Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

In addition to the Bose QuietControl 30 earbuds, I own the QuietComfort 20i noise cancelling earbuds and QuietComfort 25 noise cancelling headphones. Quality: After 1.5 years the earbud's neckpiece started to fall apart (see below) and after 2 years the earbuds no longer work. Sound: Contrary to reasonable expectations, there is a noticeable difference in noise cancellation between the 30 and 20i when cancelling the sounds of ocean waves as well as other ambient sounds. As a test of noise cancelling, it should be fairly easy to cancel the sound of ocean waves which is reasonably close to white noise. I would have expected the results to be the same or better with these new earbuds. Sadly this is not the case. The old QuietComfort 20i earbuds handily beat the brand new QuietControl 30. Additionally the QuietControl 30 earbuds start up randomly with noise cancelling off or on. With noise cancelling off, the earbuds do not go to a neutral sound level and instead amplify ambient sounds and feed them into the buds. This amplification introduces white noise of its own when run at 3/4 sound cancelling levels. So these earbuds actually add noise at certain settings. ​I love cutting the cord. It is wonderful to not have wires hanging off my face, but these earbuds are failing to meet the basic goal for which they were designed, solid noise cancelling. ​I am debating whether to return these earbuds and wait for Bose to get the bugs out. UPDATE: I exchanged the earbuds in the hopes that I had a dud. The new buds work exactly the same as the old buds. I ran a test by playing white noise on my stereo and adjusted the volume so that it was just inaudible then switched earbuds around including my old QuietComfort i20's... The winner was the old QuietComfort 20i. There was a very noticeable difference in noise cancelling. So I am now more convinced than ever that the Bose Quietcontrol 30's are inferior to the 20i. I really wish Bose had come out with earbuds that worked better than their older models, not worse. I remain very disappointed. I plan on trying other noise cancelling earbuds as they come out, such as the Here One from from Doppler Labs... The quest for the best noise cancelling earbuds continues with Bose getting a failing grade for noise cancelling. UPDATE 12-5-2016: All the problems persist... and in addition... about 30% of the time the earbuds fail to connect with my 2014 Macbook Pro Retina and my 2015 Macbook retina 12". I am forced to turn off the earbuds repeatedly until they finally decide to connect. It is very annoying. This product needs a software update. I have experienced no similar problems with the other Bluetooth devices that I use with my macbooks. UPDATE 3-21-2017: After a software update of the Bose earbuds, the problems with Macbooks has gotten worse. These earbuds fail to connect to any macbook (my two macbooks and also macbooks belonging to friends). There seems to be no workaround. I will try to get my money back. These earbuds are such an expensive disappointment. I have changed my review from three stars to one star. UPDATE 8-29-2018: The earbuds are falling apart! The plastic is separating from the neckpiece and the left earbud cable stopper has come lose. The quality of this product is sad. My far older Bose wired earbuds and headphones work and look like new while these Bose Quietcontrol 30's are self-destructing. If I could give this product zero stars I would. UPDATE 11-27-2018: The left ear bud has stopped working. I suspect the wire going into the bud is internally broken. There is no visible damage to the cable.