[Soundizer]

Yeah I agree, the 35 sounds better. RTINGS backs that up with measurements. The 700 is a feature winner since I’m always on the phone.

According to Bose, there will be an update with eq added to the app. Once that arrives, I plan to pull back the treble by 1-2db & see where that lands. Maybe add 1-3db on the bass side.

I am also on the phone allot and hence Bose 700 is the best, but not as good as Apple Airpod 2 for voice quality.

 

[Bhelpoori]

I am on WebEx and other conference calls
many hours per day, taking the calls inside and outside. I have my own torture tests for microphones and have tested/bought many, many Bluetooth headphones. I have found no other Bluetooth headphones that has the ability to block out background microphone noise as well as the 700s. It is pretty good when you speak, picking up your voice well as long as you speak normally rather than softly, but just doesn’t work well if you whisper...and does pick up limited background noise when you speak. In my opinion, the 700 is significantly better than the AirPods 1 and the new Powerbeats Pro at blocking out background noise reaching the microphone on a conference call when it is e.g. windy or in large open plan offices. I have not tried the AirPods 2 to know how good they are though...

In addition, the 700 has a mute button which is invaluable plus volume controls, and some significant conference call bugs....which are seriously irritating.

 

[buzzlulu]

Has anyone had the chance to compare the new Bose to the B&O H9i? I’m curious from a perspective of strictly sound quality - as I am sure the noise canceling abilities of the Bose easily exceed those of the B&O.

 

[Soundizer]

Was there an announcement that Bose will add Equalisation functionality to the Bose Music App for these Bose 700?

 

[AlwaysForward]

Was there an announcement that Bose will add Equalisation functionality to the Bose Music App for these Bose 700?

Yes but no indication on when.

 

[Soundizer]

Yes but no indication on when.

Thank you. Do you know where and when this was?

 

[AlwaysForward]

Thank you. Do you know where and when this was?

Yeah, seems like a lot of people missed this:

https://www.bose.com/en_us/better_with_bose/new-headphones.html

 

[Soundizer]

Yeah, seems like a lot of people missed this:

https://www.bose.com/en_us/better_with_bose/new-headphones.html

Thank you.

 

[xenoVa]

I bought this. ANC is great but sound quality is disappointing, it is not bad of course but I was expecting something better. I definelty don't expect audiophile sound quality from an ANC headphone, but sound could be better compared to other Bluetooth headphones.
This is Bose's 2019 flagship and it costs $400 so I was hoping significant devolopments in terms of sound. And it still only supports lame codecs SBC and AAC while advanced codes like aptx HD and LDAC sound much better. (How do I know? I have Sony XM3 which supports all codecs, I can adjust the playback codec from developer options and LDAC sound way better than AAC)

 

[Soundizer]

I bought this. ANC is great but sound quality is disappointing, it is not bad of course but I was expecting something better. I definelty don't expect audiophile sound quality from an ANC headphone, but sound could be better compared to other Bluetooth headphones.
This is Bose's 2019 flagship and it costs $400 so I was hoping significant devolopments in terms of sound. And it still only supports lame codecs SBC and AAC while advanced codes like aptx HD and LDAC sound much better. (How do I know? I have Sony XM3 which supports all codecs, I can adjust the playback codec from developer options and LDAC sound way better than AAC)

Yes agree. If you have a current Android mobile it will support LDAC and possibly AptxHD, so better off with the Sony WH1000XM3.
However only for iPhones which do AAC should the Bose be considered. I think it sounds better than my Sony WH1000XM3 via iPhone only.

The Bose AAC is not just off the shelf as there is some good Bose processing on top. I was told this by Bose RND Engineering when I was doing some work for them.

 

[Soundizer]

Other thing to realise is Android devices use simple off the shelf AAC, probably just a cheap license. The Apple iOS AAC is far superior.

Anyway Android phone even with rubbish AAC, will sound better than iPhone if using LDAC or APTX HD on Sony WH1000XM3.

The mystery for iPhone is how does the new Apple H1 chip perform and currently only available on Beats Pro/Air Pods.

When that H1 chip is available on good over ear headphones then a comparison can be done vs Android supported APTX HD/LDAC.

 

[matteventu]

Sound quality is better on Bose with iPhone/iPad compared to Sony with iPhone/iPad.

BOSE AAC codec is not simply off the shelf like Sony and others. It is superior with advanced processing added by MIT University Engineering.

The Bose AAC is not just off the shelf as there is some good Bose processing on top. I was told this by Bose RND Engineering when I was doing some work for them.

Other thing to realise is Android devices use simple off the shelf AAC, probably just a cheap license. The Apple iOS AAC is far superior.

Trust me, I don't want to disappoint you, but the "Bose engineer" just told you a bunch of b***s***.
No such "special AAC" exists on the Bose 700, nor a "cheap AAC licence" is a thing.
Yes, Android devices do use a different encoder than Apple ones. No, it's not a matter of "cheaper licence".

And yes, the AAC decoder in the Bose is "off the shelf" like the one of any other AAC headphones.
Then of course this doesn't mean that Bose can't have done some optimisation in terms of DSP, high-end DAC, or any other kind of software/hardware tuning to make the headphones sound better. But that's not related to AAC.
And anyway literally every manufacturer claims to do it (see for instance Sony's "DSEE HX").

And still, nothing to do with the MIT made specially for Bose.

I bought this. ANC is great but sound quality is disappointing, it is not bad of course but I was expecting something better. I definelty don't expect audiophile sound quality from an ANC headphone, but sound could be better compared to other Bluetooth headphones.
This is Bose's 2019 flagship and it costs $400 so I was hoping significant devolopments in terms of sound. And it still only supports lame codecs SBC and AAC while advanced codes like aptx HD and LDAC sound much better. (How do I know? I have Sony XM3 which supports all codecs, I can adjust the playback codec from developer options and LDAC sound way better than AAC)

BTW, the manufacturers have the ability to tune the headphones DSP in different profiles based on the codec used.
This means that LDAC may sound better just because Sony (of course) wants their own codec to sound better.
With this I'm not saying that AAC sounds better than LDAC, mind you.
I'm just saying that the difference you hear may not be based *just* on the higher bitrate allowed by LDAC.

 

[xenoVa]

Trust me, I don't want to disappoint you, but the "Bose engineer" just told you a bunch of b***s***.
No such "special AAC" exists on the Bose 700, nor a "cheap AAC licence" is a thing.
Yes, Android devices do use a different encoder than Apple ones. No, it's not a matter of "cheaper licence".

And yes, the AAC decoder in the Bose is "off the shelf" like the one of any other AAC headphones.
Then of course this doesn't mean that Bose can't have done some optimisation in terms of DSP, high-end DAC, or any other kind of software/hardware tuning to make the headphones sound better. But that's not related to AAC.
And anyway literally every manufacturer claims to do it (see for instance Sony's "DSEE HX").

And still, nothing to do with the MIT made specially for Bose.




BTW, the manufacturers have the ability to tune the headphones DSP in different profiles based on the codec used.
This means that LDAC may sound better just because Sony (of course) wants their own codec to sound better.
With this I'm not saying that AAC sounds better than LDAC, mind you.
I'm just saying that the difference you hear may not be based *just* on the higher bitrate allowed by LDAC.

I tested my Bose with my iPhone and Galaxy both AAC, couldn't find any audible difference.

Anyway, Bose 700's sound quality is quite disappointing. Many other wireless headphones with and without ANC, even cheaper ones, sound better.
Bose 700's tonal balance is actually good, some emphasis on bass but it is fine. The real problem is the clarity, the sound is so muffled and congested in an unlistenable way. I will probably return my Bose.

 

[AlwaysForward]

I’ve had these since launch. I like em a lot.I’ve found that you can kinda tune how much clamp you have with the height but there’s still a seal when low/loose:

The best sound comes from a higher/tighter clamp. One that’s still comfortable. Play with it.
AND
Adjusting the volume on the headset itself.

The headphone adjuster has the Bose AutoEQ. Listen to the mid-highs testing against using your phone for volume. I learned about this in Tyll’s QC35 review and have found it true on the Soundsport Free & 700 since then.

 

[tmarshl]

I have been looking to upgrade from my Bose QC25s with BT adapter, so I went to a local dealer who sells both the Bose 700 and the Sony WH-1000XM3. I was able to A/B test them from the same source. My impression was that the Sony WH-1000XM3 had muddy and sloppy base when compared to the Bose 700. I could also have listened to the QC35 II in A/B/C, but didn't have enough time. My next bit of research will be to add the Bose QC35 Its to my comparison.

As I rarely use NC headphones to make calls and depend on them primarily for use in airplanes, I am not sure that the extra cost of the Bose NC 700s are justified by my use case. YMMV

I do not expect audiophile quality in a noise cancelling headphone, just excellent noise cancelling and reasonable audio quality. All of these headphones (Bose 700, Sony WH-1000XM3 and Bose QC35 II) will probably serve my purpose.