- Bose releases Thom Browne redesign of recent flagship headphones
- Adds a cashmere band, tag and cup stripes
- Very much designer label, costing twice as much as the original pair
If you still wish you could rock the emo aesthetic as readily as an adult as you did when you were young, I’ve got a new pair of headphones which will have you screaming “I’m not oooookaaaay” in no time.
Fashion house Thom Browne has teamed up with Bose, to release a special-edition run of the latter’s QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen). The new model is due to release on September 28, although you can pre-order them already.
Now, these cans aren’t cheap; there is a designer fee to be paid. They cost $950 / £760 (about AU$1,500, although Bose’s Australian website makes no mention of them). And that — depending on where you live — is more than double the price of the standard Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)’s $449 / £449 / AU$699 price, in any other finish.
So what do you get for the designer surcharge? Well, it is purely the design flourishes that set them apart from the standard flagship pair. Not only do you get those distinctive white stripes on the left cup, but the ear cushions and headband are made from cashmere. You also get a new Browne-designed protective case, and the color option is called Smoked Pearl. Let’s also not forget the bragging rights of throwing down that much money on some headphones.
Similar cans, other than the design?
Other than the design flairs (which are “delightful, I must have them”, according to my audio editor), the Thom Browne cans are pretty similar to the aforementioned Ultra set. These are not to be confused with the newer standard Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen), to which I awarded a very respectable four stars to in my recent review.
So, you’re getting wonderful five-star Bose-tuned sound, fantastic spatial audio and solid noise cancellation. In fact, the comfort of the QC range is something I flagged in my review as being outstanding, and I’m sure some added cashmere will only make them more snug.
I tested the delightfully Shrek-like finish of the non-Pro cans which you see above, although those obviously don’t have the same fashionable bent (unless you live in a swamp) but they come in a range of other colors including pink, mauve and mint.
Ironically, one of my issues with the Bose QCs was that they felt a little pricey compared to the competition, and the more-than-double-cost versions definitely aren’t going to solve that.
That is to say, these are a buy for ‘money no object’ music lovers who think nothing of splashing out on fancy designer headphones. Saying that, if you have a malleable budget, the regular Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) might still be the top buy if you don’t care about the designer extras.
Not for my audio editor though. She is already saving up…
