Bose QuietComfort® 45 Bluetooth wireless noise cancelling headphones with microphone for phone calls - Triple Black

I had an older pair of Bose QC15s that I gifted on, and was looking for a new wireless replacement. I looked at the usual suspects in this arena - the SONY XM range, the Apple AirPod Max, and of course the Bose QC/NC range. I immediately discounted the SONY XM5 and Bose NC700 purely on the fact that they don't fold, nor do I care much for the looks. The touch controls put me off as well. To be clear, I'm no audiophile. In priority order, for me its: - Comfort - ANC - Audio quality I don't like loads of bass that shakes my head, preferring a clean, balanced sound, and don't really care for having countless configuration options in an app either. Nor do I use my headphones that much around the house, their primary purchase being to reduce the constant drone when traveling on planes and trains. Beyond that they are there for when I need them. If you read up too much, like I did, you end up with a big list of reasons to support the purchase of any of those headphones I listed. You'll read good on all, and you'll read bad on all, although I will say that for most people, the XM4s are going to be a great buy for most people, being relatively cheap, USB-C, with variable ANC, and a good EQ. I tried them - just not for me. Too much bass, which sounded terrible when tuned out, not as comfy as my QC15s, and far too dependent on the companion app. These QC45s are, without doubt, the most comfortable pair of headphones I've ever owned. They sit perfectly over my ears and don't touch them anywhere. They are light, foldable, and you almost forget you are wearing them. That's the first requirement ticked. The ANC is significantly better in comparison to my QC15s, especially at reducing the higher frequencies. Given that I was happy with the QC15s in that regard, this was an easy tick in the box. Others may be "better", but I simply don't care about all the different aware modes or variable this and that. Just want to switch them on, drown out the outside world as much as possible, and immerse myself in the music or whatever it is I'm listening to. At this price point, you are not going to get a "bad" sounding pair of headphones. Any differences and nuances are down to personal preference. Some like a load of bass, some like a more neutral sound, some want absolutely perfect studio reproduction. For me, these fall somewhere in the middle. I will agree, without the recent firmware update that added the EQ, the QC45s did sound a little light on bass and heavy on treble. However, that's now fixed, so with a couple of notches up on the bass and a couple down on the treble, the sound is, for me, perfectly adequate to my ears. The bass is punchy enough to hear it without it shaking your head and causing fatigue. People can hate on Bose all they like, just as people will hate on Apple. At the end of the day I buy products based on my needs, and these just live up to their name - QuietComfort. Sure, trying headphones side-by-side it's easy to pick out differences, but in isolation, these are objectively a very good pair of wireless active noise cancelling headphones that, for me, do everything promised of them. As for battery life...given that I come from needing to use a AAA battery in my old headphones, 25 hours between charges is a huge amount of time. Yep, others last longer, but I'm sorry, if 25 hours isn't enough, you've got much bigger problems in life than this first world issue!

OK, I've read a lot of reviews on here and let's put a few things straight. Me as background, 53 year old guy, using headphones for over 40 years, currently own xm4 and xm5 headphones and xm3 earbuds. CONNECTIVITY. Linked instantly to my Samsung a22 5g phone and sonru bluetooth 5.2 transmitter (for watching TV) no lip sync problems at all, walked all around my flat with no drop outs at all. 10/10 ANC. This is superb, it's certainly as good as my wh xm4's if not slightly better because you have almost zero white noise. I am very surprised by this. "aware mode" is also very good. 9/10 SOUND. Out of the box these are treble heavy, not good at all. But once you connect to the "bose music" app you can adjust the eq (please see pictures), once you reduce the treble to - 6 and add +2 to the bass these sound fantastic. I would put them on a par with the xm4 easily. Very detailed, warm bass and the mids are all there. I'm using Spotify highest quality setting and aac codec. (I run my Sony headphones on aac codec as this sounds great with no drop outs), so don't worry about ldac and aptx etc, there are NO lip sync issues at all. 9/10 BOSE MUSIC APP. This is simple and basic compared to sony, but it is just exactly what you need, no silly gimmicky functions, just straight forward. Once you adjust your eq you can save these settings so when you reconnect your headphones they are ready to go. I have tried this personally and it works. So I give the app 9/10 purely because it's simple and does what you need it to do. PHONE CALLS. Sorry! I use headphones for music. BUTTONS. These are responsive and work very well, I'm used to sensor pads (swipe gestures) on my Sony"s but these can be awkward sometimes so I actually enjoy having buttons again. 9/10. CONCLUSION. I paid £209 new for these and I don't regret this at all. £319 rrp! I would feel uncomfortable with that price. Oooh! Nearly forgot..... COMFORT. Very comfortable as good as my wh xm4's and with the added bonus that these don't creak at all, no hinge clicking etc. Worn for 3 hours as we speak and I hardly know I'm wearing them, no hot ears, 9/10. Hope this helps you people make an informed decision. I'm selling my xm5 now as these and my xm4's are my goto headphones now..... UPDATE. After about 10 hours plus of listening to my Spotify playlists, I can say that the qc 45 are actually better than my Sony xm4's and xm5's! I'm hearing instruments and backing vocals that I never knew songs had! I'm seriously impressed Been for a walk outside and traffic noise is literally just gone! Even my xm5s let the tyre noise through, but listening at 50%volume it's just the music. So 10/10..

If you're considering buying the Bose QC45, you're probably also considering the Sony 1000XM4 headphones too. They're both priced about the same currently and are both getting great reviews. Yet I was torn between the two so I decided to buy both and keep the one I liked the most. At least that was the plan. The Sony XM4s have been a runaway success only recently replaced by the XM5 which are £100 more, so I left these out as they were just a bit more then I wanted to spen. Here's what I liked and disliked about them both. Build quality and comfort The Bose QC45 feel light in the hand and well made. However I did not like the exposed screws. The Sony XM4s are better sealed at the joints and feel better well built in the hand. The Sony is a fraction heavier but there's nothing in it between the two. The ear pads are better on the Sony. They just feel more cushioned than the Bose. The Bose feel cheaper. I also noticed that the headband on the Sony is slightly more comfortable. I found the Bose headband would dig in to the top of my head slightly. You notice you're wearing them after a while. The Sony cups feel they have more space in them for your ears. I felt my ears were touching the inside of the cups on the Bose. Noise cancelling/transparacy mode I like the way you can switch the Bose between transparent and noise cancelling. It's just a single press of the button on the left cup. Simple. Both modes work brilliatly. I've used the transparency mode while walking so I can still hear some traffic, and the NC mode in my local noisy coffee shop. Both modes work very well. The call quality is excellent. The other person on the call could hear me very well during a walk outside on a rather windy day. No issues with calls. Controls The Bose has physical buttons for the volume controls and to pause play. The Sony has touch sensitive controls which are getting some bad reviews online. This is totally wrong in my opinion. The touch controls work very well on the Sony. I found with the Bose that when I wanted to adjust the volume, I had to place several fingures on the right cup before pressing down on the volume with my index finger. I found that otherwise the cup would slightly move from my ear which became anoying having to reposition it again for comfort. The Sony is just a one finger swipe and very easy to do without disturbing the cup position. The Bose buttons don't feel that high quality. They don't have that satisfiying click or feel. You get a nice satisfying confirmation sound when toggling the on/off button, again a phyical switch that does feel it will break at some point. You get a voice confirmation that you are connected and the battery power remaining. The Bose has a very old computer generated voice which is terrible. The Sony voice is much more modern and clear making the Sony feel more up to date. The Sony has a press and hold button to power on/off. This also gives you a confimation that your Bluetooth has connected. Sound So the important stuff. I've played several tracks over and over on both headphones switching between the two and repeating the track. There are some differencs and it is all subjective. I found the Bose was clearer in the midrange and higher tones. I also felt there was a little more clarity in the words of the song then in the Sony. But the Sony came across more powerful lower down with base. You just feel the Sony has more capacity and power. The music sounds stronger. The Bose is very good but just lacks the real strong base of a track. App I tried both with no EQ straight out of the box. When I adjusted the EQ on both, I got even stronger sound from both. The Sony still feels more punchy. The Bose is very good for podcasts, super clear and great noise cancelling. The EQ on the Bose is very simple with very little adjustments. The Sony is more comprehensive. The Sony has a much better App with more ajustments. It can even learn your regular locations and adjust the sound and NC accordingly. The Bose does none of this. The Sony has a great feature that pauses the music if you simply start to talk to someone. It also switches to transparent mode so you can hear them. Great when ordering a coffee! The Bose doesn't do this. The Sony pauses the music if you lift the headphones off your head, resumes play when you place them back on. The Bose doesn't do this. You can cover the right cup with your hand on the Sony to temparaliy switch to transparancy mode to listen to someone speak. The Bose doesn't do this. Conclusion Overall, both headpones are brilliant in their own way and in isolation. I just feel I keep leaning over to the Sony for some reason. They just feel better quality, sound stronger and have better controls and features. They just feel more expensive. I feel you're paying for the Bose branding and would truly price the Bose QC45 between £150-£200 max. The Sony on the other hand feel a bargain at £240 currently. Both have a nice small case yet the Sony case seems more thought out with better internals. The Sony case has a canvas feel, the Bose a hard shell feel. Both very protable in your bag. One final thought which has been overlooked by online reviewers. The Bose branding on the side of the cups stands out. This made me feel concious of wearing them while walking in the street letting others know I have a pair of expensive headphones on. The Sony are much more discreet and can be mistaken at a distance for their cheaper £50 headphones. I just felt more relaxed wearing the Sony out in public. Yet it felt the opposite while sitting in a coffee shop wearing the Bose. I felt good wearing a quality product and brand everyone knows. It's a small thing but I noticed how it made me feel. I'm reluctant to return the Bose QC45s but between the two, I feel the Sony XM4s are just better.

I've been after a pair of noise cancelling headphones or earphones for a long time. I was deciding between earphones or headphones and it's been excruciating. I hate in-ear buds and I don't want to wear bulky headphones in public. The product that fits my needs would be the Bose QC earbuds II I suppose, however I was put off by the 6 hour battery life, the price and the prospect of losing them... Last year I bought the Huawei freebuds 4 impulsively as they had good reviews, don't go inside your ear and offer noise cancellation. I should've realised that you need a good seal for ANC and you can't get that with semi in-ear buds. They do sound good though and they've been good to have around. I realised that ANC was the main thing I want to drown out busy places as I suffer from panic attacks and anxiety. I need to shut off the world sometimes and when I'm somewhere noisy this isn't possible and it causes panic. So I was determined to get the best earphones or headphones available so I can feel comfortable going out. Sony & Bose... The main competitors: Sony XM4/5 & Bose NC700/QC45. My overall conclusion after watching/reading 20+ hours of reviews and comparisons is this: Sony - The Bass will be too intrusive, I have to take gloves off in winter to operate, look chunky, more features, bad out of box sound, can play high Res music, similar, perhaps very slightly better ANC, Case for XM5 is large. Bose NC700 - Balanced sound, lots of ANC control, touch controls with same caveat as Sony, slightly heavy, metal band gets damaged when sliding earcups, slightly worse ANC than others, feel loose, app issues. Bose QC45 - Same as SE but with hard case, balanced sound but treble is too pronounced (I like treble though), physical buttons so can use with gloves, case is small, latency might not be great for TV. I decided on the QC45 as it was on offer for £219. The QC earbuds II are still £279 and I can't justify paying that for earbuds that last 6 hours. I also thought the over ear style of headphones would be conducive to better noise cancelling due to the passive isolation. I received the 45's yesterday and I've barely taken them off since. I'm truly impressed. The latency is unnoticeable so I can watch TV without any lip sync issues which is an absolute game changer for me. The noise cancellation is great, although I'm sure when I tried some QC35 II's on a couple of years ago they were better but I'm still pleased with these. The sound is treble heavy and lacks base but it's adjustable in the EQ. They connect so easily to different devices, it's truly effortless, I can't find an apple logo anywhere though 😉. More than anything though I can actually see myself having these on in public and having them surgically attached to my neck 24/7 for whenever I might need them. I'm so pleased they exist and for my needs they are perfect, the only thing I would like to have is ANC adjustment like the NC700 and high bit rate bluetooth. Finally the earcups are the best on the market, allowing room for your ears so they're not being pressed against. Hope this helps anyone having trouble deciding who doesn't want to spend weeks or months comparing the competition.

For clarity - this review is for the SE version. I can confirm the exact model of the headphones themselves is QC45 - this is how they show up in the app when you connect them to a phone. They come with 2.5mm to 3.5mm lead and usb-c charging lead as well as a compact soft sided case. In terms of what they are like, I think they are excellent headphones. The best I have ever used. The specific reasons I bought this model over others I considered is: - physical buttons to turn on and off and adjust volume - collapsible design that makes them compact to travel - excellent noise cancelling. In terms of how I find them, my main summary would be: - Very comfortable to wear - Noise cancelling is great for my purposes (which are concentrating on reading/work in noisy environments) - it does not block everything but if listening to music it takes something quite loud to disturb you. - Sound is good to the extent that it is making me go back through lots of old music to listen again. There is a lot of detail in the sound and a sense of separation of instruments and vocal that I find captivating. Out of the box the EQ was tuned a little 'wrong' for my taste with a little too much mid and treble but this was easily rectified in the EQ section of the app and now it is great. I did consider the Sony XM5's as the whole internet seems o say they are best headphones of this type but I have not had great experiences with Sony's previously in terms of their sound - I find they have a bass heavy slightly muddy 'Sony' sound. I tried out some in John Lewis and wasn't convinced. I like the sound of these Bose headphones more but I realise this is a wholly subjective personal perspective. - Very compact in the case which is ideal for me as I carry them around on a daily basis. I am very pleased overall.

I wanted to like these Bose QC SE, but found there were a few frustrating points that prevented me from keeping them. I paid £189 (which seems to have been an introductory price) and was using them with an iPhone XR. GOOD POINTS - Very comfortable: I wear glasses with thick flat arms, and I could easily wear these for a few hours at a time before needing a break (due to heat around the ears rather than pain at the temples/jaw from clamping pressure). They are also lightweight. - Solid ANC: these are the most expensive over ear ANC headphones I’ve tried to date, and the results were fairly impressive, though certainly not as impressive as the various reviews I read had led me to believe. This may be due to wearing glasses interfering with the seal, though I didn’t think it made that much difference when I wore them without my glasses either. On the London Underground I found they cut out a useful amount of low end, but couldn’t deal with the whistling/screeching sounds. With airplane cabin noise/fans (i.e more consistent droning sounds) they were far more effective. So your mileage may vary. - Compact: they fold up which is very convenient for travel and commutes. - Sound: I’m not an audiophile, so my opinion here is limited to my subjective experience. I enjoyed the sound profile, and found it was able to handle varied genres. There was also a simple EQ in the app that allows some customisation too if you want it. BAD POINTS - Wind noise: because you only have the choice between ANC and Aware modes when powered on, if you are exposed to wind it will get picked up by the mics and is pretty annoying when you want to use these out and about. There is no wind noise reduction mode as far as I can see. - Mic glitches: I found the mics worked well except when I was using the multipoint feature, specifically when trying to make/take calls via zoom/teams and also connected to my mobile. I would sometimes get a weird clicking/high pitch noise, and it happened enough to make me not want to use them. Never managed to get to the bottom of what was causing this, and it may well have just been a unique problem with my unit. - Soft case: these come with a soft zip up case, guess that’s why they were on sale for cheaper than the ‘regular’ QC45. I suppose some people may prefer this, but I think if you are paying anything over £150 for headphones the manufacturer should definitely be including a hard case. - Build quality: generally I thought this was good bar one thing - the buttons seemed very ‘mushy’ on my unit. I like physical controls over touch controls, but prefer the buttons to have a distinct (but not flimsy) click to them. These seemed poor for the price. CONCLUSION This is just my experience and opinion. Hopefully it is useful to someone considering these. I think if you can live with the compromises, and your priority is ANC and comfort, then these are no doubt a very solid choice when priced under £200. I advise researching the different options, ideally trying them out in person, and making sure you know your priorities before deciding what to buy (speaking from painful past experience!).

Pros + Exceptionally comfortable + Outstanding noise cancellation + Lightweight + Long battery life + Easy to use + Easy USB-C charging Cons - Relatively expensive - Sound quality is very good, but not the best - No wired USB audio support They say that a product name should convey the benefits of the product. Bose have taken this to heart with their QuietComfort headphones. They are quiet. They are comfortable. The end. If you need portable headphones with class-leading noise cancellation, all-day comfort, and an uncluttered yet functional feature set then the Bose QuietComfort 45 are a top contenders. The QC 45s use the same form factor as previous generations of QuietComfort headphones; that is they are relatively compact for over the ear headphones, very lightweight for their class, and so comfortable you might forget you're wearing them. Noise cancellation is absolutely outstanding in 'quiet' mode, and they have an easily accessible 'aware' setting which relays ambient noise so you can hear the world around you without taking them off. They also handle phone calls well, providing clear audio and good call control features. You can also access Siri from them directly with a button press. Comparing the QC45's to older QuietComfort headphones I notice a less of the 'pressure' feeling from the active noise cancellation, and better noise isolation performance. Sound quality is very good. Are they true Hi-Fi quality? No, but these are travel headphones. Being critical, the treble is a bit harsh at higher volumes compared to a Hi-Fi headphone. I found this improved a little after a few days of breaking in. The QuietComfort 45's isolate you from the outside world, in outstanding comfort, for as long as you need. They play good quality music over Bluetooth or 3.5mm wired connection. They do a great job as a Bluetooth wireless headset for calls on phone or laptop. They fold down to a transportable size. They charge quickly. In my opinion they are the best over-ear travel headphone.

This is my first purchase of bluetooth headphones. I don’t travel so any requirement for portability is, right now, irrelevant to me, I just wanted a set of over ear noise cancelling headphones to play music and help focus my mind from distractions drowning out nuisance noise such as building works. Like other reviewers I got swept up with a plethora of reviews via a certain video sharing platform and based on those reviews I had it in my mind that I would go for the main competitor to Bose, however I had a nagging feeling all was not right and when I saw these QC 45s reduced to £209.00 I decided to take the plunge, yes money talks. Whilst I can not say with any degree of authority that these are better or worse than the rival option all I can say is I am very please with this pair of QC 45s. As a test I trialled them outside, noise cancellation active and playing various soft rock at 60% volume on a busy A road during the school run with a with a 3200rpm polishing machine running and I could barely hear the machine, in fact I think I could hear the vibration through my body rather than the machine, I couldn’t hear the sound of the car door close or passing buses intrude into the music. Higher frequency noise such as loud voices (screaming children) managed to just sneak through. I tested again sitting in front of the TV, BBC News with the TV volume at number 32 which produces an average of 56bd and a max of 78bd depending on who is speaking, headphone volume at 50% playing Freddie Hubbard’s Blue Spirits and I can not hear lower pitch voices intruding into the music however the high pitch voices again just sneak through but if I was busy rather than focusing on the tv then I doubt I would have noticed. I think that is pretty impressive. The Bose connect app is basic but works, both phone and tablet connected with ease. Range of the Bluetooth seems ok with me leaving the active device in the front room and walking upstairs to the back of the house where the music just started to blip out for a fraction of a second. Whilst the sound quality is flat out of the box the EQ setting via the Bose Music app does the trick and I have no issue with adjusting the EQ to my preference, what is the point of having an app that allows you to adjust the bass, middle and treble to your preference and then moan about the sound quality of the out of the box preset. Manufactures wouldn’t give you the option if they didn’t want you to adjust the EQ. I can not provide details on battery life as I have not used them extensively enough, but I am sure it will do me fine. I like the physical buttons on the headshells, they are basic and do what I want. Inactive time out can be set by the app so you don’t drain the battery should you forget to use the physical power off button. The sliding power button also acts as a notification button, once on just slide the button to on again (sprung sliding button) and it I’ll tell you what device you are connected to and % battery remaining. If you are reading this review then you are likely in the market for a set of noise cancelling headphones, I am not going to recommend you buy these, you have to go with what you believe will suit your needs best, that said I have no regrets with my purchase.