QuietComfort 45 Wireless Bluetooth Noise Cancelling Headphones, Over-Ear Headphones with Microphone, Personalized Noise Cancellation and Sound, White Smoke

I realize the QC45s have some slight shortcomings in certain areas but their strengths are why I chose them. I have watched so many reviews on the top N/C headphones it irritates my wife, but here is what you can learn from my OCD (hopefully). First the competition and why I didn't select these. Airpod Max - Cost, weight and the stupid, stupid, stupid case. Sony XM4/XM5 - Bulky and didn't want gesture controls (just my preference). Bose NC700 - Didn't like the style and band adjustment, didn't fold up small enough and gesture control. There are other headphones in the consumer space but these are the big players and my top 3 reasons for picking QC45s were, 1. Space, these fold up into a small case, big, big plus. My main use will be for travel and I wanted the smallest footprint for my carryon. 2. Noise cancelling, I tried and compared these to Sony and the NC700 at an electronic shop in an airport and I thought these were the best. This was before the XM5s, from reviews they might have a slight advantage but not significant. 3. Comfort, all the reviews said the weight, clamping force, cabin pressure, cavity size and breathability were the best of any of the N/C top picks. Smart move by Bose to have another iteration of the QC35s, the comfort is unrivaled. I will use these mostly for travel, I had QC15s I bought for a wedding anniversary for my wife and I when we were flying for a cruise. They served us well, even bought a Bluetooth adapter for them, still working great and gave them to a family couple. That was 10 years ago, so another anniversary seemed like a reasonable purchase. The other players have features that surpass the QC45s, better sound, more bass, more adjustments but none of these were that important to me. For me comfort was very high on the list and I just like physical buttons and the sound is very good so no complaints there. Update Comfort - After almost 1 month I can confirm the comfort of these headphones. My wife's sleep schedule is different than mine so I have been using these connected to our Apple TV while she is sleeping. 2 or more hours with no fatigue, pain or any discomfort at all. As I stated in my original review, comfort was probably my top priority and I am so happy with them. Noise Cancelling - I give the noise cancelling 5 out of 5, absolutely amazing and no hissing or cabin pressure. Adjustable NC just isn't that important to me, I just want it on or off. In this case it would be ambient, it would be nice to have the option to just turn NC off. Hoping a firmware will be coming to give that option but not a big deal. Sound - EQ'd the sound in the app and I am very happy with how they sound. I'm not a bass junkie or a audiophile but I like upper scale speakers (2 Sonos 5s in my living room for example) and these headphones do not disappoint. Battery - I haven't measured the actual time but the claimed 24 hours seems pretty close and that is more than adequate. 2nd Update My adult daughter flew home for Christmas and she had replaced her Bose QC 25s that had stopped working with the Sony XM4s. So I got to spend some time with the XM4s, played with the app, listened to music, tried the noise cancelling and wore them for a while to test the comfort. I was very impressed, not surprising given the reputation of the XM4s but my personal opinion is the sound was very comparable to my Bose QC45s. I didn’t A/B switch the headphones but I have been listening to the QC45s for a couple of months now so that gave a good reference point. Noise cancelling of the XM4s was excellent, I still think the Bose have the edge but only a very slight advantage, it was cool to have the ability to turn off NC and get better battery life and still wish the Bose had this feature (still holding out hope a firmware will come to give this) but it isn’t a big disappointment for me. The comfort was again excellent, the ear cushions were super supple and gave a great seal. The Sony app had a lot more options than the Bose, if your an app nerd you could geek out on it, if your not it could seem complicated, for me I wouldn’t spend time in it so it’s not a significant advantage but that’s me. As I said in my original review adjustable NC isn’t something I would use so that feature isn’t for me but the Sony’s have it if you would like it. Summary of the XM4s from my perspective is they are comparable to the Bose in many ways, comfort, sound, noise cancelling, case size and better in some aspects like the app and the ability to turn NC off. It comes down to personal preferences and I like physical buttons but wow if you like the features of the Sony they are a top of the line headphones and you would love them. I still would choose the Bose but it was fun playing with the Sony XM4s. 3rd Update There were some references to wind noise with the QC45s in comments and reviews because the 45s don't have the ability to turn off NC (if I remember correctly). I was letting the dog out the other day and had my QC45s on and there was a mild wind. Yes you do get wind noise, so if you are going to use headphones outside consider this. I don't see this being an issue for me, guess only when I let the dog out, yeah first world problem. I keep mentioning the firmware update that could fix this (and added battery when not needed) with some hopes that a Bose rep will take notice (might have a better chance of winning the lottery) but for now this is a narrow circumstantial issue. For me it's the comfort that trumps the advantages that the competition has over the QC45s.

I finally bit the bullet and decided to buy these after reading the reviews. I was desperate for a pair of noise cancelling headphones when I was trying to finish my college thesis in a house with 6 rowdy roommates. These were a lifesaver. I finally was able to focus. Additionally. It helped me not feel as overstimulated when I went to somewhere like the grocery store, or dulling traffic noises when I went on a walk. I would always be so surprised when I took the headphones off at how loud the ambient noise around me was, even though I didn’t pay any mind to it before. It’s not perfect, for example when riding the bus it would dull out most of the engine noises, but when we hit a bump I would hear some popping noises as it would be quite Loud and very close. Still much better than without the headphones. It was also really important to me to have comfort, since I have multiple ear piercings and the beats headphones I tried earlier would press into them which would be pretty painful. Even if I found a good position for it, it would still hurt my head after a few hours. With these, I don’t have that problem! They fit completely over my ears, so I never have to worry about my piercings, and the cushioning is very soft so I’ve worn these bad boys for hours and hours and never felt any discomfort! Unfortunately I lost my pair at a bar a few months ago, and I was bummed because they were great headphones, but so expensive. I finally decided to repurchase them after catching a flash sale because I do truly think these are worth the money. I’m not an audiophile, but i do really love the sound quality as well. I hear new things in songs I’ve always loved by listening to them with these. The cons of this product are the following: 1. I wish these headphones worked with the Findmy feature or at least had some other way of tracking their location when lost. I know other Bose products do, and I think that for $300+, it’s not unreasonable to ask for a locating feature so I don’t lose these (again). Especially since these headphones already have their own app. The other con is that these headphones are not water resistant. I don’t think it’s a huge deal breaker for me as I don’t plan on wearing them swimming, but sometimes I worry about walking in a light drizzle with them on. Nothing has actually happened so far when I have done this, (usually I can just put my hood up or something) but the booklet it comes with specifies that any water is something to avoid, so it does loom in the back of my mind. All In all though.

I was looking to buy QC headphones for a long time. Finally took courage to try my hands on QC45 and XM5. Both had offers running and XM5 had more discount over QC45. I went to near by croma store to compare both units. Noise cancellation: Croma had a very big closed indoor space with many people around during festival time, lots of devices playing in the background. Good environment to check the noise cancellation. I liked QC45 among the two. Off/On the NC we can clearly make out the difference. Comfort: Easy, relaxed, no irritation on ears, cups sat nicely over my ears with QC45. Cups are made of synthetic though it didn't make a diff for me. XM5 are big pushy on the ears and my ears touched the inside sound drivers literally. Ergonomics: You can't go wrong the QC45 cup controls. Works 100% everytime. Thanks to the old gen physical buttons. Otherside xm5 needs time to get used to touch controls. Need trial and error attempts before you master the controls. Sound: QC45 audio quality sounds realistic. XM5 comes with more punch and amplified base which I felt heavy on my ears. App: Bose app is simple and clear. No nonsense. First time Setup till playback is all guided via app. I have another Sony model XB910N and had experience using their app. They provide 360 audio which is not practical enough. You need to buy those special tracks from other listed apps to experience 360 audio. Sony plays their features to create stickiness for customers. Wat you see on their products is not always yours. You need to keep spending money. Color and looks: It's always subjective. QC45 smoke white color is a gold standard. Vintage piece to own. Marketing strategy: Sony and Bose are quite opposite in marketing strategy. Sony tends to attract young audiences by sharing the tech used in their products like " 8 array mic setup to get optimal noise cancellation experience". Even Bose does the same but they won't advertise their intellectual property information in public for any of their products. That differentiates how well the products reach to new age audience. You will rarely find discounts for Bose products. Sony sales in the last couple of years is heavily into discounts and festive offers. Alternatives: Bose 700 has all the bells and whistles to compete with XM5 for an extra money. But QC45 is classic. End of the day we are buying these headphones for the Audio experience and not for complex smart features on it. I suggest to try the models you like before making purchase decision. Don't go by discounts and brand names. I also followed the reviews on www.rtings.com before making this choice. Thanks for reading through my purchase experience. Happy shopping and enjoy 🙂👍

i checked plenty of youtube videos comparing this one vs sony M4-M5 Voice leakage is the worst ! like its on a loud speaker. beat quality is same like airpods. Not worth the price or the hype. Switching to Sony

Tem um som maravilhoso e qualidade excepcional.

I bought these based on a fair amount of research and because of the recommendation of a friend who also let me try them out. I need active noise cancellation (ANC) to deal with city noises heard indoors when I want to concentrate, and also to share space quietly with others. I also use over-ear phones outside in winter for my energetic-walking music while keeping my ears warm when it's very cold, which earbuds can't do. I find these very comfortable for hours of use, and really effective for ANC. For public transit and walking where I need to be conscious of surroundings for safety purposes, the "aware" function does let in a lot of environmental sound but still keeps the music clear. There are more controls than I probably will regularly use but the basic ones are not too hard to learn and I really like that they are buttons {instead of touch-sensitive, like most earbuds, which are often annoyingly triggered when I wear a hat or hood that rubs on them). I don't need crazy long battery life (it is already pretty good) so these are consistent with my uses. The slim profile can easily be worn under a hood in winter or when it's raining and I really like the look compared to my bulky old phones. The grey colour is also a good neutral option as it looks good on me and helps distinguish my phones from everyone else's black ones. The case is strong and well-made, which is important for travel.

The leather and plastic are of good quality and, together with the noise canceling feature, provide real comfort. You can download the app and adjust the settings, it's so easy. With the EQ settings you can fine-tune the music you listen to. It's ideal to work in a noisy environment and see all the details of the music. I highly recommend it.