Bose QuietComfort Wireless ANC Headphones (Grade A Refurbished)

This is my first pair of Bose headphones. Initial impressions before even putting them on was “Dang, these are expensive headphones,” and at $349.99, yes, they are. There’s hundreds of headphones on the market, many of them with noise cancelling, that are available for far less money. But, considering my first pair of ANC Headphones were the original Beats by Dr. Dre Studios, and adjusted for inflation since 2011, I paid $416 for those, these are certainly more than competitive. Also, there’s a reason that for the past several years, when people bring up noise cancelling headphones, they are usually talking about Sony or Bose as their reference point. They are quality. They do the job well. Let’s dive in. 1. ANC 2. Comfort 3. Sound 4. Build Quality 5. Feature Set 6. Who should buy these? Ok, so as I said, my previous ANC Headphones are the original Beats Studios, and my most recent over the ear headphones purchase was the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x back in 2017. I’ll be comparing these to my experience with the both of them. Maybe also in comparison to my gaming headset, the Razer Barracuda X. First off, the noise cancelling itself, since this lineup is called QUIETComfort. Pretty darn good. Honestly, I can’t say that it’s any better than my reference point of headphones from 2011, but still positive experience. Blocks out basically all voices (except the higher range like baby cries), and I couldn’t hear any other noise around me when in use. Can’t complain. Now for the QuietCOMFORT portion of the equation. Compared to both of my previous headphones, it’s a serious improvement. The Beats and Audio-Technica both were heavy over the top of my skull, creating discomfort over extensive sessions where I would shift the band forward and backward over my head to give a break to the affected area. My Razer Barracuda X are also lightweight, and up to this point were the most comfortable in this regards, but the Bose definitely have more padding on the band. That said, I still have experienced the same over the skull discomfort with these headphones, and the band has to be loosened to address it. Obviously, that means the headphones overall sit more loosely on my head and are less secure. The earcups have sufficient padding for my ears, and they don’t make contact, so though they are shallow, they aren’t as shallow as others I’ve owned where the speaker housings press against the outer cartilage of my ear. This, again makes for a comfortable experience over time. Like other headphones I’ve owned, definitely heat buildup inside the earcups, and these are no exception, with condensation gathering on the material. Yep, I was sweaty listening to these. But I live in the desert, so there’s that. Your experience may vary based on your location and if you run generally warm or not. The sound quality over playback is pleasant, and anything I’ve found unpleasant I can adjust easily with the Bose app to tune the EQ to my liking. I blame anything I haven’t liked to my various EQ settings (iOS, Spotify, Bose app combinations) and the source of the audio (Spotify streaming) more than the quality of the sound itself. Both my ATH-M50x and Barracuda X have mostly neutral sound, with the ATH being legitimate studio monitors being only slightly warm and the Barracuda having neutral with slight emphasis to bass for obvious reasons: gaming you want to hear footsteps, and higher bass emphasis aids immersion in game. Obviously, the Beats were very warm, and had bass emphasized beyond the Barracudas. So if I were to place the Bose in the comparison, I’d say its default sound is warm, not neutral, but definitely not as bass heavy as anything Beats put out in 2011 (and from what I read, remains bass heavy in the present). These aren’t studio monitors or reference headphones or audiophile headphones. They’re meant to just make your music sound good with little fuss, with the ability to tune to your liking. If you want audiophile headphones, neither Bose nor Sony nor Beats offerings in this segment meet that criteria. If you want bass heavy headphones, Bose, Sony, JBL have extensive options in that regards at several price points. As already stated, this meets the middle ground between neutral and bass emphasized. It’s warm out of the box, but not at the detriment of the rest of the range. Everything from low to high is clear and crisp. Nothing is overly harsh. Build quality is a little bit of a concern of mine. It’s very hard to find a set of headphones not made entirely out of plastic and no exception here. The inherent design of my OG Beats, though also loaded with plastic, felt sturdier, but the only moving points on those were the hinges, and to a far lesser degree, the cups moved on slight swivels to lay flat on your head. So it makes sense that they’d feel sturdy when there wasn’t a lot of pivot and rotation points. On these, the headphones have folding and rotating ear cups, and at all points across the build, there feels like there’s flex in it. I worry very much that my toddler or baby would get a hold of them and twist them to pieces. I don’t have that concern with either my Audio-Technica headphones, also mostly plastic, nor the Corsair gaming headset my toddler uses for his drum kit, which gets tossed around, stepped on, kicked around, and keeps on going just fine. But, as previously stated, the material choice keeps weight down, which keeps comfort high, like my Barracuda X. Both have lots of lightweight plastic. Both need to be kept away from kids that don’t know how to treat things with delicate touch. Though I know people do go for a run or workout with these, I wouldn’t recommend it. I don’t know if they’d survive a fall, and they’re not IPX rated anyhow against sweat or other moisture. Seriously, get some IPX rated headphones or use some earbuds for sweaty, motion filled sessions. Keep these for the office, study, travel, and everyday listening. With that said, these still feel like a premium product. They don’t feel cheap. I’m just leveling with anyone that is considering these of what their limitations may be. Feature set for these is quite extensive, and y’all can do your research on every last bit. Will just point out some things I was curious about when I purchased these. - The ANC has two presets: Quiet and Aware. You can craft your own presets in the app, and adjust them based on your liking and whether or not you think you’ll encounter wind. So far I find these basically pointless. I don't need to fine tune how much ANC I have. I either want to hear things, or don't. - The app also supports any firmware updates and allows you to tune your EQ to your liking. I can’t stand that there’s multiple Bose apps. I use one for these headphones and one for my Soundlink Flex. I really wish Bose would consolidate all their consumer, portable audio (meaning headphones, earbuds, and travel speakers) into one app. I don’t know why I need two apps for devices that both come and go with me. I’d be more forgiving of multiple apps along portable products versus home products (such as in-wall speakers and home theater speakers). It's especially confusing when the Soundlink Flex MAX is in the Bose Music app with the QuietComforts, but the Soundlink Flex is not. So weird, so pointless. Anyhow, I digress. - Like all QC lineups, these headphones also support analog playback over a traditional cable. They also all feature an asymmetric plug arrangement, 2.5mm on one end and 3.5mm on the other. Unlike the more expensive QuietComfort Ultras, this pair of headphones I’m reviewing allows for passive playback. If you run out of charge or are preserving charge, you can still use these without ANC and listen over the cable. And it has in-line mic as well. This gives you far more flexibility than the Ultras, and allows these headphones to serve double duty as an in-a-pinch gaming headset for an Xbox controller, and to continue to support phone calls, etc. through the in-line microphone even if you cannot or choose not to power them on. I cannot believe that Bose’s flagship product, the Ultras, do not offer that same versatility. This product would be even better if you could use these speakers powered but without ANC features (quiet or aware) enabled to conserve battery power, but retain the convenience of wireless. - Driver size is 35mm to the Ultras 40mm. My ATH-M50x, aptly named, are closer to 50mm drivers, and I believe the Barracuda X are 40mm or so. But the playback volume on the Bose seems louder and, obviously is more versatile than my analog only ATH-M50x comparison. The Barracuda, also wireless, are still less versatile in that they require the USB-C dongle or the analog cable to function, and lack ANC. Bluetooth 5+ is just far more versatile, even if it has latency that the aforementioned devices do not. - Main differences between these and the Ultras include the driver size (Ultra is larger), the amount of microphones used for ANC (the Ultra has more), the inclusion of Immersive Audio on the Ultras (like Spatial Audio on Apple… I’m honestly not sold by that at this time), battery life (these are longer than the Ultra), and the physical structure of them differ. These are just another rehash of the QC35, QC45 design, the Ultras are unique in their structure. They arrived at 60% charge and I listened to them for about 30 minutes before placing them on a USB-C charger. Within an hour I was at 100%. Could’ve been quicker. Idk. Was in the backyard playing with the kiddos and listening to the Bose Soundlink Flex (go buy one of those, I’d recommend that to anybody). So, who are these headphones for? A lot of people, but let’s face it, $349.99 will price out a lot of buyers. I’d recommend my existing ATH-M50x to people that want to spend under $200 and only care about reliable sound. I’d recommend Sony ULT ANC Headphones for people with $200 to spend that want ANC and plan on listening to Pop, Hip-Hop, EDM (their ANC is nearly as good as XM5, Sony’s competitor to these Bose… but they’re very bass heavy). I’d recommend Audio-Technica again to people with a budget of $100. These are a luxury product. I’m aware that there are headphones far more expensive than these. But these are still expensive to many people. At this price point, I’d expect no less than 5 years of usage, and as I’ve already stated, I’ve used $150 headphones for 7 years now. So with that said, a couple of points of advice to someone weighing investing into these: - These go on sale periodically down to $249.99. At that price, they’re still premium, but far more competitive against the likes of Sony XM5 and Apple AirPods Max. - Bose Refurbished is a great option. The warranty is exactly the same as the brand new product, and you save money. I’ve done just that with my Soundlink Flex and have been so happy. I’m doing it again with the QuietComfort Ultras, which I snagged at $259.99, instead of their new list price of $429.99. Okay, enough money talk. Back to who these are for. If you made it this far, the $249.99-$349.99 is obviously something you’re considering as a fair value. So with that said, if you are a professional or student that wants to block out the noise around you for hours on end so you can work, these are for you. If you use public transport and want headphones to help you escape the noise, these are for you. Just, uh, be aware of your surroundings. Ya know, be safe. Yadda yadda. If you want legendary ANC, comfort, sound quality as you go through the airport and on your plane, these are for you. If you want some good headphones for the gym, I’d say you won’t be disappointed, but I’d encourage you to do some research for other headphones before you make a plan to routinely sweat into or potentially toss about headphones that are not made for either. If you’re the type of parent that wants to spoil your kid with great headphones, I’d say keep looking unless you find your child as responsible and respectful as a grown adult. I would certainly have broken these as a kid, and maybe even as a teen out of negligence (i.e. tossing my loaded backpack around or something and accidentally smashing something inside or nearby, hard case or not). There are many great headphones out there for less money, and some that are more sturdy. If you want to bless your child that way, do some serious research first, amongst serious review websites that breakdown sound quality, build quality, etc. Wow, look at you! You made it through my Amazon novel! I mean review. Yeah, that's what I meant. Hope it gave you some things to think about as you find the perfect headphones for you. That Cypress Green sure looks good though, right? Ok, bye bye bye now.