I purchased my Quiet Comfort 2 headphones in Dec, 2005 just in time for a short flight to Memphis. I enjoy good equipment and have owned Bose products in the past (301 series 2 speakers to be exact) and was always pleased with them.

Having flown quite a bit during this year (with QC 2's always in tow), I've noticed something. There are a lot of QC 2 owners out there listening on flights. These are the passengers who seem almost peacefully content on the planes and I am luckily one of them now. If you are contemplating getting a pair, look around next time you are on a plane and see if you can spot this phenomenon as well. QC 2 wearers are the passengers who smile during flights.

The QC 2's are enclosure type headphones that wrap around your ear. (There is a new QC3 that is a floating design that rests on your ear now as well) I prefer this type of headphone to the typical earbud type that goes with most of the walkman style products on the street these days. I have always felt that a wraparound style is better for true critical listening. The QC 2's use one AAA battery and are active headphones. Battery life is outstanding.

The QC 2's have a microphone on the outside on both sides and use the process of phase inversion to negate a tremendous amount of ambient noise for the listener. They are absolutely amazing at reducing jet noise. They do not completely eliminate the noise but they do a terrific job at making the noise unobtrusive. When you use that technology and also hook up to an mp3 player (or any other sound source) airline flights become a lot less aggravating. (now if they could make the seats recline more than 11 degrees)

Sound quality with these headphones is absolutely fantastic. When used in a quiet environment they do a remarkable job at delivering a wide soundstage with great dynamics. Bass is tight and crisp and high frequency sound reproduction is superb. These are the best sounding headphones that I have ever owned and outperform my Sony studio reference series easily. They will allow you to hear new subtle nuances in your favorite type of music and will simply amaze you.

The QC 2's come with a nice hard zippered case for storage along with adapters for connection to any sound source including the bizarre airline dual connector hookups found on some older airframes.

I never used the CD player that was a give away item with the headphones so I cannot comment on it.

If you fly a lot, or want the ability to listen to audiophile quality music, these headphones are definitely a must have.