[MacedonianHero]

Does the Bose NC 700 have a linear sub bass like a planar? Yes.

Does the Bose NC 700 have no audible bass distortion like a planar? Yes.

So it is close enough to a planar bass.

Does it measure as low, no, is it audible...to my ears, yes. Is it as well defined, transparent and clear? Not to my ears again. There is so more to quality sound than slamming low bass. The limitations of larger mass drivers and cone breakdown don't help. If someone is looking for NC headphones for travel, I'd certainly recommend them (along with the QC35ii), but I think I'd sneak in the Sony's just ahead of them both. Do they sound as good as some similarly priced orthos...certainly not to my ears. Depends what you're looking for. If you're looking for a travel headphone with outstanding NC, go with the Bose (or Sony's better still). If you're looking for SQ, there are better options.

 

[ubs28]

Funny, Sonarworks have measured the Bose QC 35 II that you keep bringing up here and they measured bass distortion well below 1% THD which is inaudible. Someone is telling BS here. So good joke.

And I am done here

 

[MacedonianHero]

Funny, Sonarworks have measured the Bose QC 35 II that you keep bringing up here and they measured bass distortion well below 1% THD which is inaudible. Someone is telling BS here. So good joke.

And I am done here

Closer to 4% in the bass and over 1% (and higher) for the mids) https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/BoseQuietComfort35WirelessActive.pdf). Not bad at all. That was NOT my point...it was they have their limitations compared to orthos/e-stats due to the mass differences and cone breakdowns associated with dynamic drivers. The rest is a strawman you developed and continue to foster.

 

[AlwaysForward]

Very limited dynamics do meet that requirement is the only correction that I would make. I think you missed my response was to whether the QC35s could perform like a good pair of orthos...which they don't and can't due to cone break up. The rest is a poor strawman argument that I'm quite tired of. Please take some time and re-read my posts. I think we agree more than disagree.

So you prefer the Mobius. That’s ok!

 

[stacey]

So you prefer the Mobius. That’s ok!

I have both.
The Mobius is better SQ wise, and if you like to game.

The Bose is a better workhorse.
Bluetooth is better, calls are more clearer, it’s more compact, and ANC helps with work for me a lot. Add that to the fact that I can pair up to 8 devices via Bluetooth to the Bose and it’s worth it to me.

I’ve used better stuff for daily use, but I tend to go with IEMs. When you reach TOTL pricing, not being able to use headphones as a workhorse is intolerable for me.

 

[AlwaysForward]

I have both.
The Mobius is better SQ wise, and if you like to game.

The Bose is a better workhorse.
Bluetooth is better, calls are more clearer, it’s more compact, and ANC helps with work for me a lot. Add that to the fact that I can pair up to 8 devices via Bluetooth to the Bose and it’s worth it to me.

I’ve used better stuff for daily use, but I tend to go with IEMs. When you reach TOTL pricing, not being able to use headphones as a workhorse is intolerable for me.

Couldn’t agree more. After being in the community for a while and doing my typical heavy research that I do for all things, I’ve come to realize that I just really appreciate Bose products for their working approach to making useful headphones.

When I consider my tastes and all the various use cases, I’m pretty sure my actual endgame looks something like this:

Bose 700 ANC
Bose Soundsport/500/700 IEM
Audeze isine
Audeze LCDi4
Ora GQ + Quidelix 5k + Harman Tunung via /u/oratory1990

Long term, the over ear use case is more about closed than open for me. For totl open resolution monster, i4 is it. Then the fact they are all so portable and can fit into just about any scenario in my life is basically covering use and keeps the sound signature in my desired Harman esque tuning.

Future upgrades would basically supplant these uses. For example, if the Panda gets a good DSP update, I might give it a try. And I’ll probably try the LCD1 closed. They would be in contention with the Ora for quality over ear slam on the go. Etc

 

[MacedonianHero]

I have both.
The Mobius is better SQ wise, and if you like to game.

The Bose is a better workhorse.
Bluetooth is better, calls are more clearer, it’s more compact, and ANC helps with work for me a lot. Add that to the fact that I can pair up to 8 devices via Bluetooth to the Bose and it’s worth it to me.

I’ve used better stuff for daily use, but I tend to go with IEMs. When you reach TOTL pricing, not being able to use headphones as a workhorse is intolerable for me.

ANC on the NC700 is quite good, though the WH1000XM3's have the best in that department (along with comfort) that I've come across. Anyone try the new Shure AONIC 50s? I'm curious about them....might give them a try.

 

[stacey]

Considering there’s going to be a follow up Sony XM4, and Apple is jumping in on the segment can’t say I’d care much for the Shure.

Also Bose came out with some EQ adjustments via app. It’s very basic however

 

[AlwaysForward]

Yeah I’m sure going to be watching the Apple one. They hired a top notch audio team. The story and design of HomePod is something else. If anyone is going to pull off a leap forward with ANC, this would probably be the team.

 

[Monstieur]

Does the Bose NC 700 have a linear sub bass like a planar? Yes.

Does the Bose NC 700 have no audible bass distortion like a planar? Yes.

Yes, though it's not really linear and does roll-off a bit compared to the QC 35.

So it is close enough to a planar bass.

No.

No amount of EQ could make my NC 700 slam like the default tuning of my Mobius or SE846. Or my LCD-2C with +20 dB sub-bass. May be there was some kind of limiter in the firmware. I haven't tried the new firmware.

No amount of EQ can make my Aeon 2 Closed slam like my open-back LCD-2C, which is surprising. Maybe the single-sided magnets in the Aeon 2 Closed are just ineffective after a point compared to the double-sided magnets in the LCD-2C. It's not explained by the frequency response and distortion at 90 dB SPL. Maybe 120 dB SPL measurements are warranted for sub-bass slam.

 

[Bhelpoori]

Yeah I’m sure going to be watching the Apple one. They hired a top notch audio team. The story and design of HomePod is something else. If anyone is going to pull off a leap forward with ANC, this would probably be the team.

Perhaps they can, but I very much doubt they can pull off the microphone/DSP system of the Bose NC700... and that is the headphone's unique spot in the market. I've found nothing else better for blocking out background noise whilst maintaining voice clarity, and Bose seem to be (very) slowly fixing the bugs that have hurt it since launch. The NC is OK, the audio is OK (for the price) and the comfort is good, but the microphone system is outstanding.

 

[SilverEars]

Perhaps they can, but I very much doubt they can pull off the microphone/DSP system of the Bose NC700... and that is the headphone's unique spot in the market. I've found nothing else better for blocking out background noise whilst maintaining voice clarity, and Bose seem to be (very) slowly fixing the bugs that have hurt it since launch. The NC is OK, the audio is OK (for the price) and the comfort is good, but the microphone system is outstanding.

I wonder how it's done that makes NC700 so distinguishing in performance from other wireless headphones/TWS? I've seen tests on it, and it does perform quite well. I wonder if Sony will be able to pull off a microphone of such level of performance with their next iteration?

I will say that the chance of Apple pulling off a high performance microphone is good as they have proven in the past, but NC700 level?

 

[Bhelpoori]

I wonder how it's done that makes NC700 so distinguishing in performance from other wireless headphones/TWS? I've seen tests on it, and it does perform quite well. I wonder if Sony will be able to pull off a microphone of such level of performance with their next iteration?

I will say that the chance of Apple pulling off a high performance microphone is good as they have proven in the past, but NC700 level?

It is done with many microphones and a lot of signal processing... whilst trying to keep battery power low.

It is a year since the NC700 shipped (mine shows a May 2019 build) so it quite possible for Sony or others to catch up. Sony, however, haven’t a stellar record on mics whilst Bose have had a background from the aircraft headsets. Apple, with the AirPods/Pro plus the phones/iPads show they can and have done it. We will wait to see when they come out....

 

[stacey]

It is done with a many microphones and a lot of signal processing... whilst trying to keep battery power low.

And guess what Apple has a lot of resources and research in? Apple was one of the first ones to intergrate noise canceling tech on smartphones with the iPhone 4, so if I had to bank on anyone topping Bose, it’s Apple.

 

[AlwaysForward]

And guess what Apple has a lot of resources and research in? Apple was one of the first ones to intergrate noise canceling tech on smartphones with the iPhone 4, so if I had to bank on anyone topping Bose, it’s Apple.

They literally have the biggest and best acoustics team on the planet:

https://www.whathifi.com/us/features/how-homepod-was-made-tale-obsession-inside-apples-audio-labs