Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I purchased these replacement pads for my Bose QC-15 headphones as the old pads were torn and needed to be replaced. I selected this set of pads based on the positive reviews here on Amazon with the thought that they would be the same as the original pads. While they look the same, they are indeed slightly different. First things first - these pads are fairly easy to install though they do require a little persistence to get them to snap into place. The earphones themselves have small tabs around the edges designed to snap the pads' bases into place and hold securely, and if the pads are not snapped down they simply will not stay securely. The inner foam and cloth shield that covers the electronics is easy to install but I had trouble with the double-sided tape that holds them in place - the adhesive did not want to release the cover strip and I had real difficulty peeling that strip away without ripping the actual cloth. Once in place, the phones look exactly like they did when they were new, but I found three differences. First, the phones no longer fit into the case as easily as they once did. Instead of just turning the cups to lay flat and simply putting them in the case, now I have to mess with them slightly to fit into the case properly, though they can be made to fit. More noticeable, though, is that the pads are not as effective as the originals for passive noise canceling. A fan that I have in my office used to be canceled out almost completely with the combination of passive and active noise canceling but is now more audible than when the original pads were in place. I would not say the difference is enough to render the earphones' ability to cancel noise completely compromised, but they are definitely not the same. Finally, these replacement pads are just a little less supple and soft than the original pads. It is not all that noticeable until comparing the original and replacement pads side by side. You have to really be looking closely for the difference to notice it, but it's there. The difference in noise canceling ability is most noticeable when working in an environment with reverb. I use my phones to monitor sound coming through a professional sound board because these have always done an excellent job of eliminating reverb and leaving just what comes through the sound board. With these new pads in place, I can now hear a lot of reverb, even when I press the phones tight over my ears and have ensured that they completely cover my ears so it's not a gapping issue. The material is different, plain and simple. These are not bad replacement pads by any means. They are very good, they are comfortable and they do make these phones look brand new again. That said, they were not manufactured by Bose and there are some differences. When considering the cost difference between these and Bose parts, the trade-offs balance out favorably. If you have to have an exact match with the original pads, these are very close but not 100% identical. If you are satisfied with a [roughly] 90%-95% match, these pads work nicely for a lot less than original manufacturer pads.