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Best Bose headphones
There are a few audio companies that rise out of audio forums and become a part of our culture. For a long time, when people referred to active noise canceling (ANC) headphones, they meant Bose headphones. For many consumers, that same thought process rings true even today. While its flagship noise canceling headphones can’t outdo Sony’s top contender, Bose has a healthy line of headphones. Let’s focus on a few of the best Bose headphones around, starting with the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700.
Editor’s note: this list of the best Bose headphones was updated on June 12, 2023, to expand information regarding the Bose NCH 700 and QC Earbuds’ noise canceling, address reader FAQs, update formatting, edit for clarity, and include microphone demos.
For our top five picks, you can find the isolation and frequency response charts at the end of each image gallery. You can learn more about how to read our charts here.
Why are the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 the best Bose headphones you can buy?
If you or someone you know wants those noise canceling Bose headphones, then the Noise Canceling Headphones 700 are your best bet. These have a slick new design and are arguably better overall than the newer Bose QuietComfort 45.
Gone is the plastic build in favor of a metal headband that seems way less likely to snap. Unfortunately, the headband doesn’t fold, but you can still rotate the ear cups 90 degrees. This flexibility lets you wear the NCH 700 around your neck comfortably. Bose also updated the playback controls. Now you can interact with a touch-sensitive pad on the right ear cup. It was a delight for us to use these touch controls. They never misfire or register quick adjustments and commands.
As we expect from premium Bose cans, the noise canceling is great. Of course, they didn’t knock the Apple AirPods Max or Sony WH-1000XM5 out of their top spots, but they hold their own years after their release. These are easily some of the best noise canceling headphones around. You can even choose between 10 levels of ANC to suit your situation.
Battery life nets around 20 hours of playtime with ANC. To recharge, grab hold of that USB-C cable that Bose provides in the package. The headphones fast charge rather efficiently too. Just 15 minutes of charging grants 3 hours, 30 minutes of playtime.
Bose’s microphone system is quite good on the NCH 700. The mics pick up voices and reject background noise with ease.
Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 microphone demo (Ideal):
Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 microphone demo (Office):
Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 microphone demo (Street):
Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 microphone demo (Wind):
How does the microphone sound to you?
Best for safety: Bose Sport Open Earbuds
If you spend a lot of time biking or running outside, you know the importance of hearing your surroundings for safety. The Bose Sport Open Earbuds let you hear what’s happening while still letting you enjoy your music, access Smart Assistant, and take phone calls.
The Sport Open Earbuds offer a secure fit and last a respectable 7 hours, 21 minutes, according to our testing. The carrying case does not charge the buds, but when you get home you can use fast charging (via a proprietary charging cradle). And due to the shape of the Bose Sport Open Earbuds, a charging case would most likely be quite bulky. The microphone is not our favorite, but it will work for short calls.
Due to the design prioritizing your environmental awareness, the Bose Sport Open Earbuds intentionally do not have much bass. Effective bass reproduction tends to require a tight seal, and a tight seal means more passive sound isolation. This would run counter to the purpose of the Bose Sport Open Earbuds, as a safety-oriented product.
The microphone is one of the weaker aspects of the Sport Open Earbuds. My voice sounds a bit distant and even “hollow” in the demo below.
Bose Sport Open Earbuds microphone demo (Non-standardized):
How does the microphone sound to you?
Best for portability: Bose QuietComfort Earbuds
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are the company’s first set of noise canceling wireless earphones, and Bose hit it out of the park. Noise canceling is stellar. Predictable low and midrange frequency noises are significantly quieted. Incidental noise (like the clang of dishware) still comes through. Despite their relatively large housings, Bose’s StayHear Max ear tips keep the buds in place.
These earbuds feature an IPX4 rating so that you can exercise. The Bose QC Earbuds mic produces sidetone audio when in a call, so you can hear your voice too. Most people like this because it makes you less inclined to raise your voice unwittingly.
Bose’s earphones use Bluetooth 5.1 and support two Bluetooth codecs: AAC and SBC. This benefits iPhone owners, but high-quality streaming over AAC varies greatly on Android. You need to download the Bose Music app if you want to remap the controls, access firmware updates, or switch between devices
The USB-C case supports Qi wireless charging, and can fast charge the earbuds. All you have to do is place the buds in the case for 15 minutes, and you’re allotted two hours of playback. The earbuds last 5 hours, 29 minutes on a single charge with ANC enabled, which outperforms the Apple AirPods Pro but doesn’t come close to the Sony WF-1000XM4.
Bose released the follow-up to its noise canceling true wireless earbuds, and while we’d love to say the QuietComfort Earbuds II are the easy upgrade, they just aren’t. The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II bring big improvements to ANC, and a more modern look, but they still have a lot of issues.
These expensive earbuds have some serious fit issues — they feature detachable fins to stabilize the fit, but the fins can rotate very easily and harm the fit. The rotation of those fins can also get in the way of the charging connections in the charging case. When that happens you won’t be able to pair to new devices, get firmware updates, or even charge the earbuds, which complicates the relative gains in battery life over the original QC Earbuds. Given its also a lot more expensive than its predecessor, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II hard to recommend.
Bose’s microphones pick up voices decently well, but you can hear some distortion in the demos below.
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds microphone demo (Ideal conditions):
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds microphone demo (Office conditions):
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds microphone demo (Street conditions):
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds microphone demo (Windy conditions):
How does the microphone sound to you?
Best value: Bose Sport Earbuds
Bose stepped up its game with the Sport Earbuds. These buds are not cheap, but none of Bose’s buds are genuinely budget-friendly. That said, these are the best value in Bose’s portfolio.
These workout earbuds are as comfortable as it gets. The slick design means you can use this outside the gym without looking like you’re about to deadlift double your weight. The StayHear Max ear tips work extremely well and keep the earbuds in place during rigorous movement. Just like Bose’s debut true wireless earbuds, these have an IPX4 water-resistant rating, so you can sweat to your heart’s content while wearing them.
Battery life is average for earbuds of this variety, and we measured just over 5 hours of playtime from a single charge. The case can fast charge the earbuds when you’re in a pinch. All you have to do is place the buds in the case for 15 minutes, and you’re met with 120 minutes of playtime.
These use Bluetooth 5.1, and the connection strength is good but imperfect. When I took the earbuds outside with my phone, the buds struggled to stay connected beyond the five-meter mark. However, when my phone was inside and I was outside, the connection didn’t start to break up until I edged toward the nine-meter mark. The earbuds support AAC and SBC, the former supplying consistent, high-quality audio from iOS devices.
If you want to stay well under $200, and need a pair of earbuds for everyday use, we recommend the Bose Sport Earbuds.
The microphone quality isn’t perfect, but it’s improved since the previous generation. Bose packed in a four-mic array, which does a fabulous job of canceling out low-frequency background noise during calls.
Bose Sport Earbuds microphone demo (Ideal conditions):
Bose Sport Earbuds microphone demo (Windy conditions):
How does the microphone sound to you?
The Bose QuietComfort 35 II Gaming Headset is a great gaming option
The Bose QuietComfort 35 II Gaming Headset is just the beloved Bose QC 35 II with a microphone attachment slapped on. Its design is deeply rooted in the world of general consumer audio, making it the least-flashy gaming headset you can buy. Depending on your taste, this may be a negative but our resident gaming expert Sam Moore enjoyed it.
Bose includes a robust USB-A volume dial, which is intended for PC use. You can’t miss the large dial, which offers a satisfying amount of resistance as it rotates. The rubberized bottom prevents the dial from slipping across the table, one of the last things you want to happen mid-firematch. It also features a button, so you can monitor your microphone levels.
The Bose QuietComfort 35 II Gaming Headset doesn’t overcomplicate things, and is meant for wired use when gaming. You can, however, use it as a standard QC 35 II Bluetooth headset when out and about in the real world. It’s kind of a two-in-one, which might make the $329 price more palatable. The boom microphone is very good, and the internal microphone (for wireless use) isn’t too shabby either. Unfortunately, you can’t buy the boom microphone separately, so you can’t just attach it to a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 II that you already own.
You can’t create a custom EQ profile, which is a real shame, but it has a generally pleasing frequency response. Sub-bass notes are amplified 6dB, meaning you’ll notice a difference in loudness between bass notes and midrange notes. The difference isn’t dramatic though, so you can still perceive plenty of detail from your music.
If money isn’t much of a concern, the Bose QuietComfort 35 II Gaming Headset is the perfect companion for all your late-night gaming sessions. It’s also a great thing to have if you spend most of your weekdays stuck in conference call, after conference call. If you want the regular Bose QC 35 II but think you could use the boom mic, this headset may be worth your time.
The boom mic that comes with the Bose QC35 II Gaming Headset sounds better than the internal microphone. Still, we’ll let you determine for yourself if the difference is great enough to warrant spending the extra cash.
Bose QuietComfort 35 II internal mic sample (Ideal):
How does the microphone sound to you?
Bose QuietComfort 35 II boom mic sample (Ideal):
How does the microphone sound to you?
What you should know about the best Bose headphones
Bose headphones are like any other in that they use a set of drivers and fit on, around, or in the ear. While the feature sets are similar compared to other flagship headphones, there are some technical terms and things to be aware of before buying you next Bose cans.
What is active noise canceling and how does it work?
For commuting to school or elsewhere, noise canceling headphones are an excellent choice for young people’s auditory health. Bose headphones use active noise canceling, which uses basic physics to eliminate unwanted noise. The gist of it is due to something called destructive interference.
Why is isolation so important?
If you’re not listening to your music in a car, you’re probably listening in crowded buses, gyms, loud city streets, or rumbling trains with your Bose headphones on. In these less-than-ideal situations, you’re surrounded by loud sounds. And when there are two sounds of a similar frequency, your brain will ignore the lower one and just focus on the louder one. This is called auditory masking and while it sucks for music listeners today, it was great for our ancestors that had to survive in the wild and listen for predators.
Does music sound worse over Bluetooth?
You may have heard that Bluetooth sucks, and you should totally never buy wireless headphones. But is Bluetooth really that bad? Well, kind of. While Bluetooth quality and codec technology have improved greatly over the last few years, you still won’t get the same level of quality that’s attainable with wired headphones.
We tested a few of the major Bluetooth codecs (the technology responsible for transferring higher amounts of data between your headphones and source device, thus resulting in higher quality). We found that they don’t all live up to their claims. In our testing, even AAC can be slightly inconsistent on Android phones — but near-perfect on iOS devices. Luckily, your old ears most likely won’t even be able to hear the frequencies that are lost during the transfer. So while it’s technically true that wired headphones sound better, you’ll need to be a very keen listener to pick up the differences in most cases.
No, Bluetooth is not dangerous. There are plenty of conspiracies floating around on the internet but even though Bluetooth is a relatively new technology the science behind it is decades old.
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Frequently asked questions about Bose headphones
As a company, Bose has a decades-old reputation for high-quality products that it stands behind. Bose’s customer service is available 24/7, and representatives are quick to help. Another perk of Bose’s headphones is that they often go on sale throughout the year. If you’re patient, you never have to pay full price for the company’s headphones or earbuds.
The Bose QuietComfort 45 connectivity is improved upon with the updated USB-C connection, as opposed to microUSB on the QC 35 II. ANC is better than its older sibling and the Noise Canceling Headphones 700. The reason to really opt for the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 is that it just sounds better with a more reasonable, customizable frequency response and very good ANC.
The Bose QuietComfort 45 now comes with a rudimentary equalizer, so the reasons for picking it over the older QuietComfort 35 II are now limited to price. If you absolutely must save as much money as possible, the older headphones mainly fall short by having a micro-USB port instead of a USB-C port. That’s it.
Now that there is a newer version out, you might be able to find the QC35 II for quite a bit cheaper, so if you’re hoping to save some cash this is the way to go. Both QuietComfort headphones fold down, making each more portable than the sleeker Noise Canceling Headphones 700.
The Sony WH-1000XM5 are great noise canceling headphones with a consumer-friendly frequency response that you can EQ from the Sony Headphones Connect app (iOS/Android). These outperform Bose’s headphones regarding both passive isolation, though the Bose QC 45 noise canceling is so close. Ultimately, it comes down to your personal style preference, but we pick the Sony WH-1000XM5 over the QC 45. You can fully disable ANC and transparency mode on the XM5, which you can’t do on the QC 45.
If you want to save even a bit more, the Sony WH-1000XM4 offer almost everything the XM5 do but with less effective microphone and ANC systems. You can read all about how the WH-1000XM5 compares to the XM4, but if you have any of these Bose headphones, it’s hard to justify buying Sony’s newer (albeit fantastic) headset.
If you hang around audiophiles enough or find yourself down a rabbit hole of audio forums on the internet, one phrase you’ll hear tossed around is “burn-in.” This is the belief that your new headphones need to be used for a certain amount of time before they can reach their peak performance. I’ll save you the hassle of trying this for yourself and tell you that it’s not true.
Bose headphones work with both iPhones and Android phones. However, none of the company’s Bluetooth headsets support the aptX Bluetooth codec. Android users don’t have a reliable, high-quality wireless listening option, while iPhone users do with the AAC codec. Of course, anyone can use lossless wired audio with any of Bose’s over-ear headsets.