Friday, April 7, 2023

BOSE QuietComfort 45

またノイズキャンセリング・ヘッドフォンを新調してしまいました…。

これです。昨年末にバージョンアップされた、BOSE QuietComfort 45 です。限定色のグレーを購入。
イスタンブールの旅では  SONY WH1000XM5 を使っていたんですが… 壊れました。
左側の音が聞こえなくなってきたので、新型かつ限定色に惹かれ、QC45 にしてみました。

最近のモデルでは、こんだけ揃ったわけです。収納ケースで比較…。
左から:BOSE Noise Cancelling Headphones 700、BOSE QuietComfort 45、そして Sony WH1000XM5。

収納時に折りたたみのギミックが残っている点も、購買時の重要ポイントでした。

ケース内では、こうやって納められています。
最新機種で耳カップがヒンジで折りたためるのは QC45 だけです。

ソニーの  WH1000XM5 は、ノイキャン性能は最高に良かったんですが… 華奢でした。
あと、耳カップがデカくて、機内では横向いて寝る儂にはちょっと大変。
寝相が悪いせいか、左側が壊れました。こうなっちゃったら修理なんかしません。

あんたお払い箱よ←アスカ風味

保証期限が過ぎたら簡単に壊れる『ソニータイマー』が、しっかり搭載されていたわけです。(苦笑)

ケースに充電機能が付いた限定色の NC700 も、まだ持っているんですが…
こないだ帰省した時、甥が QC35 IIを使っているのを見て、これを甥に譲る約束をしてしまったのでした。

機内で比較していませんが、ノイキャン性能は NC700 も新型の QC45 も変わらないと思います。ただ NC700 は微調整が可能。ボーズのフラッグシップモデルなのでいろいろと機能満載だけど、儂にはとても使いこなせません。

さて新型の QC45 ですが… 今まで QC35 II を買い躊躇わせていた点がほぼ全て解消されました。
1.電源コネクタが USB-C に変更されました。ここが一番重要。
2.折りたたみ収納ができるので、バッグの中でかさばらない。
3.作動時間は 24 時間に延びて、儂の旅する範囲ならほぼ無問題。
4.耳カップのタッチ操作が搭載されていないので、誤作動しない。
5.ノイキャンレベルの設定が無い。ON/OFFしかないのでスッキリ。
6.電話の会話品質が改善されたらしい。(儂は使わないけど)
7.限定色のグレーがステキ♪ 機内 NC 見栄張り競争で勝てそう。(爆)

このへんがチャームポイントでした。

USB-C 搭載以外では、NC700 では(ソニーXM5でも)耳カップをうっかり触って誤動作させる事が多かったので、右下の3つのボタンで操作する古典的な方法が儂には向いています。

何気ない部分で便利に感じたのが、ここ。
左右が、すぐ判る。(笑)

ソニーの XM5 は年がら年中かぶり間違えていたので、ここは嬉しい。

まだ航空機内で試していませんが、5月のバルセロナ旅行から使ってみます。

13 comments:

  1. I was also quite into audio, so I'm interested in headphones and speakers. At the peak of my audio fanaticism, my setup included as follows;

    Technics A1 power amp
    Technics A2 preamp
    B&O Beogram4000 record player
    JBL 4343 speakers
    Nakamichi 1000II cassette deck

    With a lineup like this, the total cost easily exceeded 5 million yen at the time, and I was quite anxious about how to pay for it. Still, it was the system of my dreams, so I was satisfied. In particular, the A1 and A2 were handmade amplifiers that brought together all of Technics' technology at the time. I remember both of them had serial numbers around in the 10 to 20s. Unfortunately, this beloved system was later moved to the home of my boss at the time, who was also an avid audiophile and even built a completely soundproof audio room in his home. It was a pity to see it go, but I'm sure it found a good home with my boss.

    The power of the A1 was especially impressive, and during the winter, the amp would generate enough heat to save on indoor heating. However, since I was living in an apartment at the time, I couldn't turn up the volume too loud, so I often used Audio-Technica headphones (can't remember the model number) at night. It was a great product that not only had great sound quality but also fit comfortably over my ears.

    Currently, my audio setup mainly revolves around B&W speakers, which I find to be very reliable. By the way, the speakers in my BMW M850i are a +600,000 yen option, and they've been upgraded from the standard Harman Kardon to B&W.

    I haven't had much experience with BOSE until now, but I installed two BOSE outdoor speakers in my yard when I built my new house. Since they're outdoor speakers, I won't comment on the sound quality, but despite being exposed to the winds and rains for nearly 20 years, they've held up incredibly well and have been playing music continuously, 24 hours a day.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      For audio systems, I was an easy-going person, or just thrifty way to purchase the sets.
      First time was T-Gakuen era, of course. Because of vast majority are wealthy students, especially boys are sporting their audio set and the knowledge. IMy family wasn’t that wealthy but fortunately, my cousin was a manager of finance at Pioneer so my father asked him to buy a set for me. Therefore, my first audio set was all Pioneer. Once I started working, I purchased Sony products… although my friends warned me about “Sony Timer”, I was enchanted with flat speakers, Trinitron monitor and Beta (ED-Beta lately) video recorder.
      But all of those were given to my college colleague of T because it won’t worn in the US.

      Bose is my favorite brand for headsets, not the speakers because their acoustic finishing is so artificial, it’s completely opposite side from Matsushita or even Bang & Olufsen. However, I prefer Bose because they are MIT.

      Oh, yes I saw Bose outdoor speaker at your home. It must be sturdy built and no Sony Timer included, so it should work for years. That’s the technology by MIT. ;)

      Delete
  2. The limited edition gray color of the Bose QuietComfort 45 looks quite cool. Since you use them frequently on airplanes, durability is just as important as sound quality, so Bose is definitely a good choice in that regard. I imagine that when the ear cups are large, they can be quite inconvenient when you try to turn over in your sleep on a plane. This could be a big problem if you end up successfully upgrading to business class and sleeping in a flat seat, but on the other hand, it might not be an issue if you fail to upgrade (lol).

    By the way, do Sony headphones come equipped with a "Sony timer" that causes them to break easily once the warranty period has expired? Of course, BMW comes with a "BMW timer" as well (lol). I ordered my current M850i last April, but due to the recent semiconductor shortage, I don't know when it will be delivered. I was driving my previous 750i at the time, and about a year after the warranty period expired, two problems suddenly arose:

    ・Engine coolant was leaking
    ・The air conditioning wasn't working

    I was at a loss as to what to do since repairing these two issues would cost hundreds of thousands of yen, and the delivery date for my new car was still uncertain. I decided to add more coolant whenever the warning light came on since the coolant itself wasn't expensive. However, the air conditioning problem was a different story. I managed to get through the cool spring without it, but as it got hotter, I was wondering what to do. Then I received a message saying that the new car would be delivered in November or December, so I resolved to endure the hot summer without air conditioning. As a result, I had to drive with the doors and sunroof wide open last summer, but the toughest part was waiting at stoplights. The 750i was originally equipped with a setting that would blow cold air through small holes in the seats, but of course, that was also broken, and I was covered in sweat all over my body. If a stranger had seen me, they wouldn't have thought that the BMW 7 Series was a luxury car. They would never have guessed that I was driving a car like that in the scorching heat.

    Oh, and don't worry, your drop-off from our clinic to the Crowne Plaza Okayama in May will be in a new M850i with a functioning air conditioner (lol).

    To be fair to BMW, there was another issue before those troubles. I heard an unusual noise coming from the engine, and when I took it to the dealership to have it looked at, they found foreign objects in the engine. If the objects weren't removed, the engine could explode(!), but it was impossible to remove them completely, so the dealership said I had to replace the engine entirely which cost over 7 million yen. Fortunately, it was still under warranty, so I didn't have to pay anything. It took over a month to replace the engine, but they provided a loaner car free of charge, and BMW's customer service was excellent in that regard.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      There are two limited editions of QC45 – gray and navy. The navy wasn’t my taste so I chose gray. And the difference from “Triple-Black” is very subtle. IF someone has QC35 or 45 then they might be realized mine is gray with gold logomark which is showing off the limited edition.
      In the business class, most of people simply use the noise canceling headsets which rented by air carrier, but I like be best quality of NC. Sony is working superb but when I returned to Bose, all Sony headsets, XM3, 4 or 5, have certain “pressure” in the ear – or sya, eardrum, I feel. The after of the noise-cancelled feeling by Bose is much more natural, no weird feelings were given to my ears.

      Not only for the headphones but all of Sony products basically embedded with Sony Timer, people think. Sony products are working beautifully for year or two, until the warranty expires. Once the warranty expired, their products go out of order… I want them to spend more endeavors to the improvements of the products, not for setting up the famous timer.

      Ah, Beamers have similar experiences with their cars. One of my friends who is enchanted with Citroën, every time he replaces and refresh his car, every single Citroën has some weird “noise” from somewhere… it’s not from engine but indoor, inside of the habitat areas. When I got rides of his car, I pointed out that strange chattering noise from somewhere, but he immediately replied me “This is the Citroën!” (lol)

      As per you told above, BMW comes with good warranties. So your Piggy-nose-san can be repaired without any extra costs basically. If not, I strongly recommend Lexus. It doesn’t go bad for years, and the repair parts are more affordable than German cars.

      Delete
  3. There seems to be many benefits to the new headphones for you. The power connector has been changed to USB-C, they can be folded and easily stored, the operating time has been extended to 24 hours, there are no accidental touch controls, there is no setting for noise cancellation level, and the limited edition gray color looks great and might help you win in the in-flight vanity competition. Hmm, there are many points that I can't quite relate to, but I suppose the last one is the most important for you? (lol)

    You will be able to try them out on your trip to Barcelona in May on the plane, so does that mean you will be at home in April? Oh, I see your spouse is on a business trip. It might be nice to enjoy music or cinema not just on the plane but also at home sometimes, don't you think? Oh, I see. It wouldn't be good to wear headphones and listen to something at home because you wouldn't be able to hear the SOS from your precious cats (lol).

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      These days, USB-C is the must. Currently iPhones are the exceptions. iPad Pro already has USB-C. However, all of my iPhones have wireless charging. Therefore I don’t have to carry Lightning cables. (But I carry one as an emergency backup)

      After using Bose NC700 to Sony XM5, I came back to QC45 which again has foldable hinge. I stored the new headphone case in my backpack, and then I found significantly wide space in my bag. When I tried to take the business class amenity kit with me, I didn’t have enough space in my bag… but now I don’t have to worry about it. I even can steal the LED lanterns by Turkish Airlines. (Kidding. Don’t do that)

      And YES! I can show off this Special, Limited Edition of Gray color with Rose-Gold Logo in the business class cabin. NC700 is the flagship of Bose but it’s two wears old. Mine is just introduced less than half year ago, so I can sport it well. It’s not just a price but I sometimes see some passengers from SFO are showing off iPod MAX. It looks like someone put two Hanpens or French toasts on their ears… looks so ugly and that is the ugliest product from Apple so far, followed by Apple Pippin. (Sorry Bandai-san)

      In April, my better-half-san is out of the country so I have to take care of five cats, as well as tax return, depositing and cutting checks… I am busy, busier than usual hence I don’t have enough time to reply the comments. (LOL)
      Because I am home alone, I don’t have to use headsets; I increase the TV volume and watch NHK. My kitties are having fun watching Sekai Neko-Aruki too.

      Delete
  4. As you know, I was born into a family of medical practitioners, so we were reasonably well-off and I was able to receive a decent education. However, my father was not the type of person to give unnecessary money to his children, and my allowance was only 100,000 yen per month. I once visited the campus of the Hyogo Medical University, which was relatively close to Kobe University where I studied, and experienced culture shock. The biggest shock was when I saw the parking lot, where there were some affordable domestic cars, but also many expensive luxury cars lined up. I heard that the faculty members mainly drove domestic cars, while the luxury cars were mostly owned by students from medical families like me. I wondered where this gap came from, even though we all had medical practitioner parents. I studied very hard to pass the national university entrance exams, so I did not burden my parents with extra financial support such as donations to the private university.

    Yet, during my student years, I had to save money on audio systems as well. Your cousin was a finance manager at Pioneer, I see. As I mentioned before, my late uncle was a rocket engineer and held an executive position at Nissan headquarters, so when I became a doctor and purchased a Nissan car, I was fortunate to receive a special discount. The only disadvantage was that I could only buy Nissan cars since he strictly told me not to buy any of other bland. As a result, my car history consists only of Nissan and BMW (lol).

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,
      Sensei… I already took 3mg of eszopiclone + 5mg of melatonin about 20min ago, so it started working now… I am not confident how long I can be up and running, so I will get back to you when I woke up completely next morning. (in PT) Apologize if there’s any inconveniences.

      Delete
  5. It seems that you are taking eszopiclone, a GABA_A-BZ receptor agonist, and ramelteon, a melatonin receptor agonist, regularly.

    Eszopiclone has an ultra-short duration of action and is suitable for temporary or transient insomnia, as well as difficulty falling asleep. Clinical trials conducted in Japan and overseas have demonstrated its effectiveness not only for onset insomnia but also for maintenance insomnia. It causes relatively little drowsiness or discomfort the next morning, and has a weaker muscle-relaxing effect. Moreover, its effectiveness does not seem to decrease even with long-term use, and there is not much concern for dependence. However, there is a possibility of transient amnesia or drowsiness immediately after administration or upon waking up at night.

    On the other hand, ramelteon, marketed in Japan under the name Rozerem, is named after "rose" and "REM sleep," with the hope of "having rose-colored dreams." Rozerem is a drug that promotes the secretion of melatonin, which regulates the rhythm of the internal clock. Melatonin is secreted around 8 pm, peaks around 1-2 am, and disappears under light in the morning. It is said that its secretion decreases with age, and Rozerem is a drug that restores this balance.

    Therefore, the combination of these two drugs that you are taking is quite reasonable and can be considered a relatively safe combination. Eszopiclone promotes your sleep onset, and ramelteon prolongs the effect of eszopiclone in a way that is more in line with human physiology.

    You mentioned that you are not confident about when you will wake up completely due to taking both of these drugs. However, if you still cannot wake up completely, or worse, never wake up again, having rose-colored dreams forever, then I suggest chanting "Nam myoho renge kyo" or "Namu Amida Butsu" instead.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      I only knew s-zopiclone works for GAVA receptor but as an actual result of usage, I don’t feel any drowsiness or abnormal feelings after got up. I previously tried benzodiazepine once for my insomnia but that one had severe drowsiness after sleeping period, so I stopped using meds except melatonin. However, when I saw the TV ads of Lunesta and asked my primary doctor for the Rx of Lunesta, I was so delighted the result was very good, no drowsiness, no stomach upset, immediate fallen asleep, etc. After Lunesta became generic and started being sold as s-zopiclone, the price went down. My out-of-pocket is only $5.
      But receiving this medication at the pharmacy is yet time-consuming… because it’s a class IV (US schedule IV) drug hence it must be processed after in-person meeting with pharmacist. Because the clerks at Walgreens pharmacy are employed at minimum wedge, every month they get confused why it needs in-person discussion with their busy pharmacists. Every single month I explained because the med is class IV, clerks even don’t know what’s the meds’ classes… I can’t believe they earn at least $15.75 per hour with such Tori-ningen brains…

      As per Sensei wrote, In comparison, melatonin is OTC and works very mildly. I can’t treat my insomnia with only-melatonin situation but it still gived better sleeping period when I took it with s-zopiclone.

      But these days, I take one more mini capsule of PPI – s-omeprazole magnesium (a.k.a Nexium) at 20mg. This really prevents my symptoms of GERD when I goes down to sleep or during the sleeping time. When it was sold as Nexium from AstraZeneca, sorry Mr.H who is another senior of T-Gakuen Department of Farmers and works at AZ and in charge of Nexium, I didn’t buy Nexium but generic omeprazole in racemic mixture from OTC because of its price. But Mr.H strongly recommended to switch to S-Enatiomer only version because of the amount I take. Portion of medicine is, smaller the better, he explained with lethal doses… So, once Nexium became generic and OTC, I switched to Walgreens’ store brand. (Sorry again, H-senpai!)

      Thank you for your concerns of my chances of “rest in piece.” It will happen for all of people, so I don’t seriously worry about it. Amen. (lol)

      Delete
  6. I am ashamed to say that I have never owned a wireless charging compatible iPhone before, and especially when traveling in a car, I tend to have a lot of items to carry. I need separate charging devices for my iPhone, Apple Watch, and M850i electronic key. However, the M850i has a tray for charging the iPhone on the dashboard and a space for charging the electronic key in the glove compartment, so they can be charged simply by placing them there. The most incomprehensible thing is that, despite the high compatibility between BMW and the iPhone, the electronic key is only compatible with Android. Well, that's just typical of BMW, isn't it?

    The most surprising thing when I got into the new M850i was that there was no CD player slot. The previous 750i had one slot for the CD player, where I inserted the music CD I wanted to listen to and downloaded it to the car. Recently, it seems that cars on the market, whether Japanese or imported, no longer have CD player slots. As CDs themselves become "outdated content," it seems that even downloading something to the car is no longer possible. Nevertheless, for us middle-aged and older drivers, there must always be a demand to "listen to favorite music CDs in our beloved cars." Although such modifications are not easily accepted, we have no choice but to give up on them.

    So as a last resort, I downloaded my CDs to my desktop on iTunes, transferred them to my iPhone, and listened to them in the car via Bluetooth. Fortunately, my iPhone has a maximum capacity of 256GB, so I still have plenty of room to transfer CDs. When I purchased my current iPhone at a docomo shop, the female salesperson kindly advised me, "A high-capacity model like this is a waste for your usage up until now," but I'm glad I didn't follow her advice.  

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      I had iPhone 11 Pro and still have XR and those are equipped with wireless charging, but not MagSafe compatible. Once I switched to MagSafe version which is iPhone 14 Pro, I can’t go back to the previous products because it’s so convenient. Especially in the airplanes, MagSafe is more convenient – pickup the phone from side table right away but it doesn’t slip off even under unexpected turbulences. If we lost our cellphone somewhere but we cannot search under the seat by ourselves, we have to call flight attendants for help – this is now required and it’ll be a big shame when it happens. Therefore, MagSafe is a great prevention of such shameful troubles.

      Our old lady Kin-san (a.k.a. Lexus RX 450h) can eat five CD’s but she refuses vomit (lol) some discs from her, we gave up and switched using iPhone. Actually we rarely drive Kin-san so it doesn’t matter. But CD players are really ‘yesterday’ media. We still use blu-ray discs but other optical discs were dead, especially for music, streaming is good enough because it doesn’t need wide bandwidth or large saving spaces at all. Therefore, I only buy smallest storage iPhones – 64GB until iPhone 11 Pro, but now 128GB is the smallest for iPhone 14 Pro. But on iPad tablets I watch movies so I have 1TB on 11” iPad Pro, 12.9” iPad Pro have 2TB, those are the largest capacities when I purchased. MY strategy is quite obvious – no movies on iPhones but iPads.

      BMW’s are equipped with most recent technologies so you can be rest assured for connectivity of the majority of media but older technologies like CD’s are not backward compatible… so storing your assets in your PC is a decent way to keep them up and running.

      Just one thing I can recommend for you, Sensei. Please backup your downloaded music titles in SD or USB memories, or burning CD/Blu-ray ROMs. And if you used rewritable optical disks, please redo (re-burn) the discs every 5-7 years because it degrades unexpectedly, especially in Japan by abnormal high humidity and temperature in summer.

      Delete
  7. My iPhone is an older model, so it still has a home button. Being conservative, I haven't been able to venture into the newer models without a home button. Of course, my iPhone doesn't support wireless charging either. However, recent BMW cars come standard with wireless charging functionality. In the M850i that you were riding in when in Okayama, I could simply place my old iPhone on the tray and it would charge without the need for connecting any cables.

    It seems that your old car, Kin-san (a.k.a. Lexus RX 450h), is equipped with a CD player, which now feels nostalgic. Even my first 7 Series had a CD player that could hold up to 10 discs. In the subsequent 7 Series, the CD player had a slot that could only accommodate one disc. Instead, the option to download music became available, eliminating the hassle of constantly changing CDs. However, the storage capacity was limited, and it would quickly fill up, which was a drawback. The latest 7 Series had a larger capacity, but I still found it insufficient. With my current M850i, as I mentioned earlier, I can use my iPhone, so I no longer have to worry about storage limitations. However, there are occasional issues with the Bluetooth compatibility between the car and the iPhone, which can be frustrating when it interferes with smooth playback.
    In the end, I just wanted to share that I always find myself at the mercy of BMW cars, so to speak (lol).

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