Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Arrive to Rival AirPods Pro

[concentrateddon]

Bose has some serious reputation issues to overcome with batteries in this size and form. Their SleepBuds worked well, but the batteries were a huge nightmare. After replacing mine (and many others’) multiple times (3x for me, 4x for the spouse), they recalled them all and discontinued them. They did the right thing in the end, but I will *definitely* not be buying a 1st-gen product like this from Bose. If you’re not familiar with the SleepBuds debacle, it’d be worth a bit of your time to read up on it before you commit to these (https://community.bose.com/t5/Sleepbuds/Sleepbuds-Discontinuing-Discussion/td-p/241583, for example). Granted, these weren’t a Bose Kickstarter project... but still. Keep your receipt, at the very least.

 

[Soccertess]

They look pretty sweet. My last set of Bose wireless headphones were good, BUT the mic was awful. No one could hear me talk because they picked up too much noise around. Airpods are fantastic for talking. Hopefully someone could put a review about the mic and talking in public areas

 

[Nuvi]

I have been a Bose fan for the past few years too, and utterly disappointed at the latest products they've released. The build quality has definitely deteriorated and feels really cheap... you don't need to open them up to notice. Also, as they release new products they are making the integration gap with apple devices wider and wider... They absolutely don't care about Apple users, and their headphones barely work as simple bluetooth audio devices. Their App is fiddly and you need to press buttons in the app to switch between devices, it really is the wrong user experience for an Apple device user.

I switch from The Bose 700 (their latest) to AirPods Pro and I'm really glad I did... All I sacrificed was a little more noise cancellation and in return I got a much better user experience and convenience (and btw sound quality is bad in both the 700 and the APP so nothing lost there). I don't think I'll ever buy Bose headphones/earphones again

I have or have had the following. Apple AirPods and AirPods Pro, Beats Powerbeats Pro and Bose QC35. First of all the oldest of the bunch is Bose QC35. Howerever, my QC35’s are working just fine. No problem with anything. They just work. It’s another story with AirPods. The originals had a dead battery in a little over year or so. Then I bought AirPods Pro’s... These are the worst quality earbuds I have owned. These are utter crap! I do mean in plural since Apple has replaced mine two times already. There isn’t anything good about these earbuds. I have had problems with connection, actual speaker, active noice cancelling and mic. I’m blown away by actual lack of quality of this product.

My third pair is Powerbeats Pro. These are very good for the gym. I only use them there (daily). They work always and have long enough battery life. Actually they are almost perfect sports earbuds. Sound quality could be bit better but its still good enough.

All in all, the Bose has far superior quality than Apple AirPods or AirPods Pro’s have. I have tested Bose 700’s and they both feel and sound very nice. Honestly, they are light years ahead of any Apple earbuds.

 

[rxp]

All Bose products have loudness correction built in. Weird they're actively saying it's a new development. It's the same thing the Homepod does - modern fletcher munson curves. The best implementation of this IMHO is Audyssey for A/V receivers. It works with a reference volume so it can correct ideally, rather than generally.

The NC700's used all mics for noise cancelling on calls, which is why they have such remarkable call performance/voice pick up. These only use 2 mics on each bud. I guess you can't use all 4 mics in a truly wireless design for calls because of latency.

 

[KennyB123]

Pre ordered the Bose. Can't be worse than APP in my opinion.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I wonder if these come with Bose spyware pre-installed or if Bose learned a lesson from the lawsuit over their Quiet Comfort headphones.

Bose Class Action: The Company’s Headphones Are Collecting User Data

In fact, a customer filed a class action lawsuit against Bose. Bose class action claims that the company violated the federal Wiretap Act. The lawsuit alleges that Bose headphones are collecting user information. Furthermore, the company is accused of sharing the app user’s listening habits with...

consumerlawmagazine.com

I believe the spyware cost extra.

It will be interesting to see how these fair against the AirPod Pros.

 

[Flight Plan]

I had the airpod pros at the holidays, and I couldn't hear phone calls! Then the right one kept falling out of my ear when I was cleaning house or working in my garden, regardless of which "ear tip" I tried. The straw that broke the camel's back was when it fell into a garbage can filled with thorny rose clippings. Back to the Apple Store the next day to exchange for a new set of the "old fashioned" airpods.

I had the same trouble with a pair of RayCons. In fact, I received a call from my insurance girl this week, and the only earbuds nearby were the RayCons. I popped them in, answered the phone, and she asked me if I was talking to her on a speaker phone!

Oh man, THAT's a huge insult, or at least it should be to RayCon. I quickly rooted around at my desk and found an old set of wired apple earpods, and that improved the call quality immediately.

Wireless earbud technology pretty much all sucks. I even have my stereo bluetooth constantly "steal" the signal from my Apple AirPods. Why? Once a bluetooth connection has been made, it should not be easily "stolen" or "redirected" to another bluetooth device! Why does everybody suck?

(I mean everybody who makes wireless earbuds)

 

[DoctorTech]

I believe the spyware cost extra.

It will be interesting to see how these fair against the AirPod Pros.

I love my Power Beats Pros for exercising but I have ben thinking about a pair of AirPod Pros for regular use when I am out and about. The Power Beats Pro case is pretty big plus I like the idea of having ANC and transparency mode. I was on the fence but after hearing about the upcoming improvements with auto switching between devices, I am probably going to make the purchase. I know Bose makes high quality audio devices but I really like the way all of Apple's devices are so thorough integrated.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I love my Power Beats Pros for exercising but I have ben thinking about a pair of AirPod Pros for regular use when I am out and about. The Power Beats Pro case is pretty big plus I like the idea of having ANC and transparency mode. I was on the fence but after hearing about the upcoming improvements with auto switching between devices, I am probably going to make the purchase. I know Bose makes high quality audio devices but I really like the way all of Apple's devices are so thorough integrated.

I have the PowerBeats Pro as well, and use them for exercising only and my AirPods Pro for when I am out and about. I think you will be happy with that set up.

 

[cardfan]

Have had these for a week reviewing. Mic isn’t great at all. Apples are better in terms of silence and sound. These are more comfortable but nothing significant but fit better. Definitely not worth getting for the money.

Headphones a different story. Bose wins easily.

 

[Dwood1970]

I have the PowerBeats Pro as well, and use them for exercising only and my AirPods Pro for when I am out and about. I think you will be happy with that set up.

For normal use I actually like the regular AirPods. More comfortable for me when having them in for longer periods of time.

 

[Apple_Robert]

For normal use I actually like the regular AirPods. More comfortable for me when having them in for longer periods of time.

I tried those and they wouldn’t stay in my ears, not to mention they didn’t feel comfortable in the ears.

 

[Wolfmore]

Both myself and family members have owned Bose products in the past.

I strongly suggest you avoid them, overpriced and with terrible build quality. For instance I owned some Bose QuiteComfort wired headphones that stopped working after a few months of just using them at my desk with no mistreatment. They failed and were replaced by Bose, and a few months later failed again and were replaced.

The final time they failed I didn't bother returning them and instead opened them up to look at the build quality. Most headphone manufacturers use decently thick cabled and inside the headset wrap the cable around a bit of plastic to it cannot be pulled away from solder connections. An idea decades old.

But not in the Bose headphones, just a direct connection from the cable to speaker with nothing inbetween to even try to stop them from pulling apart, with a very small wire and solder connection supposed to take the weight of prolonged use.

I have seen headphones for 1/10 of the price with better build quality.

Agree, avoid Bose. earphones break a lot for example, go read complaints on Bose Sound Free Sport left earbud not working, I had those broke multi time, to this day Bose refused to acknowledge issue and customer service is trained to shamelessly reject complaints and act as if nothing is wrong. only way I would trust them again is if they did a recall and acknowledge issue like Apple does when they fail on quality.

 

[Ray2]

How Bose has held on to an "audiophile" status after all these years is beyond me...and don't get me started on Beats. No offense to fans; if you like them - fine. To each his/her own, but try some comparisons and consider other brands before jumping on the bandwagon if you haven't used Bose before.

Bose has zero audiophile status. They have marketing to an uninformed, status conscious, audience. Like all of tech.

 

[Pentium]

Both myself and family members have owned Bose products in the past.

I strongly suggest you avoid them, overpriced and with terrible build quality. For instance I owned some Bose QuiteComfort wired headphones that stopped working after a few months of just using them at my desk with no mistreatment. They failed and were replaced by Bose, and a few months later failed again and were replaced.

The final time they failed I didn't bother returning them and instead opened them up to look at the build quality. Most headphone manufacturers use decently thick cabled and inside the headset wrap the cable around a bit of plastic to it cannot be pulled away from solder connections. An idea decades old.

But not in the Bose headphones, just a direct connection from the cable to speaker with nothing inbetween to even try to stop them from pulling apart, with a very small wire and solder connection supposed to take the weight of prolonged use.

I have seen headphones for 1/10 of the price with better build quality.

Wow, I have completely a different experience. Bose was and still nothing but top for me, starting from 5 years old QC25 then the newer QC35, I have SoundBars, Bluetooth Speakers and the new WiFi Smart Ones, I have also used SoundSports and still using the SoundSports Wireless Earbuds for my daily workout as the sound quality is far better than the AirPods. I have also replaced a couple of products after warranty expiration throughout the years, for free.

I am looking into ordering those, but will wait until Apple event to see if there is anything that I should consider before.

 

[Night Spring]

I've also had excellent service and support from Bose over the years. I've never had their headphones fail on me. The earphones sometimes have, but they've all been replaced for free if within warranty, or I've received steep discounts in buying the latest model as replacement.

As for audio quality, my hearing isn't good enough to tell if they rise to the level of audiophile quality, but I certainly have no complaints. And the most important thing for me is how comfortable their ear pieces are. No other earphones I've tried are more comfortable, better fit, and easy to take care of.

 

[Cerberus4]

Bose is now taking pre-orders for its new QuietComfort Earbuds, which are set to rival Apple's AirPods Pro in the premium true wireless ANC earphones market.

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As far as I’m concerned these along with the upcoming AirPods Studio & any new Air Pods (Pro) are already obsolete. Why? No introduction of Bluetooth LE, a new standard worth writing home about thats going to quite revolutionize this kind of market. Better sounding codec, lower power = longer battery lives, multicast/broadcast, Broadcast sharing, etc.

It’s going to be a marriage made in Bluetooth heaven. Trust me I know many of you are going to rave about it when it comes out & you’re going to wind up treating any product pre Bluetooth LE like a dinosaur. LE IS where the future is at for products of this type & more. From what I read this was supposed to be released at the end of 2020 where the first products built with were first supposed to appear.

Well believe it or not September could be considered close enough to the end of the year, Pity that these are arriving without the only feature worth caring about, to me anyway. Consider me disappointed, & all things considered you all should be too.

LE Audio | Bluetooth® Technology Website

learn about bluetooth Building on 20 years of innovation, LE Audio enhances the performance of Bluetooth® audio, adds support for hearing aids, and introduces Auracast™ broadcast audio…

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