Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones review: The best noise canceling so far
Headphones
Speaker 1: Hey folks, I've got Bo's new, quiet comfort, 45 here. And not surprisingly, it's a really good noise canceling headphone, but a lot of you're probably wondering whether it's a better choice than Bo's slightly more expensive noise canceling headphones, 700 or Sony's excellent. W H 1000 X mark four. So that's really what I'm gonna cover in this review. Let's do it.
Speaker 1: Okay. So the quiet comfort 45 or QC 45 as I'm gonna call it from here on out, [00:00:30] has virtually the same design as the QC 35 version two as the same drivers, according to Bowes and the buttons are in the same place. However, there are some small, but notable changes. First off, these thankfully have USBC instead of micro USB. Secondly, the microphone configuration is a little different. There's now a fourth external microphone for voice pickup. Also the underside of the headband has a smooth finish rather than the Microway like material found on the QC 35 version two. Additionally, the [00:01:00] ear pads are no longer pleaded and the ear cups have some subtle design changes that close some gaps and give the headphones that overall slightly cleaner. Look, you really have to look closely to see the changes in 238 grams, the QC 45 weighs just three grams more than the QC 35.
Speaker 1: So you're not gonna be able to tell the difference in weight between the two. However, the bows 700 weighs 254 grams. So they are slightly heavier. A lot of people really like the 700 S but some people including me think [00:01:30] this quiet comfort design is just a tad more comfortable. Also the QC 45 is fold up and fold flat all the seven hundreds, which don't have double hinges in their headman, just fold flat. The QC 45 is arguably the most comfortable pair of over year headphones out there. Although the 700 is also quite comfortable. And so is the Sony w H 1000 X mark four. Of course, everybody has different head shapes. So what I say is most comfortable might not be the same for you, but they all are very [00:02:00] close comfort buys, and I don't have serious complaints about any of them, except that they will steam up your ears.
Speaker 1: Pretty good in warmer environments, the QC 45 S do have physical buttons as opposed to the touch controls on the SOS. So you don't have to worry about the touch controls, not working in very cold conditions. The QC 45 sounds very similar to the QC 35 version two, though, they don't sound identical. I'll dig more into the sound quality. After I talk about the noise cancellation, where you'll [00:02:30] see a real improvement, according to Bowes, there's a new electronics package that powers the new a C system, which now better muffles, unwanted sounds in the midrange frequencies that you quote typically find on commuter trains, busy office spaces and cafes. They're basically talking about people's voices judging from my anecdotal testing in the streets of New York. The noise canceling could very well be the best out there right now. And there's [00:03:00] a new aware mode that lets you hear the outside world.
Speaker 1: That's like the transparency mode on the AirPods pro and plenty of other headphones, including the 700 and Sony w H 1000 X mark four. It does sound pretty natural for noise canceling. I give these eight very slight over both the headphones 700 and the Sony that said you can't adjust the level of noise canceling like you can with those models, which offer a more robust feature set, particularly the Sony, [00:03:30] which adds ear detection, sensors that pause your music. When you take the headphones off and resumes playback, when you put them back on off. So you can't tweak the QC 45 sound in the Boes music app. There are currently no equalizer settings. The Bowes could add them in the future. These headphones use B's auto EQ, which bees calls active EQ. The headset performance has also improved with better noise reduction. During calls. I make calls with the QC 45, [00:04:00] the headphones 700 and the Sony on the streets of New York and both BOS models had superior noise reduction during calls than the Sony. Also caller said, my voice sounded slightly clear with both BOS models. Can you hear me now?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I can hear you. So there's a few going by, so you're not hearing it as maybe.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it, this is, this is pretty, pretty enjoyable
Speaker 1: With the QC 45. When I wasn't talking caller said they heard almost no background noise, even when [00:04:30] cars were going by the 700 seemed to do a little bit better job filtering out ambient noise when I was speaking, but the QC 45 was close and it's possible that with a firmer upgrade, those may be able to improve the digital processing. So that filtering is as good as the 700 S like the Sony's these offer. True. Multi-point Bluetooth pairing. That means you compare the QC 45 with two devices simultaneously, such as a smartphone and PC. And when a call comes in on your phone, the audio will automatically switch from [00:05:00] computer to the, the phone. When you answer the call, they're equipped with Bluetooth 5.1 and support the widely compatible AAC, audio Kodak, but not apt X.
Speaker 1: As I said, these sound very similar to their predecessor and apparently have the same drivers, but anytime you make any design changes, even very slight ones or add a new chip for sound processing, it can change the sound just a little bit. I thought these have just a touch, better [00:05:30] clarity and base definition, but the sound differences are quite subtle. I do think both the headphones 700 and Sony sound slightly better. The 700 is cleaner and more natural sounding and tune more for audio files while the Sony has bigger sound overall with more dynamic base and a slightly wider sound stage. As I said, the QC 45 S are excellent noise, canceling headphones with very good sound, topnotch noise, canceling, very good headset performance and solid battery life. With up to 25 [00:06:00] hours on a single charge and a 15 minute charge will get you three hours of battery life. You can also plug them in and go wired to get even more battery life with Bluetooth off. It's also worth mentioning if the battery dies, they do work in wired mode and good as a passive non-powered headphone.
Speaker 1: They are a clear upgrade over the QC 35 version two, but if you already own the QC 35 version two, I don't think they're quite enough of an upgrade to make them an [00:06:30] instant must have, unless you really want USBC charging. And if you already own, the 700 S are not an overall upgrade. Also note that the seven hundreds are over two years old, so they probably are due for an upgrade in the not so distant future. The bow does seem to take its time in upgrading its headphones. If you don't already own a pair of premium noise, canceling headphones, all three of the models I'm talking about here are appealing choices. I've declared the Sony the way in, in the past, but that was partially because [00:07:00] the bow 700 costs more and ultimately the price can be a big factor in making a buying decision, especially when it comes to buying expensive headphones that a lot of you probably think are overpriced.
Speaker 1: The Sony's sporadically dips to $278 on Amazon, and we may see its price, drop it more. This holiday buying season, meanwhile, the headphones 700 dropped to $229 on Amazon prime day, the white rose gold color, and should see good discounts this holiday season as well. [00:07:30] I can certainly recommend the QC 45. You'll be happy with them if you buy them. But ideally they cost the less to create more, but priced them with the 700 S as well as the Sony's making them feel like a slightly better value. I apologize for the murky verdicts, but when it comes to three very good headphones at a similar price range, it's hard to be cut and dry, but I want hear what you guys think. I sort of know what Sony fans will say, but you Boze backers. What are your thoughts on both updating the QC 35? And would you have [00:08:00] preferred if the 700 got updated instead sound off in the comment section? And if you're interested in any of the products mentioned, check out the description below for links on where to find them, and you can even get more details in my text review on CNET. Lastly, if you found this video informative at all, hit the light button and subscribe, haven't already I'm David con for CNET. Thanks for watching.
