Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700

This review is my personal experience using both headphones. I recently lost my Sony Headphones and decided to buy Bose Headphones. Here are some differences I have found between all three, and how I feel currently using Bose Headphones.

Make sure you update any headphones firmware, some issues you may experience could be fixed (with any electronic). Understand that headphones in a warehouse are likely from the year they were manufactured, and first versions of anything tend to be buggy.

PERSONAL USAGE
I use these headphones primarily for work. I’ve been full time remote for over two years doing software development. I have ADHD and having noise cancelling headphones is a must to keep my attention on work. We use mostly Slack and Zoom as our means of communication. Otherwise, I’m listening to music or the occasional YouTube TV.

PERSONAL PREFERENCES
I really don’t like using in the ear headphones. They hurt my ears after an hour or so and never were a long-term solution. Over the ear headphones was what I liked the best since that’s what works for me. This has been throughout my life, and they tend to fall out.

BEATS – NOT FOR ME OR MY HEAD
My first pair of headphones were Beats Solo. I was really impressed with wireless headphones in general. Eventually after the Solos started to fall apart, I decided to get Beats Studio 3. These worked much better for my head, as these were truly over my year, which I prefer.

The functionality is about the same between the two. With a lot of usage, the earpieces came worn out and unglued and I had to buy replacements. Compatible quality replacements are about $30 from different manufacturers.

• Pros – Lots of colors. Foldable, and buttons are more clicks than touch sensitivity. Useful when sweating or outdoor use.
• Cons – Quality. Wore down quickly and were not a long-term solution. Paying more for royalties to Dr. Dre than quality assurance in general. Feel cheap.

FIRST DECISION – Sony WH-1000MX3
I was fortunate to try out both headphones from a family member. I was skeptical about Sony since it wasn’t the name brand Bose was for what I wanted. I really like how they felt on my head, and they didn’t hurt after wearing them for hours.

There wasn’t a noticeable difference in sound quality. Features needed matched what I needed at the time and figured there was no point in spending more. My work-at-home situation was different, and I was at home around 40% of the time. The case was useful when transporting in my backpack back and forth to work.

Once I transitioned to full time work-at-home, some of the features that I found useful weren’t available on the Sony’s. One big thing I would like to see is app integration. Mute / Unmute for Slack and Zoom would really be a great feature. Understandably, these are headphones, and are limited to what Bluetooth has to offer.

The app is useful, and more powerful with customization than the other two. I found I used it a couple of times.

Over the three years I’ve used these, the product quality and sound we’re just like day 1. These headphones seem to be built better than the other two.

• Pros –Very durable and well built. Sound quality is great and felt good after a day’s work. Slept with these on a bus trip. That was my last memory. Cheaper than the Bose. Foldable, smaller case.
• Cons – Less features than the Bose. Misses on some sweet spots. Harder to see which is left and right when putting them on, but not really a big deal.

SECOND DECISION – Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700

Once I realized I may never see my beloved Sony Headphones again, I needed something right away since work call quality was terrible. Before I pulled the trigger on the same Sony’s, I wanted to look at to what Bose offered that Sony didn’t. The biggest was a feature to mute / unmute. When pouring over reviews like this one, that feature was worth paying up. Since these are new headphones, I am still getting used to the controls.

I’ve only had these for a month. Was it worth paying up for it? Honestly, I don’t know yet. There are more controls on the headphones which I’m figuring out.
So based on a month, here’s what I found
• Pros – Seems like better sound quality. More features and possible mute integration.
• Cons – Price and unproven personal durability experience.

TLDR / OVERALL REVIEW
I won’t even compare the Beats headphones. Sony and Bose are a step way above Beats.
METRICS
• Sound Quality – Bose slightly. My ears are bad, I’m not an audiophobia as others may be. Spotify is what I listen to primarily. The slight edge goes to Bose, only because it’s a small enough difference.
• Mute / Unmute – Bose. The main reason for choosing Bose instead of Sony for my current headphones.
• Noise Cancelling – Leaning towards Bose. There is customization of three different settings within the Bose app to set up preferences from 0-10. Sony sort of has the same thing, but not directly.
• Microphone – Sony. Never had any issues of cutting out or “robo voice”. Initially I am “cutting out” and “in a wind tunnel” from peers.
• Bose – Multiple Device Connectivity (multiple Bluetooth Connections) was a feature I didn’t even think about. Bose allows for multiple connections which comes in handy. I found myself unpairing and pairing devices with Sony. It was sort of a hassle that seemed unnecessary. If the Bluetooth source device is off, it should default to another.
• Headset Features, Bose wins. Although I haven’t had the time to get into what the buttons do, there are more of them. The buttons themselves seem a little better than the Sony’s.
• Headset Quality – Sony. I really don’t care for the artsy plastic that goes over the top of your head. Sony also folds up where Bose doesn’t. An argument can be made that the Bose are lighter than the Sony’s, but that didn’t matter to me.
• In the box – Sony slightly. Sony included an airplane adapter where Bose did not. I prefer the case from Sony than I do from Bose.
• Daily Use – Too Early to determine, likely Sony. Sony’s headphones were excellent, as of now I haven’t used the Bose headphones.
• Bluetooth Range – Bose decisively. Bluetooth location hasn’t changed. Dead spots where I wore my Sony’s didn’t exist with the Bose. There is a little bit of breakup in the headphones in dead spots, but nearly not as much as the Sony’s.
• Companion Application – Bose. Much more customization of buttons versus Sony.

WINNER – Sony

I’m going to put a disclaimer on this, so take this for what it is.
With my new set of Bose Headphones, there is a problem with the microphone. Assuming that this was just a fluke, I returned them since they were defective. So, my review is irrelevant of that from that aspect.

Both are great, I lean Sony just because of the price difference.

I wanted to give the Bose Headphones a little more time before getting a refund and getting the Sony’s again. Right now, they’re cutting out where Sony rarely did that. Even in that case, my computer was slow, or the application used went haywire. That’s something that’s a no-go for me. I ended up contacting Bose support, went through the normal stuff, is your battery charged, are you far away to a point they created a return ticket for a replacement. Once sent in, they would give me a new pair within 5 business days.

Fortunately, after writing this review, I ended up finding my missing Sony headphones, which would be what I would have bought instead of a Bose replacement.

As with any review, only you can decide if the extra money for Bose is worth it. I can see it both ways. For me, these headphones are for basic usage. The extra money wasn’t worth the upgrade. Defective products happen. I just hoped that their flagship headphones would have worked better. Regardless, spending hundreds of dollars to replace something missing is an instant return anyway.

I hope this helped someone. Sorry for too much text.

Esse é o meu terceiro Bose com cancelamento de ruído e posso dizer que esse modelo foi a evolução mais impressionante que já vi. Tão bom ou melhor que o Sony nesse quesito. Mas o que o torna único é a tecnologia que ele possui para isolar a sua voz do barulho do ambiente e permitir uma ligação ou conferência, mesmo nos ambientes mais barulhentos. O mesmo sistema também permite que você possa ouvir o ambiente, não apenas desligando o cancelamento de ruído, mas ativamente ressaltando os sons ao seu redor. Totalmente impressionante. O único porém é que as almofadas acabam esquentando um pouco as orelhas, mas nada muito diferente de outros fones desse tipo.

A duração da bateria de apenas 20 horas poderia ser aprimorada. Além disso, a duração é influenciada pelo modo de uso. Se faz uso intermitente, ou seja, 30 minutos, desliga, depois outros 20 minutos a bateria dura menos que ao ouvir por tempos mais prolongados.

The noise cancellation is exceptional on these headphones. With 10 levels I can block out most of what is going on around me, when it is safe to do so. If you are someone that startles easily, like myself, you will probably get scared a lot because you will not hear what or who is walking up behind you. My husband finds this very humorous.
The sound quality was every bit of what I expected from Bose. Crisp, rich audio, with an amazing range of clarity, from your treble to mid tones and excellent bass. It’s easy to slip into your own little oasis with these on.
They are also quite comfortable, their padded band and ear cups are soft and do not apple much pressure against your head. They are very light weight and I can wear them for hours without issue.
The included case is well made, sturdy and not overly bulky allowing my to pack it and take it with me anywhere. It has a storage compartment for your cables so you always know where they are.
The battery life is excellent! I can go days without charging, but if I do need to charge, they replenish quite quickly and I am right back in business. I have easily gotten a full 20 hour charge out of these. I like that when you turn them on they immediately tell you how many hours they have left on their current charge and what devices they are connected to. This makes it easy to check how long you can use them on their current charge, before you head out somewhere where you might not have access to a plug. I found the time they tell me I have left on my charge to be quite accurate. I am able to connect to more than one device (like my iPhone and iPad) and they intuitively play the sound from the device I am using at the moment. I love that feature it’s easy to switch from watching something on my iPad to listening to music from my phone. Bose also includes a cable so you can plug directly to your device and go wired. I have not used this feature because the battery life is so long, I have not run into a situation where it was necessary.
The buttons and touch features of these headphones are wonderful. I can turn Alexa (Siri or Google) on or off depending on my needs. I can control the volume sliding my finger up or down on the surface of one ear and can tap to pause and swipe to change songs. With one button I can rotate between 3 levels of noise cancellation that I can set within my app. I have not had the chance to utilize some of the AR on these yet but cannot wait to try it on our next vacation, it will be like bringing along our own tour guide.
I love that Alexa is built in. I’m an artist and when I’m painting in my studio it is very nice to be able to use Alexa to change my music without needing to touch my device or my headphones.
I saved and waited to get these after trying them and comparing to the Sony competitive model and I am so glad I did. I found the bass of the Sony WH1000 series to be a little scratchy sounding and the overall sound just wasn’t as crisp as the Bose 700 series. I had a pair of Cowin E-7s and those, while they were great at their price point and did the job while I was saving up for these, they just weren’t even in the same class as the Bose 700. These, in my opinion (and I spent a lot of time putting headphones on and off, listening to how everything sounded on each), set the bar and everything else is just trying to measure up. Only the Sony WH1000 series could come close, but for me their sound quality still fell short. The only way to describe it was, you knew you were listening to a recording, whereas the sound from the Bose 700, you could close your eyes and it sounded like you were listening to it actually being played by the artist live the sound is just that crisp and clear no echo or scratch it’s clear vibrant and rich, everything I expected from Bose.
I am very happy with my purchase, they were worth the wait and I would certainly recommend them to everyone!
One Note I have very sensitive sinuses and when I put on noise canceling headphones, I can actually feel a pressure in my ears and sinus cavities, this does happen with the Bose as well (it happens with every brand I have tried if the cancellation is of any really quality). That said it does not deter me, nor do I feel it’s would be a reason I wouldn’t recommend them or give them a lower star rating. I can feel it when I activate the noise cancellation at its max level but everyone else I have asked to try them, can’t. So chances are very likely this will not be something that the average person even realizes. I can still use the noise cancellation and can block out enough that I never hear my husband walk into my studio until he taps me on the shoulder and scared the heck out of me. I only include this info in case there are others out there that also experience this, with the Bose 700 you can control the levels and it’s easy to step your way up through 10 levels of cancellation and find one that blocks the noise out, while still being comfortable to your sinuses. That is why I would recommend to everyone! Other headphones are cancellation on or off and if you are sensitive to it that can render the feature useless. Again not the case with the Bose 700 series. I use this feature all the time, have found the level that is perfect for me and the noise cancellation is amazing. It is so nice to finally be able to use this feature.
I will also add that unlike other headphones the noise cancellation does not affect the quality of the sound I am listening to either! I have tried many where the sound completely changes the moment you turn it on, not with these. The sound remains crisp and rich and clear as it did without the noise cancellation. The only difference is the world around you gets quieter and the music sounds amazing! If you read this whole review Thank You if you are considering these headphones and trying to compare, in my opinion there is no comparison and I don’t think you will be disappointed choosing the Bose 700 series. I hope this info helped.