Bose QuietComfort Earbuds review: The true wireless noise-canceling champ

Price When Reviewed

280

Best Prices Today

$265.00

Bose is understood for noise canceling. Its over-the-ear cans have typically set the bar for silencing noisy backgrounds. So it’s no shock that the corporate’s QuietConsolation Earbuds proceed that fame.

Launched a little bit over a 12 months in the past, these buds hit excessive marks for lively noise canceling (ANC)—sufficient in order that vacationers ought to undoubtedly take into account them first. They ship on sound high quality and ANC in a approach that makes them robust to beat. Even as a dearer pair of buds, the value isn’t a deterrent. Rather, the rationale somebody would select a rival product just like the Jabra 85t or Sony WF-1000XM4 boils down to private preferences in audio profiles and portability.

Specs

• MSRP: $280 USD
• Colors: Triple black, Soapstone (white), Stone Blue, Sandstone (beige)
• Water-resistance score: IPX4
• Bluetooth model: 5.1 (9.1m / 30ft vary)
• Charging: USB-C (USB Type C to A cable included)
• Dimensions (Earbud): 39.1 x 25.9 x 26.9 mm (1.54 x 1.02 x 1.06 in)
• Dimensions (Case): 31.8 x 88.9 x 50.8 mm (1.25 x 3.5 x 2 in)
• Weight: 8.5g per bud, 73.7g for the case (90.7g complete)
• Warranty: One 12 months

Design and match

Alaina Yee / IDG

Everything in regards to the Bose QuietConsolation Earbuds is big. The buds themselves appear monumental in comparison with rivals—even when positioned side-by-side with the Sony WF-1000XM4, which runs a little bit thick.

Strangely, they didn’t look comically massive when worn, even regardless of my smaller body. The QuietConsolation appears purposefully chunky, fairly than awkwardly so, and the colour variations (white, beige, and blue) have an surprising magnificence. These buds additionally really feel light-weight in ear, regardless of their proportions.

This larger dimension does imply that these earbuds are higher suited to bigger our bodies. Three completely different ear ideas are included within the field (Small, Medium, and Large); I needed to change out the medium ideas, the default, to the small. Typically medium ear ideas works greatest for me, however not this time. On the other finish of the size, a good friend who borders on XL ideas discovered the massive to be excellent. Small-boned individuals might imagine this a deal-breaker, and it might be. However, Bose has been sampling some various tip sizes to U.S. and Canadian prospects. If you reside in these areas, contact customer support. You could possibly get your arms on XS, Small/Medium, and Medium/Large ideas.

Once I discovered a tip that match, the seal was glorious. These earbuds felt so safe that I saved them in round water regardless of their IPX4 score, which solely protects towards splashes and never full submersion. The labeling makes it straightforward to determine proper and left buds.

Alaina Yee / IDG

The charging case for the Bose QuietConsolation Earbuds borders on ridiculously massive. It’s nearly double the scale of rivals’ instances, significantly the Jabra 85t and the Sony WF-1000XM4, two rivals that go toe-to-toe with these buds. Carrying these in a jacket pocket or a pants pocket isn’t snug—I relegated them to my backpack. The kicker is that the charging case’s beneficiant measurements don’t translate into additional battery life, as we’ll talk about under. 

Sound

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People who love impartial sound signatures ought to benefit from the Bose QuietConsolation Earbuds’ default profile. Audio is well-balanced, with each a part of the vary clear and represented. Music comes via extraordinarily clear and exact because of this—in truth, a lot in order that it may possibly appear nearly sterile or joyless to ears accustomed to hotter profiles. Make no mistake, you may get good bass from these earbuds, however for anybody used to Beats headphones, the QuietConsolation Earbuds could really feel too crisp.

Even with completely different EQ settings utilized, that exactness is constant. You can apply your individual changes, or select from one of many 4 default profiles (bass increase, bass reducer, treble increase, or treble reducer). No matter what you dial up or ease down, the precision stays. Being in a position to make use of such simple controls to shortly draw out extra of the lows, mids, or highs is gratifying.

For voice and video calls, incoming audio sounds clear, as nicely. It can leech a few of the heat from low voices although, even whereas the depth stays. Using the earbuds for talking isn’t fairly pretty much as good, because the audio has a hole high quality—just like that of AirPods. (One individual commented that I gave the impression of I used to be on a smartphone with an excellent speakerphone mode.) But nobody I spoke with had hassle making out what I used to be saying. I additionally didn’t thoughts having sidetone on (the power to listen to myself talking, or as Bose calls it, “Self Voice”), which is greater than I can say about different earbuds with the identical function. With rival buds, I’ve generally needed to change it off instantly.

Volume throughout all forms of audio can go fairly excessive. To keep round my most well-liked quantity (loud sufficient to dam regular dialog with noise-canceling on), I normally was within the low 30-percent vary. On Windows PCs, you may get even louder than that if you happen to change from headphone mode to headset mode. (You typically have to make use of the latter in voice calls.) In headset mode, I dropped to 9 p.c for sufficient quantity.

Noise canceling

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As acknowledged already, Bose has a fame for glorious lively noise canceling, and justly so. Of the noise-canceling buds which have handed via my arms, the QuietConsolation Earbuds stand above all. The Jabra 85t comes awfully shut, however Bose nonetheless excels. With ANC at full power and no music taking part in, it minimize road noise on a reasonably busy metropolis highway by greater than half. (The tough estimate I’d give is round 65 p.c.) Add on a little bit little bit of music and the world fades away. The similar applies to TV audio or extended conversations within the background.

The noise canceling controls are very streamlined. You stand up to 4 completely different profiles, with Quiet and Aware modes as preset defaults. Quiet mode cranks up the noise canceling to the max, with no changes potential. Aware mode is the reverse—it permits in ambient sound, however with a singular twist: If a loud noise all of the sudden happens, the earbuds will kick on sufficient noise canceling to partially muffle it. I didn’t count on to love Aware mode’s particular trick, but it surely retains music at a reasonably even, normalized quantity. The response to blaring sound engages and disengages fairly easily, too.

The different two profiles are utterly consumer set—you’ll be able to decide to create them or not. Whatever exists might be within the rotation while you contact your left earbud to change between modes. There are 10 completely different ranges of noise cancellation to select from when making a customized profile.

Unlike with different earbuds, you’ll be able to’t flip off lively processing on the Bose QuietConsolation Earbuds to assist preserve battery life. The microphones are working always to both block or pipe in environmental audio. The upside of this reality is that Bose’s engineers appear to have programmed the mics to filter out the sound of material brushing towards the buds, so you’ll be able to put on hoodies with out driving your self loopy.

Battery life

Alaina Yee / IDG

Battery life on the Bose QuietConsolation earbuds is rated at 6 hours, just like different rivals. I normally obtained nearer to 5.5 hours of steady music playback with noise canceling cranked all the best way up. Given the scale of those earbuds, it’s a bit puzzling that they don’t final the complete 6 hours. In reality, the smaller Sony WF-1000XM4 outdoes them handily with as much as 8 hours of music playback.

Also confounding is the low variety of expenses offered by the mammoth charging case. Despite its dimension, it has a score of simply two expenses, and customarily I solely eked out a smidge greater than that. Given this case’s bulk, you’d count on at the very least three expenses.

The QuietConsolation does have a few helpful battery-related options, although. First is wi-fi charging of the case, which isn’t uncommon amongst ANC earbuds of this class, however helpful nonetheless. You may drop depleted earbuds into the case for 15 minutes and stand up to 2 hours of playback. Fully charging the earbuds takes two hours, and the case takes three hours over a USB-C cable.

Pairing and controls

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Pairing with the Bose QuietConsolation earbuds is a snap. You can pair a number of units to those earbuds, however solely use one after the other. Switching between these units doesn’t require a lot effort—sometimes you’ll be able to simply join out of your lively machine, and it’ll take over.

When linked, these earbuds preserve their Bluetooth sign fairly nicely, even in multi-story buildings. I might typically preserve the connection via distances that spanned a number of partitions and even whereas on completely different flooring.

The contact controls on the earbuds aren’t overly delicate, fortunately. You can brush towards them with out inflicting unintentional inputs, however they nonetheless instantly register deliberate faucets and swipes. The solely actual disappointment in regards to the controls is the shortage of customization. On each buds, you’ll be able to both press and maintain for one command, or double-tap for one more. When not in a name, the best bud connects you to your cellphone’s digital assistant and pauses music playback, whereas the left bud allows you to change your noise canceling mode and one other command of your alternative. Customizing that one left bud command is one among simply three choices: battery degree, skipping ahead a observe, or going again a observe.

I’d have appreciated the power to customise all instructions (or at the very least, rotate them round), plus have a set for triple faucets. The less-expensive Jabra 85t is extra beneficiant on this regard.

Volume and cellphone calls are managed solely from the best bud—the previous by swipes, the latter by an extended press or faucets. For calls, you have to use the best bud at minimal, as that’s the place the mic is. (For music, you should use both left or proper in single-bud mode.) When you’re taking off the buds, they go into Standby mode after 20 minutes.

App

Installing the Bose Music companion app is optionally available, however you want it to get essentially the most out of the QuietConsolation Earbuds. I just like the interface—the most-often used settings are proper on the primary display, however Bose neatly added them within the full settings interface, too. You don’t have to go out and in of menus to entry every part. And whereas the controls are simplified, they’re engaging and polished, straightforward to navigate, and by no means make tuning the buds really feel like a chore.

Final ideas

For noise canceling, the Bose QuietConsolation Earbuds needs to be one of many first set of earbuds you have a look at. (The different is the Jabra 85t, which has almost the identical degree of ANC and in addition prices much less.) They make journey a lot much less annoying, and even for these glued to a chair in a work-from-home setup, they work for blocking out noisy housemates or neighbors. For strolls across the neighborhood, they don’t pack down as nicely, however if you happen to can stay with that sacrifice, you’ll get pleasure from glorious efficiency for audio and noise canceling.