3636 NOVEMBER 2019|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE 381
BOSE NoiseCancelling
Headphones700
★★★★★
£349•From http://www.amazon.co.uk
OVER-EAR BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES
VERDICT
Bose’sgorgeousANCheadphonesaregreat,but
theycan’tquitedethronetheSonyWH-1000XM3
HEADPHONESSUBTYPEOver-ear•PLUGTYPE3.5mm•
WEIGHT249g•CABLELENGTH1m•WARRANTYOneyear
RTB•DETAILSwww.bose.co.uk•PARTCODE794297-0100
SPECIFICATIONS
BOSEISApioneer in noise-cancelling
technology,but it’s been nearly two decades
of the QuietComfort series since anew
flagship headphone design has been released.
That finally changes with the new Noise
Cancelling Headphones 700.
Forapair of over-ear headphones, the 700s
are extremely stylish. The stainless steel
headband arcs gracefully around the topof
your head, before making its wayseamlessly
down to the hinge.This, in turn, attaches to
the driver housing with adistinctive and highly
adjustable pivot mechanism.
There is acatch to this design, however.
If you use them while jogging –orifyou’re
just someone who walks at areasonable
pace –you’ll immediately notice clunky
reverberations resonating from the 700’s
headband, as aresult of the headband
knocking against the drivers’ housing.
TIGHTENEDSENSES
As forcomfort, these headphones are afirmer
fit than the preceding QuietComfort 35 II
(Shopper362) or our current ANC favourite,
the Sony WH-1000XM3 (Shopper375). As a
result, theydon’t float around the ears quite
as lightly,especially if you’re wearing glasses,
but they’re not uncomfortable.The cushioned
ear pads are well sized, and also easier to clean
than the QuietComfort 35 II’s pads.
Battery lifeisdecent, at 20 hours, while a
15-minutecharge will yield about three-and-a-
half hours of playback. The WH-1000XM3 win
out here too, however,astheycan last forup
to 30 hours, and will squeeze five hours out of
a10-minutecharge.Atleast you can switch
from Bluetooth to wired usage with the 700s,
with adetachable 3.5mm cable in the box.
The Noise Cancelling
Headphones 700 feature quite
the arrayofbuttons. There’s a
button forcycling through three
levels of noise cancellation, a
button forpower and pairing,
and one that can summon your
choice of smart assistant.
Both Alexa and the Google
Assistant can be given voice
commands through the
integrated microphone;
Alexa can even be activated
simply by speaking, without
even needing to press the
button. Both Siri and Bixbyare
supported, too, although the
integration isn’t so extensive.
Volume and playback controls take
the form of atouch-sensitive area on the
right cup.You can swipe up and down to
adjust the volume,back and forth to skip or
go back asong, and double-tap to playor
pause your music; along press also lets you
hear the battery level, or enable and disable
the voice wake-up feature.
It all works well: the controls are even more
responsive than those of the WH-1000XM3.
The downside is that there are no sensors to
tellwhentheheadphonesareremoved,meaning
no automatic pausing. You’ll have to touch the
side panel to resume to stop playback.
SHUT OUT
The active noise-cancelling, meanwhile,meets
the high standards we’ve come to expect of
Bose.There’s absolutely no audible hiss, a
telltale sign of flawed ANC, and these
headphones are noticeably more effective at
blocking out ambient noise than even the
QuietComfort 35 II were.
However,the WH-1000XM3 are better
at blocking out mid-to-high frequencies.
This includes speech, so Sony’s
headphones might be better forenjoying
your music in public spaces.
The WH-1000XM3 also support the
Bluetooth aptX and aptX HD codecs, so
wireless sound quality is better than the
Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, which
only support the basic SBC and AACcodecs.
That’s not to saythese headphones sound
poor.Onthecontrary,evenonSBC,yougetthe
same tight bass response as the QuietComfort
35 II, as well as awell-controlled mid-range.
The Sony WH-1000XM3, by contrast, have
afar greater emphasis in the bass department,
sounding more fun and extending lower into
the sub-bass frequencies. If you’re afan of
bass-heavy music, the Sony headphones will
sound better,even if the mid-bass isn’t as
controlled as with the Bose.The WH-1000XM3
also manage alonger extension at the topend,
plus awider sound delivery and better
instrument separation. All of these little
differences come together to edge the Sony
headphones in front of Bose’s.
AN EAR MISS
The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700
are supremely stylish, and when it comes to
sound quality and noise-cancelling, theyretain
most of the strengths of their esteemed
predecessors. Undoubtedly,they’re the best
Bluetooth headphones Bose has ever made.
The problem is that Sony has set an
incredibly high benchmark with the
WH-1000XM3, and the 700s can’t quite
match it. The Sony headphones might not
be as stylish, but theyhouse more features,
sound better,block out more noise and are
around £80 cheaper.Given the choice,it’s
obvious which headphones to pick.
ChristopherMinasians