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The Bose QuietComfort2 headphones are over-ear style headphones with a band that goes across the top of the head. They're predominantly black and dark gray, with a lighter gray on the backs of the cups.
The cups are padded with thick halos of foam, covered in a layer of soft, pleather-type material. On the inside of the cup is a piece of cloth over the sound elements. The outsides of the cups are light gray with silvery detailing and branding.
The left cup has a divot of a cord jack on its underside; the right cup has a power switch near its top, and an LED that lights up when they are turned on. The cups themselves can tilt back and forth and rotate perpendicular to the band. With minimal force, you can actually rotate the cups a full 360 degrees around, but we wouldn't recommend doing this.
The band is mostly plastic, at least on the outside; extending the band reveals a metal core. The top of the band, like the cups, is padded and pleathered.
The cord is a decent quality. It isn't overly thick, but it is very sturdy. The part that plugs into the headphones is a bit different. First off, it has a bottom piece that conforms to the curve of the cup, so the cable fits right in with the design. Second of all, it has a tiny volume switch, which can be set to either high or low.
In the Box
 The Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones are by no means lonely in their box. The headphones and their cord are accompanied by a 5-foot extension cable, a two-pronged adapter for airplane use, a 1/4-inch plug adapter, a single AAA battery, and a case. Inside the case is a Velcro-backed pouch for holding the various adapters and a Velcro-back wallet of sorts, which holds Bose Courtesy Cards. The front of these cards have a picture of the headphones, their name, and a small paragraph explaining what the card's purpose is. Apparently, everyone who sets eyes on a Bose product is stricken with a desperate desire for purchasing information. The back contains contact numbers for various countries Bose has managed to conquer, so you can hand out the card if someone asks you where you got the headphones from. Once you've run out, you could use the Velcro wallet to store your own business cards in case you misplace the case.
Durability (5.40)
Overall, the QC2s are well constructed, and feel durable. The cable is of a good quality, and its cable guards seem to be robust enough to keep the junction where the cable stops safe enough. The cable guard toward the plug is the worse of the two, since it's rigid and doesn't have a lot of give.
There are two minor durability issues and one problem that's potentially serious. For one, the band isn't collapsible. Even though the metal interior adds durability, if it gets bent, it could still break. Also, the cloth covering the sound elements is barely attached at all, offering protection only against the least persistent dust. The more pressing durability problem lies in the cup rotation. As we mentioned before, the cups have about 120 degrees of rotation so they can fold flat to fit inside the case. They can twist a bit further before they hit areas of resistance, and, with very minimal force, you can keep twisting them around. In fact, we can see many users thinking this is simply a feature. It isn't, however. If you check out the cord as you spin the cups around, it twists. If the cups are spun too much, it will eventually break parts inside the cord. Again, if you own the Bose QuietComfort2 headphones, be cautious about how far you rotate the cups.
Aesthetics (6.00)
It'd be hard for even a staunch anti-Bose audiophile to deny that the company can make a good looking pair of headphones. The QuietComfort2 headphones are understated and classy looking. They aren't the flashiest headphones out there; they won't make you look like a rebellious teen or a DJ on the road. As on-ear headphones, however, they are much bigger and more obvious than ear buds. But the QuietComfort2s are a reserved, professional set of on-ear headphones.
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