I auditioned the BOSE MIE2i and MIE2 with an Apple iPhone 4, and to give the conclusion first: I feel these are quite a good combination. The sound tuning does a nice job of covering the shortcomings of the iPhone 4’s sound that I noted above. The sound is full-bodied, with appropriate weight and punch in the midrange and bass, while the treble maintains the necessary resolution yet rounds off into something easy on the ears.
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The BOSE IE2, MIE2i, and MIE2 sit at rather the opposite end of the balance from the semi-open earphones I have used as my reference for many years — the (flat… at times slightly bright, with a lustre and brilliance to the tone) Bang & Olufsen A8 — and their characteristically BOSE mid-to-bass-leaning sound tendency is, to put it plainly, a traditional BOSE sound that does not disappoint expectations. That is to say, a rich, warm, traditional American sound is faithfully carried over, and it seems likely to be a particularly good match for Western music — American rock and pop, Black music, and jazz. On the other hand, for those listening exclusively to classical music, it may come across as a touch coarse depending on the recording…
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Rather than the canal-type in-ear earphones that have become fashionable in recent years — which seal the ear canal — BOSE’s earphones are effectively open-type in their shape. That said, BOSE’s proprietary silicone ear tips fit naturally and very gently in the ear. Even with considerable movement during sport and similar activities, there seems to be little risk of them falling out. However, noise isolation is not particularly strong. Bearing that in mind, I think this is a product I can especially recommend to listeners whose main listening is jazz and Western music as described above.
I had the feeling that the sound balance of the MIE2i (with Apple device controls and microphone) and the MIE2 (for other smartphones) differed subtly, but this may well be no more than unit-to-unit variation between the two demo samples (the shop was far too crowded and noisy, and I could only listen to the MIE2i for about thirty seconds…). I am an iPhone 4 user myself, but if asked which of the two I would choose, I would go with the MIE2 mobile headset, taking into account the possibility of using it with DAPs and smartphones other than Apple devices. On this point, rather than convenience, the slight sonic degradation that arises from the additional contact points introduced by the volume control components — even if one cannot actually tell the difference — is the sort of thing that an audio enthusiast simply cannot help but find troubling on principle…
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