The Ear Cups

The QuietComfort ear cups are lined by very soft and pliable ear cushions. They are so comfortable that you can actually wear it for hours. Unlike ear cushions on other headphones, they don't make your ears sweat.

It could be that the ear cups actually cover the ears, instead of resting on them. Even then, the area around the ears on which the QuietComfort's ear cushions cover do not sweat even after prolonged use. These certainly are very luxurious ear cushions.

Although a good passive headset employs noise absorbing materials in the ear cup, the QuietComfort's ear cups appear to be made of nothing more than a single layer of plastic. This probably is how they cut down on its weight. But will this adversely affect its passive attenuation capabilities? We will find out later.
   

 
The ear cup
    

Well, as mentioned before, the QuietComfort's ear cups cover the ears instead of resting on them. If their speakers point perpendicularly to the ear cups (like other headphones), then the sound waves will not be directed into the internal ear. Instead, they will be beating on the auricle. Other headphones are not affected by this because they rest on the ears themselves and thus are automatically positioned to send sound waves directly down the ear.

This means that the QuietComfort must be worn correctly. If you mix the proper position of the ear cups - left ear cup on the right ear and vice versa, you won't just get reverse balance like what you would expect with normal headphones. The sound perceived will actually be completely different from the actual sound reproduced by the headset! So, take note of the left and right markings Bose printed on the headband, just above the ear cups.

The Bose TriPort Technology

A unique feature about the Bose QuietComfort is the Bose TriPort technology which debuted earlier with the Bose Aviation Headset X. What's this technology and what does it do?

In passive headsets, air space inside the ear cups is used to reduce the amount of noise. The more space, the better the attenuation (reduction). But for significant gains in passive noise reduction, large ear cups will have to be used. Because such ear cups also tend to be heavy, they don't make for comfortable headphones.

The small mass of air inside the ports also blocks high frequency noise from entering the ear cup. So, passive attenuation of noise (especially high frequency noise) is greatly enhanced.

In addition, as TriPort creates a virtual space behind the speakers, it enhances active noise reduction of low frequency noise. Just to clear things up, passive techniques like a tight ear cup seal and sound absorbing material are most effective with high frequency noise. So, active noise reduction is mainly used for low frequency noise.

 
The external ports