These New Noise-Cancelling Bose Headphones Eat Ambient Sound for Breakfast
Bose was the undisputed leader in terms of noise-cancelling headphones, until it wasn't. After years of pushing the envelope, Bose’s last few releases have just served as minor, mostly cosmetic upgrades to their line. Headphones like the Bose QC 35 II started to be surpassed in quality by new options, like our current top pick, the Sony WH1000XM3. Those headphones offered better (or at least equivalent) noise-cancellation with USB-C charging, intuitive touch controls, and a more customizable sound quality than anything Bose had released. Until, that is, the Bose Noise Cancelling 700 came along.
Yes, "Bose Noise Cancelling 700" is a weird name that doesn’t really come from anywhere (did I miss the 600s?), but maybe that’s fitting. The 700 represent a total overhaul of the Bose Noise Cancelling line. That starts with the design. The 700s look much sleeker than their predecessors, and they feature a nicely padded headband that tapers towards the earcups, which you can easily adjust for your head size. Compared to the headphones from the QC line, the Sony MX3s, and Beats Studio 3, the Bose 700s look like headphones from the future—at least as much as any pair that isn’t true wireless can.
But looks account for nothing if the noise-cancelling on a pair of noise-cancelling headphones isn’t any good. Fortunately, the noise-cancelling on the Bose 700 is really excellent. Based on my personal head-to-head comparison, it’s better than that from the MX3s. It’s not leagues better, but it’s better enough that you’d notice the difference, especially when you compare the experience in loud environments like airplanes or on the subway.
The Bose headphones have a more neutral sound profile than the Sony’s. Where the bass on the Sony’s is emphasized, the bass on the Bose is simply present. Generally this means that music on the Sony’s sounds a little more exciting, but sound on the Bose is more balanced. The Sony’s might bring out Q-Tip’s iconic bass lines in Low End Theory, but you’ll be able to focus more on the dexterous rhymes of each Tribe Called Quest member a little bit better with the Bose headphones.
Annoyingly, the Bose headphones don’t provide built-in EQ adjustability, meaning that you can’t make the bass punchier if you want to. Ultimately, because you can do this in many music apps, including Spotify, it's not a big deal.
As was the case previously, the Bose headphones sound excellent on calls. Their built-in microphones picked me up clearly, even when I was sitting right in front of my AC unit attempting to cool off from this New York summer. And importantly, unlike with the Sonys, you’re able to adjust how much you hear your own voice in call, which make the Bose headphones a lot less annoying to use for people that hate the sound of their own voice.
In addition to having better noise-cancelling and better base sound, the Bose 700 have a lot of the usability features we’ve been waiting to see on Bose headphones. They charge over USB-C, Bose estimates that in 15 minutes you can get 3.5 hours of juice (it’ll take another 2 hours to get a full charge). They have intuitive touch controls that allow you to adjust volume and pause tracks on the right ear cup, which work a lot better than those on the Sonys (though it’s still unclear whether they’ll have similar issues in cold weather).
The Bose Noise-Cancelling 700 headphones are a return to form for Bose. If you’re looking for new headphones to drown out the cacophony around you, or just that’ll help you focus more on your work, this is the pair you should get.
Originally Appeared on GQ
