Hearing people talking with the QC2s is a feature -- they equalize the noise canceling to cancel out engine noise but allow you to still hear people.
What the QC2s have going is comfort. The high end earphones, namely the Shure and Etymotic and at the highest end, custom in-ear monitors offer superior noise isolation with sound quality comparable to the best in existence.
You can get Etymotic ER-4Ps for $174 on Amazon. They're comparable to the highest end Shure earphones. The Ety's will have less visceral bass.
The Etymotic's just don't have the range that Shures do. With the Shures, it's a little jarring to hear that sort of bass without simultaneously feeling it in your gut, the way you would from a speaker. It's that great.
What the QC2s have going is comfort. The high end earphones, namely the Shure and Etymotic and at the highest end, custom in-ear monitors offer superior noise isolation with sound quality comparable to the best in existence.
You can get Etymotic ER-4Ps for $174 on Amazon. They're comparable to the highest end Shure earphones. The Ety's will have less visceral bass.