Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My review is geared more towards QC15 owners wondering if they should upgrade. I myself was under this dilemma, debating whether it was worth it, and up until now there were pretty much no reviews comparing both headphones. So I gave in to temptation and decided to bite the bullet and buy myself the QC25 to compare to my QC15 so that I could use it on a long-haul flight that I was about to take, which I already took, which is why I am writing this review now. So yes, I have actually compared side-by-side both headphones on the battlefield. I think this is the best place to compare them, where they are meant to be used, as opposed to going in store and trying them on there. At least in the stores where I have seen the demos, there is no flight noise simulation, so I think that such trying out is useless. Anyways, results? I think I am keeping my QC 15. To be specific, here is why: 1) In the noise canceling department, I honestly could not tell a difference between the QC15 and QC25. Maybe some people claim that the QC25's noise cancellation is better than the QC15's (I've read quite a few reviews saying so), but I suspect that that is more of a psychological influence in which the NC on the QC25 is considered better just because the QC25 is a newer model than the QC15. This reminds me of a psychology experiment in which our professor held an opened small bottle with a special aromatic liquid inside, and told us that within a few minutes the whole room would slowly begin to be filled with its very powerful, but attractive aroma... She then asked us to raise our hands as soon as we smelled the aroma. A few minutes later when about two-thirds of the lecture hall had their hands up (about 120 students were there present) she revealed to us that it was just water in there! Anyways, I think you get my point here. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the noise cancellation of the QC25...I think it is excellent! I just don't think that it is any better than that of the QC15. Btw, I was one of the students who did NOT raise their hands in the above experiment :-) 2) I am not an audiophile, but I was disappointed with the bass sound clarity of the QC25 compared to the QC15. I played one of my favorite tracks to test both headphones. Granted, I am in to classical music, so the bass for me normally comes in the form of the double basses and cellos. On my QC15, I can actually hear the individual vibrations caused by the sound of the bow hair pulling on the strings (if you have any experience with bowed string instruments, you will know what I mean). Not so with my QC 25. It was just a general generic sound coming from the double bass section... No bow hair vibrations as you would normally hear live inside a concert hall...or from the QC-15. 3) They eliminated the Hi/Lo switch on the QC25, and by default the cable is set permanently to the equivalent of the "Hi" setting of previous QC headphone cables. What does this mean? It means that you will find yourself having to constantly turn down the volume on your audio equipment, unless you don't mind the sound blasting in your ears. I was watching a movie on the in-flight entertainment system, and with my QC15 cable on the "LO" setting, I had an ample range of volume on which to adjust up or down on the aircraft's volume control. However, when I switched over to the QC25, I had no choice but to use the lowest possible notch on the aircraft's volume control....any notch higher and I would go deaf from such loud volume! And that lowest possible volume notch while using the QC 25 was loud enough as it was, but tolerable... I would have preferred to lower the volume further down, which was only possible in the "LO" setting of the QC15. For me at least, this was a BIG minus for the QC25. Btw, the reason I know that the QC25 cable is permanently set to the equivalent of the "Hi" setting on the QC15 cable is because during the in-flight movie, while I was using the QC15, in addition to testing it on the "Lo" setting, I also tested it in the "Hi" setting, and just like with the QC25, I had to use the lowest possible volume notch on the aircraft's volume control without going deaf. Edit: I forgot to mention here that I also tested both headphones on my iPhone, and got the same exact results. TO BOSE, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, BRING BACK THE "HI/LO" SWITCH! Update 1: I've been reading other reviews complaining that sound "leaks" from the QC25 headphones...and I suspect that this is the very reason for this...considering how the QC25 cable is made to permanently function in the equivalent of the "Hi" setting of previous QC headphones, the QC25 are essentially loud headphones. Update 2: Someone in my comments pointed out that the Bose manual states you can get lower volume output if you plug the QC25 using the airplane adapter. Since as of writing time (Oct 2, 2014) I already returned my QC25s without having checked this adapter feature, I was lucky that a colleague recently bought a pair and was kind enough to allow me to check this out on his QC25. Indeed, I can confirm that the only way you can get a "Lo" setting on the QC25 is by plugging the QC25 via the airplane adapter that comes included in the case. The adapter is double-pronged, but one of the prongs is retractable in order to convert it into a single-pronged adapter. This would mean that those of you who normally prefer to use the "Lo" setting on the QC15 (or other previous QC models) would have to plug the QC25 into your devices with the airplane adapter from now on, whether it be into the aircraft jack, your iPod, tablet, smartphone, PC, or any other listening device. When I tested this feature, the first thing I realized is that for everyday use, this would be a hassle in the long-run as it creates unnecessary bulk at the device jack of whatever it is you're listening. Moreover, with such daily use, I imagine the risk of losing or misplacing the airplane adapter becomes significant, which could eventually force you to buy a replacement adapter if you were to want to keep having the option of having a "Lo" setting. Yes, the airplane adapter is perfect for using on flights with in-flight entertainment if they require a double jack, but I would assume that for many of us, such flights are infrequent. Bose, what were you thinking? A simple "Hi/Lo" switch on the cable would have done the trick! Bose, I repeat, if you are reading this: BRING BACK THE HI/LO SWITCH! You don't even have to redesign the QC25 themselves, just redesign the cable so that it has the switch and voila! I suspect the cost to update the QC25 cable would be minimal. 4) The case of the QC25 is more compact than the case of the QC 15, which is good. My only gripe is that they decided to leave out the special zipper pouch that was common in Bose QC cases. That zipper pouch was always handy to store multiple spare batteries. Instead of the zipper pouch, the QC25 case has a slot that allows you to store one extra spare battery at a time. Apparently, it seems it is a common complaint about the QC15 that once you run out of battery that it stops working, but guess what? This has NEVER been an issue for me. I have always stored multiple spare batteries at a time in my QC15's zipper pouch... If a battery runs out on me, I immediately replace it on the spot. I have always made sure that I had no less than two or three spare batteries at any one time. But with the QC25, I am forced to have only one spare battery. Yes, I realize that it has that feature that allows you to play music without a battery, but I never intended on using that because I have always cared about not losing the noise canceling feature since I only use Bose QC headphones while traveling, which is where I need the noise canceling the most and the very reason why I purchased these types of headphones in the first place. All in all, I have decided to give four stars to the QC25, especially because of reasons #2 and #3 above, and I guess I'll be returning or selling the QC25 soon. Many people are saying how the looks of the QC25 are better than that of the QC15, and I admit it was part of the reason why I considered the upgrade, but in the end of the day I give priority to practicality than to looks. I am not discouraging you from buying the QC25... They are awesome headphones in the noise canceling department. They cut out the noise pollution of vibrations from engines, so they do exactly what they are designed to do. But this is a product that I would buy if I didn't have my QC15 already. So to all of you QC15 owners, you are not missing out much, continue to use your QC15s! For everybody else, go right ahead and buy the QC25! Besides, if this is your first time buying Bose noise-canceling headphones, chances are you have nothing better to compare them to... Just my two cents, and I hope this answers the question of whether or not to upgrade for QC15 owners, and thus helping you save money... Edit: A few people have written to me saying that it seems my review is promoting the QC-15 as better headphones than the QC25, and yet I recommend buying the QC25 for those who do not have the QC 15 already. I would just like to clarify that my review assumes that the QC15 are no longer available for purchase. True, I realize that as of writing time it is possible to buy the QC15 in addition to buying the QC 25, but I don't count on this option lasting forever. Also, one more thing, for those who already own the QC 15, keep in mind that the reasons stated above are what influenced me personally in helping me decide to keep my QC 15. Perhaps the absence of the Hi/Lo switch on the QC 25, for example, may not be an issue for some of you, especially if you always keep your QC 15 on the "Hi" setting. But if you often use your QC15 on the "Lo" setting, I suspect the QC 25 upgrade may be an issue. Personally, I don't understand why somebody would have their headphones always on the "Hi" setting. I've always found that sound volume has always been significantly loud on "Hi", and the few times I ever did switch to the "Hi" setting was because the overall sound of what I was trying to listen to was extremely low already, and the " Hi" setting was very helpful at amplifying such sound. In fact, that is how I have always thought about the "Hi" setting, as an amplification mode. By the way, when you listen to your headphones on the "Hi" setting, the louder volume does help block more ambient sound around you... Could this be perhaps the reason why Bose markets the QC25 as "blocking more sound" than the QC15, considering that its cable is permanently set to the equivalent of "Hi" thereby outputting louder volume? The ultimate purpose of my review for already existing QC15 owners is for you to be able to make an informed decision on whether to upgrade or not to the QC 25 by knowing ahead of time what differences to expect should you go through with an upgrade.