Bose Triport IE Review

Including 11 pictures

Preface

Let me start by saying how much I love the Bose Triport headphones. The Quiet Comforts usually steal all the press, but my favorite (if not for it’s build quality) is the original Bose Triport headphones, in ice blue.

I loved them so much that each time the headband broke, I forgave them and went to the shop, and they offered me a replacement, each and every time. After the forth pair gave up the ghost, the shop assistant advised me to take a pair of Grado’s instead. To this day I still love the original Bose Triport headphones, but have steered away from them for obvious reasons, but I miss them very much. The bass, although not that well controlled was deep, and no headphones I’ve tried, have compared, in terms of deep thumping bass.

Although the new Bose Triport OE (On Ear) headphones have better build quality (on the face of it), the design falls very short. Although a good compromise for both home and away use, they look a bit……samey.

The Bose Triport IE Review

This is a rushed review due to the short amount of time I had to find out as much as I could. Let me get straight down to what I think of the Bose IE earphones. There was one major problem that runs through and has hampered the whole review, but it is THE one fundamental issue I had with the Triport IE’s.

The main problem is that I couldn’t get them to stay in my ear, long or well enough to get a really good impression. The Bose are in no way uncomfortable, the rubber earbuds are comfy, but the whole design is strange at best. The earbuds give the impression that they’re facing sideways instead of forwards, and from just looking at the Bose IE’s, with the shape of the earbuds, I was wondering how they would stay in my ears.

Well as I said before, that wasn’t a worry because they didn’t really stay in my ears. The only way to really enjoy them, was to manually press them into my ear canal. As I’m sure you’re aware, you can’t do this for long for the simple reason that you need your hands for other things.

As soon as you let go, they gently ease themselves out of a good position, and just sit on the entrance to the ear canal. these would have been great as earphones, but as IEM’s, they just don’t work.

How do they sound?

Disappointing, especially the bass, because there was no bass! Having read reviews that suggest the bass was bloated, overpowering or uncontrolled I immediately thought that the bass would be deep and loud. It was neither. Listening to ‘Shimon - The Shadow Knows’ (my fav, and only drum and bass track) the Crossroad Mylars did far better.

The bass isn’t weak, but so faint that it’s not really easy to notice on any of the tracks I listened to. Where the Crossroads Mylar would thump with great control, the Bose would whimper along. Being a great lover of the bass from my Triports years (or months) I was shocked as to what I was hearing, or not hearing as such.

So why all those reports, referring to the bass as ‘overpowering’ and ‘bloated’. My thoughts were ‘How can such reviewers hear the bass, ’cause I can’t’. As for sound staging, once again because of the limited listening ability and time, there’s no real criticism with the sound staging. I would describe the sound as ‘powerful and purposeful’ rather than ‘finely detailed’.

Lindsey ( the Bose IE owner) agreed that the Crossroads Mylar’s offered better clarity, but luckily she got the Bose Triport IE’s free when She got her Bose Sounddock……..feeeew! Any exchanging of funds for the IE’s and I would advise that she’d take them back. After hearing the Mylar’s, I think that I’ve sown a seed, and she told me that maybe she’ll be on the lookout for different headphones.

Conclusion

I’m not convinced! Can you tell from the look on my face!

I can’t say that the Bose Triport IE’s are bad per se, but they are an acquired taste. Various reports say that Bose have redesigned the tips, and the new version would be on the market soon. But I heard it all before. When replacing my Triports because the headband kept on breaking, the shop assistant told me the same thing. Apparently they’d been redesigned. The truth was that I could see no visible evidence to support this, and the headband kept on breaking. Being re-launched under the name of ‘Bose around ear’ headphones, I still see no difference to the four pairs I owned. I hope that with the IE’s, Bose will re-launch a new version of the tips, because a small rubbery material could make all the difference.

If you still want a pair of the IE’s then I would encourage you to click on the ebay link on the right hand side, and save yourself a whole load of cash by bidding for a pair, or try amazon, It’ll save you some money. As for now, I just can’t give them my backing, sorry!

Disclaimer: As an affiliate for ebay and amazon, if click on the ebay link and place a winning bid, or buy via the ‘buy it now’ option, I receive a small commission. If you buy from amazon via the link, once again I receive a small commission. This is not my reason for suggesting the Bose IE’s, personally you might be better off looking for other alternatives. Here are a few of my suggestions from amazon.