Hot Topic: Two For The Road

For some time, we had been bugging the Bose representatives at various IFE shows to bring out a new product that would improve portable audio/video player performance. One that was a bit smaller than the over-ear units on the market but ones that would improve the sound quality of our iPod’s and portable video players. Like most people, we found that the listening experience of the packaged earbuds that come with all portable devices were lacking in bass and usually provided an overall tinny and painful sound experience. The Bose TriPort In-Ears’s are not…if you like bass, these rock.

We first set out to test the response of the $100 dollar TriPort IE’s using our calibrated head/microphone dummy but soon realized that plugged into the ear, testing may not tell the whole story. In fact, it did not because every MP3 toting road warrior we talked to wanted mainly two features – comfort and bass and testing would probably not deliver those answers. It seems all were in agreement that portable sound was to be just that, portable, and any listening compromise was a part of the deal and the sound delivered could, or would, be tolerated. If you don’t agree, ask yourself why Apple would package those white wimps with a $350 dollar player. Heck, they even feature the white earpods in their adverts as status symbol. But in doing so, they created a dual class of podders – those who carried iPods and used the supplied phones and those who moved up to Shures, or Ultimate Ears, or whatever. The bottom line then is what really makes the TriPort IE’s stand out in this second category is comfort and bass, not color.

Comfort is easy to see (or feel). Bose cleverly looked at the competition earphones and some very smart engineer (we don’t know who you are but we salute your common sense) figured out that the solution was not to create a product that “plugged” into the ear and stay there by compression. Rather, the IE’s sit on bottom of the inner ear curvature and thus the load is not one of pressure, but one of weight. Bose then chose a super soft, silicone ear shape to fit the ear canal (3 sizes supplied). How simple and elegant… they fit and wearing them for hours is a joy.

Now the bass! Without waxing technically eloquent we think that responses from our test team said it best, “These things are bass monsters.” We quite agree. Although the thought of tearing the IE’s apart to see the size of the transducer would have given us a definite answer, we just did not have the heart to break them open so you will just have to take our word for it. The transducer must be huge for the relative bass reproduction and that and the screened port must have to do with their extreme bass response. (TIP: If you want a completely new portable experience, modify the settings of your iPod to include bass boost – awesome!)

But why, you may ask, is the title for our Hot Topic, “Two For The Road”? Easy, don’t travel without both the TriPort IE’s and your favorite Bose Quiet Comfort Noise Canceling model. The TriPort IE’s work great on the ground and in the airport because as we reported last year, one tester almost missed a flight call because the noise canceling units eliminated the gate announcement. The IE’s work great in an environment where you want to hear some of the outside ambient, but on the plane, the QC’s are best!

Online Casino Takes To The Skies
Online Casino News

Southwest Airlines looking at in-flight WiFi
ZD Net

Airline Offers Travellers Private Cabin to India For Less Than a BA First Class Seat
This Is London

Airlifting passenger spirits with infotech
Business Standard