Bose QC 30 wireless buds come in a well-designed package.
I picked up the Bose QuietControl 30 wireless in-ear headphones today, and I am not sure if they are keepers since the Bluetooth radio keeps going in and out. It could be that I just have a defective unit. Otherwise, this device is somewhat groundbreaking.
The QC 30s fit well, sound well, and actually do fit in your pocket when you bend the neckband a little bit. Speaking of the neckband, it looks like it would be heavy, but it actually feels very light around your neck.
The QC 30 wireless headphones are easy to pair with your Bluetooth device.
The QC30 comes with three different types of ear tips that are easy to change. Two corded buds protrude from the neckband. The control, which is somewhat inconvenient to reach, is by the right earbud. You can control volume, pause, and skip tracks. The best part of the QC 30 is what is on the side of the the regular control — an eight level control for noise cancellation.
Believe it or not, the QC 30 is pocketable.
You don’t have to worry about listening to your music while walking in areas with heavy traffic. You can set the noise cancellation to the lowest level, which actually works as some type of hearing aid that allows the sounds around you to amplify. If you are in your apartment and want to make sure you hear if someone knocks at the door, you could set it to level 4. If you need to sleep and your neighbor is having a party, you can set it to level 8 and fall to sleep. Doing so is actually quite comfortable.
The sound is typical Bose — warm and fuzzy with somewhat heavy bass. These headphones don’t have the “oomph” that you get on the Beats Studio Wireless or Bowers & Wilkins P7 Wireless, but they sound better than any earbuds I’ve tested, including ones from Jaybird and Samsung.
The QC30 has typical Bose sound.
As I mentioned before, the fatal flaw of the headphones is the poor Bluetooth connection — something that hasn’t been noticeable on any recent Bose headphones. There are some people on different forums — all who own an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus — who are complaining. I will update this article on whether or not this issue turns into a quality control disaster like the one Sennheiser had when they first released the M2 Wireless.
The earbuds fit comfortably into your ear canals without "choking" them.
These aren’t headphones that you will want to buy right away. Test them out at a Bose store to see if they are right for you. Still, the Bose QC 30s show the promise of wireless earbuds with noise cancellation.
