Incentive - September 2009 - (Page 50)

Top Merchandise PAGE 52 Top Gift Cards PAGE 58 We show off the hot picks in cameras, electronics, luggage, and more Big-box retailers, department stores, and casual restaurants prove to be big redeemers The New Sound of Silence Bose unveils next-generation QuietComfort 15 noise-canceling headphones By Leo Jakobson N oise-canceling headphone technology took a big leap forward last month as Bose introduced its QuietComfort 15 headphones, which replace the venerable QuietComfort 2. At a press briefing, when asked by a reporter why the model number jumped so high, Brian Maguire, manager of product marketing for the Bose Noise Reduction Technology Group, said it was because the Framingham, MA-based company wanted to make clear that despite the fact that the QuietComfort 15’s size, weight, and price remained the same as the QuietComfort 2’s, the new model wasn’t just a minor tweak. It is not. Sitting in a room with 84 to 87 decibels of simulated airplane noise—what you hear in the average modern jet in flight— switching from the QuietComfort 2 to the QuietComfort 15 with no music playing presented an instantly obvious difference. The older model reduces ambient noise substantially, but the din is essentially nonexistent with the new headset. But the most impressive part of the press demonstration Bose put on for the launch of the QuietComfort 15 in New York was that the new over-the-ear headphones perform just as well at 91 decibels, which is roughly like sitting right next to the rear engine in an The QuietComfort 15 promises to be a significant step up from the QuietComfort 2 older jet—a roar you can barely talk over. And if the difference between 87 and 91 decibels doesn’t seem like much, remember that every 10-decibel increase represents a noise that is 10 times louder. The QuietComfort 15 “will have a tremendous impact on the premium and incentive market,” predicts Vince McDonald, vice president of sales and marketing at Maryland Heights, MO-based Incentive Concepts LLC, Bose’s manufacturer representative. Noting that QuietComfort headphones are among the most redeemed products in the premium and incentive channel, McDonald adds, “The noise cancellation is much greater than anything on the market. Once recipients have the opportunity to experience it, demand will be tremendous.” The main technological change lies in the TriPort microphones used to sample surrounding noise, which the electronics in the headphones instantly cancel out. In the QuietComfort 2, there is a microphone on 50 | Incentive | September 2009 | incentivemag.com http://www.incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - September 2009

Incentive - September 2009
Contents
Editor’s Note
Headlines
Cover Story
Auto Incentives Turning Over
Strategies
Primer
Travel News
Top Destinations
Stockholm and Copenhagen
Broadmoor and Barbecues
Potentials
Top Merchandise Picks
Top Gift Cards

Incentive - September 2009