Headphones and earbuds · Bose
Owners keep these for sound they prefer and comfort that makes long listening easy, from household chores to flights; whether the noise cancelling is a real step up divides them.
Sound is the thing most owners come back to: several who own rival Sony or Sennheiser sets still prefer the Bose signature, and those upgrading from older QuietComfort models found sound and comfort noticeably better.
Owners are divided on the noise cancelling. Some rate it the best they have tried; others, including people upgrading from older Bose or comparing against Sony and Sennheiser, say they cannot tell much difference or that rivals are quieter.
Pick up to three. You get a page with just those, side by side, on the subjects owners raised.
What keeps pleasing people is the feeling of being sealed into their music. One owner describes chores becoming something to look forward to because the headphones shut the house out. Comfort over long wear is mentioned repeatedly, and a few who also own Sony sets call the two roughly even on that front, with the Bose edging ahead for them on sound.
The adjustments are around noise cancelling and connection. One owner switches to wind mode on buses or with a car window down because the standard mode struggles there. Another who upgraded from a QC 35ii is unsure the ANC improved at all. A couple of owners had to spend time troubleshooting Bluetooth when they first set the headphones up, and one found the on-head detection unreliable enough to be a daily irritation.
The physical build gets good marks from the few who comment on it. One owner has dropped theirs a fair bit and they still work. The recurring complaints are not about parts failing but about behaviour: connectivity hiccups, head detection misfiring, and setup that needed more fiddling than expected. A small number of owners also found battery life shorter than competing products they had used.
Long-term accounts are thin. Most owners here are in their first weeks or months, often comparing the Bose against sets from Sony, Sennheiser or Technics they just bought or just sold. Nobody yet reports how the headphones hold up after a year or more, so there is no basis to say whether the early connection issues settle down or whether anything wears out.
Counted from the owners who raised each subject, not from everyone. A subject is judged once at least 4 owners raise it.
22 more subjects came up from fewer than 4 owners each, which is not enough for a fair reading. To see how it stacks up, compare it with another machine.
The same owner, asked again at each point. Fills in as owners answer.
Two questions: how long you have had it, and anything you would like to say about it. Then we ask again as it ages. This helps our mission.
More in headphones and earbuds: Sennheiser Momentum 4, Sony xm5, Sony xm4.
Among the 0 owner accounts here that gave a duration, 0 described a failure.
Before you buy one used, ask the seller: how old it is, whether it was ever repaired and by whom, and whether any of the parts above have been replaced. Ask to see it run. A receipt tells you the warranty start date; most makers honour the term only for the first owner.
Public discussions we read and summarised in our own words. Nothing here was submitted to Still Kicks.
Counted from public accounts by people who said they own it, and summarised by Still Kicks in its own words. Not a manufacturer claim, a lab test or an estimate.
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