls them Triport anymore. The new box just shows Bose In-Ear Headphones. Overall, I give it 4 stars and still highly recommend it.