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I ditched Bose and went to Sony for my headphones

October 11, 2022 — Nico Cartron

A quick one as I didn't see the problem I encountered with Bose detailed enough in the reviews.


(I'm not including any picture in that article - there are plenty available online, so this would not add any value).

Bose and me

I've been a Bose enthusiastic user for the past 15 years, using their noise cancelling headphones:

  • I started with the QuietComfort 3, thanks to my friend Piour, and this really changed the way I travelled (train/plane) as the noise cancelling technology it had was amazing.
  • I then switched to the QC25 when my QC3 died, but even though it was at least as good as the QC3, I didn't enjoy it that much, as it was a lot bulkier and less comfortable to wear, and also was massive to carry around in a backpack.
  • I went to the QC20, which are in-canal earphones - a lot easier to carry when travelling, and in my opinion a lot more comfortable.
  • When I started running in 2015, I looked for nice Bluetooth headphones, and fortunately after 1 year, Bose released the Soundsport Wireless, which I've been using since then (although I'm on my 2nd pair, as the first one didn't like me watching them a bit too much).

Using Headphones for videoconferences

With the COVID pandemic, as a lot of folks I've been on video/audio conferences a lot more than before, so I was looking for a headset a bit more comfortable than what I had before (I was either using my laptop's microphone/speaker, or some wired headset).

One day, I tried using my Bose Soundsport Wireless, thinking it would not be great, but it turned out it was perfect, both for me and the people listening, and also the battery life was great (at least 4h), so I stuck to it.

Changing

After 3 years using those Soundsport headphones, both for video/audio conferences, but also for running, some signs of "I'll soon die" appeared, so I looked at a replacement.

Which model?

In 2020, Bose released a new model of wireless earbuds with noise cancelling: the QuietComfort Earbuds.
I saw them back then, but they were really super bulky, so I didn't even consider them.

But just when I was looking for a replacement to my Soundsport, Bose released the 2nd iteration of the QuietComfort Earbuds (surprisingly named QuietComfort Earbuds II), which were a lot less bulky, so I order them without a blink.

Excitement then deception

When I received them, I tested them with some music and they were really great, and of course the noise cancelling was fantastic.

So when I hoped on my very first call, I had absolutely no doubt that the sound would be at least a bit better than before.
But what a deception! During the first calls I had with them, my colleagues/clients kept telling me that I was fading out regularly, and they could hear maybe 50% of what I was saying.
I then switched back to my Soundsport, which were still working great.

I made some tests on my own, recording myself, and indeed I had the same issue.

I quickly understood what was going on: see, my home office has quite a high ceiling (about 5 meters high), with a bit of resounding; with their advanced technology, the Earbuds II were simply trying to "mute" myself when my voice was "echoing" in my office, therefore killing my voice.

Nothing I can do about (hey, I'm not gonna relocate to a new office just for those Earbuds ;), so I sent them back.

Sony it will be

I then ordered my 2nd option, i.e. the Sony WF-1000XM4, the replacement of the WF-1000XM3 best seller.
When I looked at headsets 2 years ago, the XM3 were at the 1st place, as I really liked the idea of being able to replace the battery, and not having to trash them and buy a new one when the battery dies / does not have enough life anymore.
With the XM4, Sony has changed the battery type, and it seems replacing them is a bit harder, but it looks doable.

So how do these XM4 work, compared with the Bose QC Earbuds II?
Well, as they're supposed to, i.e.: NO ISSUE AT ALL :-)

The noise cancelling is astonishing, and when on a conference call, the audio is crisp.
What's more, the battery life is fantastic: 8 hours with noise cancelling, and a lot more without it.
Plus, the charging case allows charging 2 times, so you basically have 24 hours with you when travelling.

The XM4 is meant for exercise as well - I haven't tried them yet while running, and I doubt that I'll do it, since my Soundsport still work great for that, and I don't want to use noise cancelling when running, for obvious reasons :)

Wrap Up

Really happy with the Sony WF-1000XMXM4 (jeez, why does Sony have to come up with some super weird product names everytime!), but a bit sad that the QC Earbuds II didn't work out for me.


Tags: Misc


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