[Closed] BT headphones. Sony VS Bose

I've got the Sony, they are superb. Battery is excellent at 30hrs and better than the Bose at 20hrs.

Haven't tried the cyrrent Bose to compare sound quality/noise cancellation but I've had previous Bose noise cancelling headphones and the Sony are very impressive for the money.

Also a big thumbs up for the Sony. Got a pair to drown out airport/aeroplane noise. The very first time I used them I actually sat bolt upright and had to take them off to check, the noise-cancelling is so good. Sound quality is absolutely excellent, been listening to Above & Beyond, Richard Hawley, Calibre, Mahler, Audioslave, London Grammar, and everything in-between, and everything is so fantastically crisp and clear. I'd go as far as saying they're better than my Audio Technica ATH-M50x but I suppose given the price that's not a massive surprise.
Can't comment on the Bose as I haven't tried them but I have no regrets getting the Sony.
Requires an app to set them up properly but it's not intrusive, and it seems like there are ongoing software updates. A bit finickity to update as it won't let you do it unless both the headphones and phone are fully charged but that's not really an issue.

Good to know. I had the ATH M40x but found they lacked a bit of bass for me. Strange as lots of the reviews say they rated better than the 50x.

Looks like it's Sony then. Cheers!

I would say it very much depends upon which of the two generated sounds you prefer, given your eclectic listening choices. Bose are quite distinctive, I would imagine Sony have their ‘brand’ of sound too.

I like the Bose ‘sound’ some/many others do not and we can luxuriate with the choices presented to us 😁

Happy birthday!

As a contrast, I have the Bose and can't comment on the Sony ;). Very good sound quality, incredibly comfortable, never worry about the battery life but ... and I think this is a thing with bluetooth headphones ... they seem to randomly cut out now and again. They do also cut out if there is a very loud noise that defeats the noise cancellation but it needs a louder noise than previous Bose headphones.

I'm still not totally convinced by bluetooth headphones. Freedom but not quite as good as wired.

[strong]aphex_2k[/strong] wrote:

? Do each company release firmware updates for the headphones or once you’ve bought them is that it, just use them?
Ta

Just updated my Bose 35 via the bose app last night.

Got the Bose and previously had similar prices Sony (£300), can’t remember the model but they were from 2016 and HIgh Red Audio noise cancelling. (A present from the wife I left on the train!)
When buying the Bose I tried loads of different headphones out, John Lewis had a really good range to sample.
In my opinion the best sound was from a pair of bowers and Wilkins but they gave me warm ears pretty quickly. Other people may be fine.
I went with the Bose as they were reasonably cheap, about £100 cheaper than the Sony at the time and performance felt very similar. Prices have moved and the Sony has come down a bit.
Reviews give the Sony as the best performer, but I’d try them yourself and see. There’s a newer set of Bose headphones out so worth trying to get to a store to try them.
Battery life on the QC35 II is fine for me, I’ve not really been in a position where I’ve not been able to charge them, including long haul flights. Mine are used daily, has no problems with stuffing them straight in my backpack, 2 years old and still going strong.

I'm looking at headphones for long haul flights, listening to music and not engine noise. My worry is that I can't stand hot ears, when I'm woodworking I have to remove my ear defenders between cuts as I start to overheat. What's the best solution for me?

Inner ear headphones with noise cancelling?

I tried both in John Lewis and thought the Sony sounded better but the Bose were more comfortable. I couldn’t decide so left it, and later saw the Bose reduced so went with them.

I think there are aftermarket ear pads available for both, if you need to get a better fit? (Or do you mean the headband felt too tight/loose?)

I got confused by trying the Sony and Bose 700s in a few shops. All the reviews said go Sony but that was v the Bose qc 35s, apparently the new Bose 700s are the best. The boss outlet in Cheshire oaks had the 700s at 350 but offered me them for 269, I should have whipped her hand off as they were 289 at the airport.

But now in the gym I don't really want a big pair of over ear headphones, nor for each walking.

However I noticed in London on the tube half the commuters wore over ear ones. So I am still undecided.

Any real life experiences of the Bose 700s appreciated.

Are Sennheiser M2s still around - they were my choice when I was looking a couple of years ago - didn't like the sound of the Bose and the Sonys were just too spendy when the other 2 were in the sales.

I can thoroughly recommend JBL LIVE 650BT; I’ve older wired Bose QC15s and these are every bit as good.

My Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 buds are unbelievable for in-ear options. Great for travelling too as charging case is matchbox-sized.

I’ve got a pair of these, Taotronics Soundsurge 60 BT ‘phones:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MR52QWH/ref=cm_sw_r_oth_tai_GUbqEb9BSNX07

I tried them along with a similar pair of Anker ‘phones which had got decent reviews, and I sent the Anker back, I didn’t get on with at all, I was using a music player app with a 30-band EQ and couldn’t get rid of a hollow, boxy quality.
These were a bit ‘flat’, and lacking in bass, which the Anker had far too much of, but a bit of tweaking and a level boost and they sound just fine.
They’re comfy, the battery seems to last well. I like the fact they have a 3.5mm jack socket and come with a cable, and I already have a 3.5mm > Lightning cable so I can run them straight off my phone if the battery dies.
Seeing as they’re only £55, and I’ve been able to overcome any sonic deficiencies as far as my ears are concerned, I’m dead chuffed with them. The ANC seems to function pretty well in noisy environments like a busy cafe as well.
I really can’t justify paying £200-odd for headphones, these are perfectly adequate with a bit of tweaking using the KaiserTone app, although that’s only available for iOS.
https://www.cyberfort.jp/for-iPhone/eng/kaisertone.html

Well procrastination paid off. Picking up a set of unused wh 1000xm3 tomorrow, and a pair of slightly used xf1000xmr inner ear for the sane price as a 1 set of the big over ears. So 2 for 1 essentially. Facebook market place bargains. (have listened to both in shops and both sound great).Will keep the wee ones in my work bag and the bigguns for at home.

I’ve always gone for Bose but decided to replace my old QC15’s with something different. I went for the Sony WH-1000MX3 and am really happy with them. Excellent battery life and really effective noise cancelling with ambient sound control. Comfortable and great sounding.

I've got the Bose 700 a few months back.

Perfect for taking calls (I use them as my work head phones for blocking out people and also for confernece calls)

They are connected to both my PC and phone at the same time so I play music from my phone and I don't have to switch any settings for when taking calls.

They are great for airplane trips. usb type c. No BT lag on Netflix or prime.

18-20 hours battery with full NC on.

The design means they are difficult to bend out of shape (flexible ).

I have used them for the gym but only weights and I don't sweat a lot. They're not perfect for gymning as they get a bit.sweaty and j don't think theyre necessarily made for this kind of humidity but they do they job.

Top purchase, no buyer's remorse (350 quid or thereabouts).

Wasn't keen on the slidy adjustment on the 700s. Overall the big Sony's ticked many boxes, but the option of getting both the over ear and the inner ear, for the same price, well appealed to my inner Yorkshire

I bought the Sony’s too after demoing and realising the Bose 700 wouldn’t fold. I had QC25’s before and the Sony’s are better sonically and lighter.

They are also £229 at the airports so if you’re flying, purchase there.

I'm getting some that are 150 quid pre owned. And the xf's for 100 so as long as they look decent nick (pics seem fine) I reckon bargain-ville Arizona

Good purchase, thanks for fb marketplace tip i just looked and there's a few listed near me. I may try a cheeky offer, thanks for tip

All good! People seem to buy them for a flight and never use them much after that. Good luck. Picking mine up in a couple of hours and will be faffing with them later. Been googling set up tips on reddit such a nerd.

Do each company release firmware updates for the headphones or once you’ve bought them is that it, just use them?

Yes they do and they can make big improvements. I had the Sonys and the ANC was rubbish so I returned them. Apparently it got fixed in a later firmware.

Another fix I read about in recent firmware is the ability to disable the touch controls (which for some reason go crazy in cold weather).

I tried both on in an airport and thought they both sounded really good but the Sony noise cancelling was way better. The Sony were only 199 so snapped them up and they've been amazing. I have deliberately not updated the firmware as read a few things about hissing noise appearing, currently there's a slight hiss in noise cancelling mode which you don't really notice in a noisy environment.

Well not gonna worry too much about them not working in cold weather. Cold for me is 20c!

Theres a reddit thread which says to use "excited" mode and some "ideal" settings for frequencies as, some have found the bass a bit much. Not gonna worry as I'm happy for some low end rumble. Off to check em out now.

I know the OP has long since got some headphones, but for what it is worth, I have the Sony XM3's (and had a pair of XM2's before them) and I prefer them to my wife's Bose QC35's.

If I was buying now though I'd at least also check out the Bowers & Wilkins PX7's based on this review that I noticed last week;
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/feb/17/bowers-wilkins-px7-review-bose-beating-noise-cancelling-headphones

I am the OP..... Just got home with a set. Firmware updated (took a while) now needs a charge. For the 5 mins I used them for they sound great. Ear pads feel too soft. I'm sure they're upgradable. I also seem to have sweaty ears, which I hadn't noticed with my old Audio Technica. The Sony ear pads are leather, right?

some have found the bass a bit much.

yeah with noise cancelling on I find the bass can be a bit much. had a quick look at the app to try and remedy but didn't see anything but will check again, sony do like their bass boost as a feature but i'm not sure if this is an intentional boost. tend to run them wired if i'm just in the office anyway.

I had to fart about with the Sony's a bit to maximise the quality. On my Samsung S9 they connected with aptx codec, which is ok but if you have a good source e.g. Amazon music HD or FLAC audio files, you'd lose quality. There's a setting in the bluetooth options for LDAC codec which does increase the sound quality a lot over aptx normally, but does reduce qualitymore in poor connection environments (unless you force it to keep a certain bit rate which you can do in the secret developer options menu).

Other phones like my wife's Pixel 4 support aptx HD, which is theoretically not as good as LDAC but in practice works out better as it delivers higher quality with poorer connection, and I think it does it with default settings.

I found that it was worth subscribing to Amazon HD music for their HD content - but not Ultra HD as a) I couldn't tell and b) it used up all my phone's storage with a couple of albums 😮

Ldac sounds a bit flat to me listening to Spotify on "very high"

Still playing with settings but very happy all the same

I'm currently undecided between these two headphones.

The Bose seemed really good when I tried a set but the Sony seems to be getting some rave reviews so I'm leaving towards them. I'm currently on holiday in NY and there seems to be a real lack of places that sell Sony stuff here!

Target have them for 349 USD

Really like them. The only issue I'm having is that I appear to get really sweaty ears! Looking into earpad upgrades perhaps a velvet or leather option. Other than that I'm really pleased with them.

Ldac sounds a bit flat to me listening to Spotify on “very high”

Check what bit-rate LDAC is working with.

Target have them for 349 USD

There's a place nearby that are a headphone only  dealer! They have them for $298 +tax. My only issue is that they won't have any warranty back in the UK and would need returned to the US if any faults occur.

They're bloody impressive though!!

I got mine for £200 in Oslo airport. You get to subtract VAT from the price if you are leaving Norway!

Target have them for 349 USD

John Lewis have them at £269 which is currently basically the same price.

I got mine for £200 in Oslo airport. You get to subtract VAT from the price if you are leaving Norway

The tax reclaim thing in the US seems to be a PITA. I might just wait until I get home.

Sorry to muddle the waters but why are you not comparing to the Sennheiser Momentum 3, the sound quality is way ahead of your two choices.

Sorry to muddle the waters but why are you not comparing to the Sennheiser Momentum 3, the sound quality is way ahead of your two choices.

Because the battery life is lousy.

Is it though?
The online review I looked at got 20 hours from the Sony, 22 from Bose and 17 from Sennheiser

And I've already got the xm3's..... And 30 hour battery or 3 hours off a 10 min charge.

Have played about with LDAC rates and tbph it still sounds flat. Also my phone won't do aptx HD

Found a thread on Reddit which suggested these settings -

excited mode
400 no change

1k +4

2.5k +6

6.3k +5

16k +5

Clear bass -3

Tried them all in Curry's yesterday - got lost in the music and was still in the shop 30mins after it closed.

The noise cancelling on the Sony's was fantastic, as others have said. Enabled me to listen at very low volume, which I might want to do if I were working at my desk or on the train.

I did find that I wanted to listen to music on the Sennheiser's more - be this fidelity, soundstage or a bit of both I'm not sure. I was not able to listen at the same low volumes as the Sony, but at moderate volume background noise was eliminated. Curry's was incredibly noisy with ghetto blasters booming out so they were all doing a good job.

Could not connect my own phone to the Bose - had to listen to a demo. Hard to compare but nothing drew me to them.

I wanted noise cancelling to help me work at home so should have probably opted for Sony but I liked the sound on the Sennheiser so much I opted for them. Just hope noise cancelling works for me in the real world.

I think there's a misconception that noise cancelling cancels all noise, which it doesn't. It works great on low rumbling such as public transport or airplanes. I mowed the lawn this arvo with them on and they worked great. I too liked the Sennheiser but got a great deal on the Sony's so I'm happy. Fwiw the xm4 are rumoured to be coming out in Sept but as each new iteration comes out the tech gets better. Bluetooth headphones do not sound as good as wired headphones 50 - 100 quid cheaper. For the moment, the geberwlal consensus is the Sony's are the current king of anc bluetooth headphones.

Noise cancelling has a harder job dealing with higher frequencies such as voices

This is where the Sony outperforms the others at low volume