T3 - UK (2021-12)

DECEMBER 2021 T3 75

Bose QuietComfort 45

fact that the ear cups sit around your
ears, giving them plenty of room to
breathe so they don’t get pressed up
against your head. The pleats and
puckers have been removed from the
ear cushions while the gaps have been
taken out in the build, so now they’re
smooth all over, which is a real treat
for your ears. At 240g, they are slightly
heavier than their predecessor – the
QC35 II – but you can still wear them
comfortably for hours on end.
Bose hasn’t tried to do anything
fancy with the onboard controls,
opting for physical buttons instead of
unreliable touch controls. The right
earcup has a slider on it that switches
them on and into pairing mode.
Towards the back, there’s a volume up
button, a play/pause button and the
volume down button. You can also
hold down the play/pause button to
summon your voice assistant; Alexa,
Google Assistant, Bixby and Siri are
all supported.
On the left ear cup, there’s a large
Action button to switch between the
active noise-cancelling (ANC) modes,
including the brand new Aware Mode.
This lets in some surrounding noise,
like the sound of traffic, but balances it

better with your music. However, it

doesn’t let you choose how much noise

you let in. Alongside Aware is the more

traditional Quiet mode, which does a

great job at cutting out outside noise

almost completely. This makes them

ideal when travelling on an aeroplane

or sitting on a train or coach.

Battery no chicken

When it comes to the battery, you

won’t be disappointed. They give you

about 24 hours of music with noise-

cancelling switched on at about 50%

volume. Charging them back up to

full power is pretty quick at 2.5 hours.

But, if you need a quick injection of

power a 15-minute charge gives

around three hours of playback. Ideal

you need to charge them in a hurry.

Now onto what really matters –

sound quality. The Bose QuietComfort

45 sound fantastic, you get plenty of

detail from these cans but admittedly

they aren’t going to win any awards

for clarity because there are definitely

headphones out there that do it better.

They aren’t overwhelming in any

one area; they’re not overly bass-

heavy nor are they too focused on the

high-end. What what they do offer is

a clean, balanced sound you can listen

to for hours without feeling fatigued.

These will suit most types of listeners

and music.

One quite major downside in our

book is that there’s no way to

manually adjust the EQ settings so

you won’t be able to personalise the

sound. At this price, that’s a feature

we would expect to find.

If you want comfortable

headphones with excellent ANC then

these are a good choice. The sound is

inoffensive, clean and balanced. And

the few areas that Bose has changed

have made a big difference in how

these feel to use. They’re incredibly

comfortable and the noise-cancelling

is some of the best we’ve ever heard.

You get a clean,

balanced sound

you can listen to for

many hours

SONY WH-1000XM 4
While not quite offering
the same superlative noise
cancelling, these are the
absolute best all-rounders
out there. They offer great
sound, still excellent ANC,
extensive battery life and a
more competitive price.
£279, amazon.co.uk

BOWERS & WILKINS

PX7

Offering energetic sound

and decent ANC, the PX7

are already pretty great. But

it’s their comfort that makes

them shine: you can settle

in for long listening sessions

without any discomfort.

£279, amazon.co.uk

THE ALTERNATIVES

WE’RE IMPRESSED Impressive

noise cancelling; 24 hours of

battery life; lightweight and

comfortable.

WE’D IMPROVE Can’t turn

off noise cancelling entirely; no

manual EQ settings.

THE LAST WORD Excellent

noise-cancelling headphones that

will keep you fully immersed.

The sound won’t blow your mind

but it would be very hard not to

recommend them.

VERDICT

Find more top noise-cancelling

headphones at: bit.ly/ncht3