earcup

Integrated boom Detaches, to be worn on either the right or left earcup.

Inside the same earcup is a sensor that detects when you've put the headphones on.

Track skip and volume buttons on the earcup are convenient for wireless mode.

Examining the right earcup reveals several of them.

Comfort may vary due to the earcup material.

The buttons for controlling the volume or skipping tracks in wireless mode are on the left earcup.

The hard plastic lump at the bottom of the mesh that covers the speaker within the earcup might cause you some bother.

Tap and swipe the earcup to navigate your jams.

This and the interchangeable audio-input cables attach to two ports found on the left earcup.

The QuietComfort 15 offers redesigned earcup padding and materials to provide additional passive noise reduction.

The earcup color was changed to silver, "acoustic equalization" was added, and the earcups incorporated magnetic pads.

The AC-900 switches easily from Mono to Stereo and has a volume control on each earcup for excellent sound balance.

When buying the old model, you had to choose between a coiled cable or a straight cable, and those cables were hard-set into the left earcup.

There's a little switch on the earcup to adjust the bass output, so your giftee can dial in whatever sound they wish, from delicate to delicioso.

Another notable, yet short-lived model was the K280 Parabolic - a multi-driver headphone which focused compression waves to a central point in the earcup.

The nearly 10-foot cable is double-sided (one wire to each earcup) and is covered in a cloth mesh jacket that feels durable and looks nice.

The QC2 is powered by a single AAA battery inside the right earcup with a built-in attenuator.

You program the four divots on the right earcup using Muzik's app for iOS and Android.

The microsUSB port is hidden behind the arm connecting the earcup to the headband, which looks neat, but means you can't wear them while they're being charged.

Using your iPhone or Android device as a conduit, you can share tunes to Twitter and Facebook by tapping a divot on the right earcup.

Because the cords were very long, it was very easy to tangle items in or trip over the cord, causing damage to either the headband or the earcup.

Unlike most modern full-sized noise-cancelling headphones, the Bose QuietComfort Headphones used two cords (one on each earcup).

First off, it uses what's known as feedback type noise canceling, meaning the microphone is placed near the ear rather than on the outside of the earcup (known as "feedforward").

Activating the noise-cancelling feature by turning a ring on the left earcup is a little more tricky than on headsets that use an on/off toggle switch, but is quickly mastered.

That leads to a pair of unique tricks: These cans recite the name of the song playing when you tap another earcup divot-a feature that worked all but once during my test runs.