Hi, I am thinking of getting a pair of ANC headphones to study with and during bus trips. I was wondering how do the bose and sony’s sound? Are they good ? Looking to get a used pair btw.
For reference, I have a pair of HD58X, HE4XX, and M50Xbt which are my current bluetooth headphones. I dislike the m50xbt sound because the mids for me are too distant/weak sounding.
Any input is appreciated. Thanks !!
The XM3’s out-of-box signature is a bit dark. They’re bassy and tuned for long, non-fatiguing listeniing sessions. If you don’t like the 4XX mids, you probably won’t like the XM3 mids either, again out-of-the-box. The included app allows quite a bit of customization/equalization. It’s possible you’ll get a sound signature out of them you like. I find them to not be as detailed as other $350 headphones, but that’s because the ANC, BT, touch controls, etc. also go into that $350 price tag, not just sound. I’ve not heard the QC35, although the majority of audiophile-oriented reviews I’ve read/watched comparing them usually give the Sony an edge on sound quality and overall feature set.
They sound decent. But kind of the best you can get with ANC. You can eq them to your liking, they already are doing some degree of DSP.
Would you be okay with IEMs? They isolate really well. I certainly can’t hear anything when I’m playing music even with my cheap 40 dollar pair of BL-03.
‘IEMs’ are in-ears.
Or you can get refurbished Sony 1000xm3 for 200 USD on Amazon. They sound good and have nice ANC.
I kinda like the HE4XX mids, the m50x’s I dislike. Are the Sony’s detailed?
I don’t think they would be that detailed. If you want detail IEMs are the way to go.
Bose are bass boosted and not very detailed and highs are rolled off and lacking… I have the m1 sonys but it’s been awhile… I went with the qc35s because they’re lighter and for me the comfort overall was better
They sound pretty good. They have decent detail, just not $350 wired headphone levels of detail. I only notice their relative lack of detail when I first put them on. After a minute or so I just enjoy the music. They are nice headphones and an easy recommendation for OTG use.
I have the QC35II as well and I can tell you that is a pleasant headphone, very comfortable and the DSP makes all songs sound nice. Not audiophile, not detailed, but nice…
The Bluetooth ANC headphones were really geared towards the non-audiophile market. Sound was meant to be inoffensive and pretty pleasing to general listeners, while comfort was really emphasized so people would really be able to use them for long plane rides - the Bose was even named quiet ‘comfort’.
I think between the two, people usually give the edge to Bose for comfort out of the box and I tend to agree, but since I swapped the pads out of my Sony’s for dekonis and I’d say comfort is equal now.
Sound wise the Sony’s are definitely the darker pair, but can be easily eq’ed. Generally everything else is pretty similar I’d say, but that’s going off having Sony’s and home and listening to the Bose outside at stores etc (no real ab testing)
I have the T2’s, but I prefer wireless for when I am on campus. Doesn’t help that my phone’s Usb-C port is loose.
Thats good, I guess it does its job well as a portable pair.
Boss QC25 is often around $70-$100 on Ebay… best way to go for ANC headphones… IMO
I had a pair of the first generation 1000X’s and liked them. ANC was terrific even on the first generation. However, after about two and a half years battery life fell off a cliff and the price to replace the battery was a bit high so I bought a pair of Etymotic ER4 SR IEMs instead. The fit is not for everyone but noise isolation is outstanding and better than ANC for shutting out conversations, crying babies etc. Sound quality is superb too, accurate and neutral and very well done.
If you want ANC check out the Panasonic 605, it flies below most radars but there are some great offers on it and the ANC is almost as good as Sony and Bose. A colleague has it and it is pretty much as good as the QC35 or 1000XM3 but he paid £100 less.
The other option to consider is to go for the lower cost alternatives like Taotronics. If you want noise cancelling headphones for the purposes of flying, commuting etc then the main attraction is the ANC. If you are flying for example the benefits of ANC far outweight the SQ compromises of most ANC headphones. And now some of the cheaper models from brands such as Taotronics have very good ANC and in some cases have better features such as USB-C charging and really long battery life.
I work in a role where I fly a lot and have a lot of colleagues and friends who fly a lot. At one time everyone I knew bought Bose or Sony ANC headphones as they were considered the best. Now I see more and more Taotronics, MPOW(?) as many people seem to find the ANC more than good enough, sound is good enough and the lower cost means its not quite as bad if they get damaged from rough handling, get lost on travels etc (it happens).
I still prefer my Etymotics though.
Does anyone know if the noise cancelling issue in the qc35’s were fixed? Thanks!
How do u get the seal so good that you can isolate sounds well? I never had that good isolation with my T2’s.
Different tips may fit better for your ears than others. That’s why there are so many tips you can try. I would see if you can find a mixed size package from some brand like Dekoni or Comply.
Am i missing something on the Sony’s? I’ve listened to them about 15x at Best Buy and while the noise cancelling is amazing, the sound is horrible. Very dark and muddy no real detail in the music. I’ve played around with the app and can’t get much better out of them. I have a pair of Klipsch Reference over ears that i bought a few years ago and they blow the these Sony’s out of the water and i don’t even think they are all that great.