Bose QuietComfort 45 Wireless Bluetooth ANC Headphones (Grade A Refurbished)

These are good headphones, but for this price they need to perform to an acceptable standard out of the box. While the noise cancellation is great, and the build quality seems fine if a bit plastic-y, the actual sound itself is completely blown out when listening to music with the volume turned all the way up. This issue goes away when the volume is reduced to 70%, but even then, the high end felt too harsh. I ended up having to download the Bose mobile app just to be able to adjust the built-in EQ and lower the high end by 2 notches. That takes a star off. You also can't disable active noise cancelling, you either enable it or enable a passthrough effect that uses the internal microphones to amplify your surroundings. Bose has seemingly refused to fix this in an update, and that also takes a star off. I've seen reviews claiming that these headphones are not suitable for outdoor use due to poor handling of natural wind, because you can't disable the microphones. While I haven't had this issue while sitting next to my industrial strength garage fan, your mileage may very. If I had purchased this at the "sale" price of $229, I would have probably returned these, but I was fortunate enough to have a $200 gift card, so I guess I'll hang onto them. They sound good enough, but fall short of the Sony WH-1000XM4 in both sound and build quality. If you choose the XM4s instead, be aware that Sony's noise cancelling microphones are directly inside the ear cup next to your sweaty ears, and will one day short out and start delivering an ear piercing feedback until you disable noise cancelling, which you'll have to do every single time you turn the headphones on. Sony also won't replace your device if it's past their one year limited warranty. Ask me how I know.