Are Bose In-Ear Headphones Really Worth $100.00?

I like listening to the radio, my cars speakers are for 1999, the year my car was made. I enjoy my music, but I'm no audiophile.

I do know the difference between good sounding speakers and ones that are not so great. I have heard so many mixed reviews on BOSE surround sound for home entertainment. However with all of the negative reviews out there, I have to say, I have never come across a sweeter sounding system in my life. BOSE manages to win me over in that department. I don't have $1,700 though to spend on sound. I love my HDTV, but my $120.00, 5 speaker surround sound is just as adequate; it;s just not as lovely and sharp as BOSE's surround sound.

More recently my mother has had her eye on a pair of Bose In-Ear Headphones. With her birthday around the corner, I figured I'd buy her the headphones, and call it a day.

Now I personally have never liked in ear buds, but with the name BOSE attached to them, I was excited to have a listen for myself. I figured these ear buds would sound spectacular, I assumed they would deliver the same high quality sound that their surround sound systems do. I mean heck, these little ear-buds were priced at $99.99, where most other brands don't even peak at $30.00 in max price.

I figured the $100 would be worth it, it's BOSE we're talking about! BOSE!

When her big day came around, she messed around with the ear buds for a good while, and swore by them; swore they sounded so much better than her old $10.00 pair of ear buds.

Once she passed them off to me for a listen, I must say I was surprised at how lovely everything sounded. The bass was spectacular, and everything seemed sharp and clear. They did not however drown out background noise. I was able to hear others in the room talking still.

I liked the rubber attachment's added to the buds though, because they were much more comfortable then those large plastic ear buds I remembered from the 90's. The added clear rubber also kept them in place, and I suppose they were an added attempt to drown out outside noises.

So yes, at first I thought they sounded great, fantastic even. You have to keep in mind though, that it had been nearly 10 years since I last placed an ear-bud into my ear.

I wanted to see the difference, I wanted to see the big $100 difference, so I asked her to plug her old ear buds in after listening to the BOSE In-Ear Headphones.
 
She plugged them in, I shoved them into my ear, and would you know... everything sounded pretty much the same. The bass the same, the sharp clarity the same, everything the BOSE headphones delivered, these cheap $10.00 ear-buds delivered the same.

I felt stupid, duped, and really dumb for falling for the BOSE high price tag. Granted I love their surround sound, I was really miffed at how perfectly the same her $10 buds were to her new $100 BOSE earphones. I wanted to pack them back up and immediately return them, but she swore by them, swore they were much better. She kept them, but I do not think she would have kept them if it was her money she had spent. Ha-ha.

For me, I'm just not convinced. They sounded just as good as a low end pair of in-ear headphones. So for all of you out there looking to add this one to your birthday list, or wish-list, do yourself a favor and just skip on it.