Deciding between Sony and Bose wireless Bluetooth headphones

[mvd]

With Amazon’s sales and monthly plans, I can finally afford a higher end pair. Specifically I am looking at:

The Bose QCII headphones

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0756GB78C/?coliid=I1MSNGL477OGVD&colid=1XB4Y4WTSPW6X&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1

Versus the Sony XM3 headphones

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G4MNFS1/?coliid=I225UW1L17X6T1&colid=1XB4Y4WTSPW6X&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Does anyone have experience with these? I would like to decide by tomorrow. Sound quality is most important, with comfort second and noise cancellation and others last. Thanks

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. Oh crap...

you've gone and opened "THAT" box.

Just kidding, sort of. IMO stay away from anything Bose. They spend all their money on marketing.

[mvd]

3. Lol

There’s no right or wrong but I have no experience with these and am a bit lost.

[RandySF]

2. I love my Sony.

[wcast]

4. I have the Bose.

It’s a great deal and the noise canceling is good. I would choose these over Sony based on price alone.

[mvd]

7. Thanks

I am leaning towards the Bose because of price but reviews I have seen say the Sony sound is slightly better.

[jrandom421]

5. I vote for neither of them

If you care about sound quality, I would choose the Audio Technica ATH-ANC900 BT. They are smooth, accurate, and detailed.

The Sonys have too much emphasis on the bass and high end. They sound unbalanced to me

Likewise, the Bose not only have a big dip in the mid range that make vocals sound distant, the placement and clarity of the sound is smeared all over, to where you can't really tell where certain vocals and instruments are placed.


Just my opinion as an audiophile and classical enthusiast for more than 5 decades.

[mvd]

8. I'm a big music person but not really an audiophile

My current Tribit headphones are very good for the price but I feel either the Sony or Bose would sound better.

Thanks for the mention. They also have a monthly plan.

[Ferrets are Cool]

6. This Youtube channel is very good with their reviews. I trust them.

[mvd]

9. Thanks

[RainCaster]

10. I gave my wife the Sony headphones last Christmas

She really likes them. I am very very impressed with them, and I gladly borrow them when I'm mowing the lawn. The noise canceling is very effective, and the sound quality is excellent.
My normal headphones are actually earbuds from Etymotic. They block out ambient sounds in a very different way, and while they are quite accurate, they don't have the bass response of the Sony headphones.

[mvd]

11. Thanks

The bass on the Sony isn’t TOO strong, is it? I like bass but not to the detriment of everything else.

[RainCaster]

16. Oh no, I find it very balanced

The imaging is much better than the Etymotics, too. The noise canceling feature blocks out lower frequency noise very well, so the bass in the music can shine through. We have an unmuffled diesel tractor that is very comfortable with the Sony headphones.

[mr_lebowski]

12. Bose is almost universally looked down upon by audiophiles as overpriced for their sound quality ...

And a number of Sony headphone models are basically legendary tools of studio pros, such as the MDR-7506.

And considering that WhatHiFi has those Sony's in your link as their #1 choice ...

https://www.whathifi.com/us/best-buys/best-wireless-headphones-2020

I'd be inclined to go that route ...

[mvd]

14. Thanks

Appreciate the thoughts. If I do go with the Sony, the price isn’t much higher due to the $50 off at checkout.

[mr_lebowski]

21. If you can afford to spring for both, just get 'em from somewhere you can return one set ...

Then you can swap back/forth ... it's critical when judging sound to A/B them in rapid succession.

Headphones are cheap to ship cause they're small and light.

[mvd]

22. Too poor to afford both

Also don’t want to try them in a store during COVID.

That’s why I am reading a lot of reviews and getting opinions.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. I have the Bose headphones and love them.

They have worked perfectly, and I think the sound is excellent, though I know that's a somewhat subjective thing (I only listen to classical music). Also, they are light and comfortable; I can wear them pretty much indefinitely without feeling that they are too heavy or pinching. They can go quite a long time on one battery charge. A strong recommendation from me!

[mvd]

15. Thanks Velveteen

It is good to get away from politics with something. I used to post more in the lounge but got caught up in politics.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. You probably wouldn't go wrong with either.

What sounds "good" is pretty subjective after a certain point; some people like a lot of bass, for example; while some find it annoying. It's also going to depend on what kind of music you listen to, and of course there's a lot of difference in sound quality that depends more on the recording or the source than on the headset. And whether it's comfortable turns out to be a bigger deal than I would have thought. So try both out, if you can, to compare them for yourself.

[mvd]

20. I listen to many kinds

Not much hip hop or heavy metal or pure techno. I think balance would be good because I can go from pop to classic rock to country to modern rock to singer songwriter music.

Thanks again.

[catbyte]

17. I love my Bose. I've had have a pair of QC II for about a year and I love them.

I use them for about 12 hours/day with my TV and computer. I've taken them on trips to Arizona and Maui. They blocked out most of the jet noise. However, I wanted a pair to really block out noise so I recently bought a pair of Bose Noise Canceling 700 Bluetooth headphones. I love them, too. I can wear both for hours and my ears never get tired or sore. They were really worth the money to me.

[calikid]

19. I don't have any knowledge of your Bose pick,

but i do have the previous model. I use them much of the time in very high noise environment. I feel they are very good in the noise canceling environment, I understand that is not of much concern to you. Despite random421's thoughts on the Bose, which I tend to agree with, I've been amazed at the vocals, (realizing the words of songs I've listened to MANY times were different). So, to make a short story long, I love my Bose, especially at that price!

[nclib]

23. It looks like Costco has the Sony XM3 for 229.99 right now.

They are $70 off until November 30th.

[jmowreader]

24. Sennheiser. Don't screw around.

https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-450BT-Bluetooth-Cancellation/dp/B083W7V3RG/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=sennheiser+hd+450bt&qid=1606283976&s=electronics&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExQlBVVVVVVkFUVTRKJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODU4Mzk2MjJaTVhXUVNSQk9VViZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTk2MzcwM0xNR0xMUVNYSFE5WiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

The Sennheisers I have don't have noise cancellation, but it appears to be standard across the line now.

[hlthe2b]

25. I've used nothing but Bose for years. And while I've tried those of friends from other brands...

I continue to be faithful to Bose. I'm old school though and still prefer the wired variety (now with an adaptor for iphone's lightening port). Really because of charging and battery life issues, but I do think their Bluetooth QCII are quite good.

[Zorro]

26. I've had the Sony XM1 version for a couple of years now

I use them primarily on flights for their noise cancellation ability, which is very good. They also have proximity sensors that allow you to place your hand over the cup to temporarily disable noise cancellation so that you can hear pilot announcements or what the steward/stewardess is saying.

They sound pretty good to me, too.