Design & Construction

Even before the 1000X Series exist, the Bose QuietComfort Series has been the one and only top choice for travellers alike. However, its legacy is far from finish with the latest rendition of the QC line. This time, Bose is simplifying the branding to just naming it the QuietComfort Headphones. Though the headphones haven't changed much, It is a tried and true option that we appreciate. The QuietComfort Headphones retains everything about the original design, a soft flexible metal headband with screwed down joints and a premium leather headband. The sleek yet premium metal arms extender click in steps and has enough resistance for the earcups not to shift the set length. Both earcups bear the printed Bose logo with the headphones having the same soft, thick and deep leather cushions which is meant for providing a comfortable experience, even for users who wear spectacles like myself. The depth of the earcups are significant; of which your ears will never touch any part of the inside fabric and I got to say, the leather fits snugly around the head with no clamping force. Onto the exterior of the headphones, it gives off this luxurious feel and subtle elegance with a matte-like finish, although made up of mostly plastic, to keep light-weight at 240g. Now, onto the most classic design of all time, the QuietComfort Headphones still stows flat and upwards into a much more compact form. The included hardshell carrying case is largely unchanged with a fabric inside compartment for cables to store our 1.2mm 2.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable for wired use and the USB-A to USB-C cable for charging with no airplane adapter included this time. Now back to the headphones. it is all good from here as we have all our familiar controls and buttons. On the left earcup, there is the 2.5mm input while under the right earcup, we have the USB-C port at the bottom while the power and bluetooth pairing switch is still on the right earcup itself. Playback controls are on the back of the right earcups where the multi-function button allows for play/pause with a single press, skips forward with a double press and skips backwards with a triple press while a long press will activate your voice assistant of Siri, Google or Alexa. Controlling the loudness can be done through the volume buttons. Meanwhile, on the back of the left earcup, there is a Action button that will cycle through 4 modes of ANC consisting of the defaults of Quiet for full ANC performance and Aware for transparency mode. The press and hold command can be customised to either hear the battery levels or activate Spotify Tap. In terms of call controls, a single press will answer/end call, a long press will decline the call. While in a call, double-pressing the Action button will mute the headphone. It takes about 2.5 hours to charge the headphones up from a dead battery. It is worth noting that the headphones have Quick Charge which only requires 15 minutes of charging for 4 hours of playback. 

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Sound Quality

Neutral, clean and soothing is how I would describe the sound of the QuietComfort Headphones. The bass never manages to distort at loud and maximum volumes and does not bleed into the mids when it is at a low volume level. The bass depth, however, doesn't rattle the headphones and seemingly loses thump above 80% volume. The highs sound bright and are filled with plenty of details, and the mids do sound extremely crisp. The soundstage isn't as wide as the mind-blowing AirPods Max's Spatial Audio but it is definitely on par with the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2e. The instrument separation is excellent, with distinct left and right channels being heard clearly. If you are not so much of a fan of the out-of-box sound signature, I am glad to report that the QC Headphones work perfectly with all other genres, ranging from Pop to Jaz,z after you fiddle with the customisable sound settings in the Bose App available for download from the App & Play Store. In the app, you are first greeted with the status of the headphones' battery and volume level. Moving downwards, we have a few tabs here, starting with the modes tab. It allows for the toggling of different noise-cancelling modes like Quiet, Aware, Outdoor, Home and more. Each has different levels of noise-cancelling and wind block. However, if wind block is enabled, the ANC setting will be fixed. Based on my testing and usage, I would rank the QuietComfort Headphones in 3rd place, behind the Sony WH-1000XM5 and the Apple AirPods Max. Its ANC is comparable to the WH-1000XM4 and much better than the Sonos Ace or the Bowers & Wilkins PX8. From the hum of the airplane cabin, traffic sirens and horns, strong winds, and even high-frequency screams or baby cryings, the QC Headphones block all of that with reduced cabin pressure. Next, there is the source tab where you can connect to your saved devices. With a multi-point Bluetooth connection, the Bose QuietComfort Headphones can connect up to 2 devices at once, and you may add or remove another device from the app. Next, we have the EQ tab that allows you to choose from presets or manually customise your own. There are presets like Bass Boost, Bass Reducer, Treble Boost, and Treble Reducer. Personally, I prefer to customise my own to a V-shaped sound signature. Now, you may also customise the press and hold settings for the shortcut button found on the left earcup in the app; there are two options: either to hear the battery life or activate Spotify Tap. There is the Tip tabs where you can learn about your headphones' controls should you forget how to use them. You will then see the current song playing and adjust the volume slider or skip songs in the player found at the bottom of the app. Lastly, in the settings, you can change your headphones' name, update the firmware, and set preferences like self-voice volume during calls, Auto-off timing from 5 minutes to never, and the language of voice prompts. Call quality is as top-notch as ever with its proven microphone array that isolates my voice against ambient noises. The caller on the other end feedback that the microphones do pick up little surrounding noises, but I do have to speak up when outdoors. Wind noise reduction was not too bad either, as hardly any wind noise could get through even if it was quite strong outdoors. However, when put against the AirPods Max's superior call quality, it sadly fails to beat the competition. 

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Connectivity & Portability

The Bose QuietComfort Headphones support the basic AAC and SBC codecs, together with Bluetooth Version 5.1. The battery life peaks at 24 hours per use with ANC, with a quick charge that allows you to get up to 4 hours of playback with a 15-minute charge. The headphones' connectivity to the app is perfect, as it can detect my headphones when they're already connected via Bluetooth all the time. If you try to watch videos or movies with these, they do not have any latency in audio transmission. 

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PROS

• Neutral Sound Signature

• Snug & Comfortable

• Lightweight

• Long Battery Life

• Physical Buttons For Music Play & Calls

• Strong Noise-Cancelling

• Great Call Quality

• Multi-device Connection

• Hardshell Carrying Case

• USB-C Fast Charging

• A Range of Colours

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CONS​​​

• Old Bluetooth 5.1

• No Airplane Adaptor

• No Dedicated 6-band Equaliser

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The Bottom Line

In all, the Bose QuietComfort Headphones is still the top choice when it comes to a no-frills option for noise-cancelling headphones. Lightweight design, strong noise-cancelling, neutral sound, long 24 hours battery life and a straightforward app interface are some of the features that helps it stay on top of the pack when it comes to recommending one of the best. It is highly recommended for daily commutes and long flights. Six colours of Black, White Smoke, Blue Dusk, Chilled Lilac, Sandstone, and Cypress Green are available to fit users of different genders and styles.