[Zoom25]

I finally got to try the Bose 700 out today at the Bose Store and the Sony XM3 at Best Buy, so two different (acoustical) areas. They were occasionally also playing subwoofers at the Bose Store. Tested with my 320 kbps offline tracks of Spotify Premium with iPhone 6+. I spent 20 minutes listening to both. Some impressions:

- The Bose 700 feels really solid. From pictures, I thought both would roughly be the same in feel with their metallic feel, but Bose felt premium and SOLID. The Sony felt more plasticky in how the hinges and ear cups felt when moved and interacted with. Sony has discrete clicks on the headband hinges so you know exactly how much you have to do on both sides to be equal. With Bose, you have to eye the rod displacement since it's fluid. OCDs will prefer the Sony.
- The plush Bose ear cups are deeper while the Sony's were shallower and I did touch the driver, but still no problem on either model.
- By the end of the listening session, the earpads on the Sony were definitely moist and I was just standing there. It was -5 outside today. I am not sure how these will be when it's 20+ degrees celsius outside in the summer and walking around. Bose didn't get sweaty.
- As far as active noise cancellation went, with both audio playing or not, I think the Sony was the winner. It got rid of nearby speech really well.
- With the active noise cancellation at 10 on the Bose, I did feel this pressure increase inside the headphone. Surprisingly, I didn't remember that from my QC 35 II audition in the past. The Sony's also didn't have that.

SQ:
- This is the main attribute for me (in addition to ANC). Better voice call and multi device support or EQ support are secondary things.
- I didn't have either Sony's or Bose apps installed so I assume no further EQ was being applied. All EQ was off in Spotify app and without any normalization.
- Sony's sounded more closed in, boxier, one note type bass whereas Bose had better instrument separation, better clarity and the bass was decent. From all the reviews I read, I thought the Bose would be bass light, but that wasn't the case. The bass level wasn't to the level of Sony's. The Sony's somewhat reminded me of the classic Beats.
- HOWEVER, I felt there was something off with the vocals on the Bose with the hole in the upper region. It felt consistently noticeable with various female voices. With my QC 35 II audition in the past, nothing stood out and it was alright sonically. A sonically "meh" audition is actually a good thing as far as the SQ bar on ANC headphones are concerned. With the 700's, that voicing response just stuck out.
- The Sony's felt low-fi in comparison, but somehow less fatiguing due to the smooth voicing of the vocals and top end. I don't know if the bass overtime will become problematic on the Sony. The Sony's also had better noise cancellation.
- I may have to revisit the Bose again. Aside from that gap in the upper region of the vocals which can make it sound off and artificial, it's a solid headphone. I don't care if a headphone sounds away neutral or artificial, provided it doesn't get fatiguing sonically. I'm wondering whether that happens quicker on the Sony or Bose or which I can EQ easier.
- Recap: Sony's sounded more lofi and boxy (through my old iPhone and AAC?) but smoother in the mids and treble. Let's see if the bass becomes a problem. Bose is more clear from top to bottom and open sounding, but the vocal voicing might get fatiguing in the long run. There is something in particular that just sticks out with the Bose since it's otherwise well balanced.

I am not fully satisfied with either headphone and their asking price, but will have to decide on one with the upcoming deals. Still haven't fully made my mind as there are things that I like and dislike about both. I feel confident with my listening session and what I got out of it from the Sony session. The Bose audition I'm still having second doubts about. I know the faults of the Sony's and I think I can live with them sonically. With the Bose, part of me is thinking to see if I still feel that way about the voicing a second time.

 

[Zoom25]

Okay, today I went for another audition with a fresh mind and head and tried out both the XM3 and 700 side by side.

The sound on the XM3 didn't seem that low-end like that day. It was fine. The comfort, which I originally said was fine on the 700, seems to be not holding up as much. It took me awhile but I figured out what had changed. The other day I had my head down looking at the phone a lot more while listening and trying to get apps installed and seeing the screen to see responsiveness and going through song. Today I already had everything setup so my neck in was in a more neutral position and looking up/forward. The pressure at the top of the head with the thin headband rod was more apparent today. I originally made the side rods long enough to fit my ahead and then slowly tightened them up. The sound does change a bit with a better fit, but the comfort is still lacking with the pressure up top.

I ended up getting the Sony's. At $350 CAD they are the more digestible option for my usage.

Another odd thing: I hope Bose does a better job at providing a longer USB C cable. The one that came with Sony is a few inches long and almost unusable. With this price point, it's insulting to have such a short cable. I'm going to have to order a longer USB C cable ASAP.

 

[Xstyle]

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.

The EQ will be a welcome addition! When is this likely?

 

[Xstyle]

I went to John Lewis department store in busy Oxford St, London.
I demo'd the three headsets on the store's demo music, couldn't do the 4th, the Bowers Wilkin PX7 as it was not plugged in for music!

BOSE NC-700
SONY XM3
BOSE QC35ii

1) I would put them in that order, however I must admit I really did like the comfort of the Sony XM3! The sound with the extra bass over the two Bose unit's was impressive.
2) Bose QC35ii I found got muddled with base at higher volume and felt like it was almost distorting and sounded muddy.
3) Sony XM3 I felt sounded muffled or is the word "thick", when set to NC 10 / maximum. Like the soundstage was vastly reduced, and it was very apparent to my ears.
4) Sony XM3 when on ambient mode, wow, I could really hear the plates from the cafe at the back of the store, with the sound seeming amplified, but the closer people and chat dumbed down a little. Ambient was just that.
5) Bose NC-700 at first felt uncomfortable at the top of my head, which is not a flat-head, but after 10 mins or so it was not noticeable, or subsequent times that I put the headset on.
6) Bose QC35ii was very comfortable, but I felt they were too light!
7) Bose NC-700 noise cancelling was the best, and sounded very natural too, especially against the Sony XM3. The treble does need to be toned a tad, so the EQ addition to the app will be welcome, IF it happens.

The Sony XM3 is currently 229 GBP on Amazon, with the Bose 700 at 299 GBP. If the XM3 was 200 I'd buy them! However I will probably go with the Bose 700 as I aim to make lots of phone calls too, and the sound with ANC enabled on the Sony XM3 is not as good.

I also tried the Sennheiser Momentum 3, and just way too heavy, so after 2 mins put them straight back down.

What are your guys thoughts on my findings?
Thanks, Xstyle

 

[SilverEars]

I thought Bose sounded good wired and would take it over the XM3 if wireless sounds like wired, but unfortunately not. Wireless, I'd take Sony, but also due to I can get for a significant enough lower price difference, and with the superior ANC tech having a lot weight due to it's usage case scenario of mainly for flights.

I do prefer 700's mic by a long shot, especially in noisy environments (which is impressive for a direction mic), but my iem's wired inline mic performs really well because the way the mic is situated near the mouth. I don't see myself lugging around 700 for calls.

 

[Xstyle]

I will also be using Bose 700 with my Android Huawei Pro phone... wirelessly, and with my Huawei Matebook X Pro 2019 laptop which is literally the best tech in the whole world....!!

Bose NC-700 just went £20 lower on HomeAVdirect, to £279
https://homeavdirect.co.uk/bose-hea...MIxrSarvuO5gIVBrDtCh2guwgqEAQYCyABEgKuQPD_BwE

 

[al2813]

I currently use my XM3s when flying but not for calls. I use them wired with ANC on connected to my Topping NX4 and they sound pretty good. However I stopped using them for calls because the call quality was so poor, I had to give up. I am thinking now of getting something for my calls both in the office and travelling. I am debating between getting APPs for calls only and keeping the XM3s for airplane music, and getting the NC 700 for everything. Has anyone compared the APPs and NC700 on call quality?

 

[SilverEars]

I currently use my XM3s when flying but not for calls. I use them wired with ANC on connected to my Topping NX4 and they sound pretty good. However I stopped using them for calls because the call quality was so poor, I had to give up. I am thinking now of getting something for my calls both in the office and travelling. I am debating between getting APPs for calls only and keeping the XM3s for airplane music, and getting the NC 700 for everything. Has anyone compared the APPs and NC700 on call quality?

I haven't compared directly, but I get complaints with APP. Videos show NC700 being good quality with ambient noise reduction.

 

[Xstyle]

.,. as long as you don’t whisper (no sexy chat!)

 

[al2813]

I currently use my XM3s when flying but not for calls. I use them wired with ANC on connected to my Topping NX4 and they sound pretty good. However I stopped using them for calls because the call quality was so poor, I had to give up. I am thinking now of getting something for my calls both in the office and travelling. I am debating between getting APPs for calls only and keeping the XM3s for airplane music, and getting the NC 700 for everything. Has anyone compared the APPs and NC700 on call quality?

So today I managed to find a store where I could connect the NC 700 wired to my own source (Topping NX4 connected to my Iphone). Big disappointment and in my personal taste not even close to the Sony. At the current price (and Bose has reduced the price to 329 EUR - would assume due to weak sales), this is a no go. I will keep the Sony for the flights and get the APP for calling and when I am out without a bag. Honestly charging 400 for the NC 700 is a bit of an exaggeration in my opinion.

 

[Zoom25]

Regarding ANC, the XM3 have the darkest sounding cancellation. I recently updated the Sony's firmware to 4.2.2 and kept them on my head for the 40 mins it took to update them. The ANC was on but no audio playing through them. Every other headphone, including other Sony models and Bose models all have higher noise in this state. The XM3 are pleasingly silent without without significant white noise.

Since I'm on iPhone, I'm limited to AAC and haven't been able to hear what improvement accompany LDAC. I've tried using Spotify's EQ as well as the EQ in the Sony app. These have responded well to EQ and I highly recommend it on IOS devices without taking a dent in SQ. I've left Spotify as flat and just run EQ out of the Sony app. The bass punch and volume is more controlled and tolerable now than stock. It's still fun sounding but without overloading your ears with bass. The mids and smoothness up top was my biggest fear which these have handled really well.

 

[ubs28]

Why are people even bringing up the Sony? They are crap. The only reason why I have the Sony WH-1000XM3 is because I bought one for my girlfriend and the store told me for $99 I could buy an additional for myself also (seemed like a good deal)

Let me list what sucks about the Sony:
- crappy Bluetooth (doesn’t work with multiple devices)
- not neutral / reference
- Bluetooth range is limited
- Comfort is terrible. These headphones are designed for people with very tiny ears.
- Call quality sucks (my girlfriend even asks me to switch to the NC 700 when I call with the Sony’s)
- The quality of the pads is cheap. After a couple of days of use it already looked worse than my QC35II.
- Controls are unreliable. It could be the cold weather touch control issues that I am experiencing.

For $99, I cannot complain but I would never pay $299 for it. The product is nowhere near the same quality of the NC 700.

However, I use the NC700 only for phone calls nowadays. For flights I use the Apple AirPod Pro because it fits so easily in your jeans while still being able to block out noise and also being comfortable. It saves a lot of space not having to bring a case for headphones when flying.

 

[Xstyle]

I bought the Bose NC-700 for £279.00 literally just now!!!. Its taken an hour of haggling, in store at John Lewis, Oxford St, London!

My 2nd demo, and maybe I'm going deaf, but I wanted them louder.

The app wouldn't even connect at all.
I managed to demo them on the Bose reps headset, so I could listen to my own music via Amazon Alexa from my phone.

 

[Xstyle]

I'm loving the headphones! Been wearing most of the morning, and my ears are warm, which is understandable. I dread to think how warm they would be on the Sony's!
My phone is the Huawei P30 Pro, and seems to have all the BT specs:
Bluetooth 5.0, BLE, SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC and HWA Audio

UPDATE 2.5 hours later...
WOW, they are getting better and better. I can hear bass LOL
I'm on Amazon Music as my source material, and also made various phone calls, all perfect.
No issues with comfort. ... if anything my eyes are tired as I've been more productive in front of my PC!

 

[Mark Up]

I'm late to this one. Views and questions for all here. I have the Sony XM2 (SQ and NR similar to the XM3) and the Bose QC 35 (SQ and NR similar to the 700, when active).

Fully passive / wired, both are boxy & terrible. I don't think the XM3 changes that. Does the Bose 700 sound better than the QC 35 boxy sound when fully passive and wired?