Typically if you’re in the market for a
pair of premium ANC headphones people usually
end up asking if they should go with Bose
or Sony. Now you really can’t go wrong with
either the Bose NC 700 or the new Sony 1000XM4’s…
but there are some very important differences
between them to take into consideration. So
today we’re going to be comparing the Bose
NC 700’s to the Sony 1000XM4’s but im
also going to be throwing in the Bose QC35’s
for the people who might be thinking about
upgrading.
But 
now lets talk about the included carrying
cases here. All of these headphones come included
with decent hardshell cases that are going
to have no problem protecting your headphones
if you do plan on traveling or commuting a
lot with your headphones. And both the Sony’s
and NC 700’s have storage compartments for
your cables which is a nice touch. But I do
want to point out that Bose also sells a separate
carrying case for the NC 700’s that will
give you an additional 40 hours of battery.
Now most people aren’t going to need this
but if you’re a constant traveler you’ll
might want to take this into consideration.
But now lets talk about the headphones themselves…
build quality wise all of these headphones
are on par with one another. They all feel
sturdy in your hands and they all have zero
cracking or squeaking whenever you handle
them. But there are some major material differences
to take into consideration. The 1000XM4’s
have a mostly slate finish to them and there’s
a hint of soft touch on the caps of their
ear cups. Where as the Bose QC35’s have
a mostly smooth body but the very unique feature
about them is that they have a hint of alcantara
underneath their headband which feels very
nice. But then there are the Bose NC 700’s
which feel very different when they’re in
your hands when compared to the Sony’s.
With the NC 700’s you’ve got smooth plastic
ear cups, and then you’ve got this exposed
stainless steel headband thats mostly wrapped
in very padded silicon. But in my opinion
the biggest build quality difference between
these headphones has got to be their leatherette.
The Bose NC 700’s have amazing feeling synthetic
leatherette and the leatherette on the Bose
QC35’s is a close second. Where as the leatherette
on the Sony’s feels very synthetic. It feels
good enough to get the job done… but when
compared to the leatherette on Bose’s headphones
it feels very plasticy. So over all, when
they’re in your hands and on your head the
Bose NC 700’s feel more luxurious than the
Sony’s. But when it comes to their design…
the NC 700’s can be a little polarizing…
personally I don’t mind how they look but
I just wish their headband wasn’t so bulbous.
Where as the headband on the Sony’s is a
lot more low profile making them look sleeker.
Cause the headband on the Sony’s is still
more low profile than the headband on the
QC35’s.
Now when it comes to fit, all of these headphones
are big head approved cause none of them have
a lot of clamping force. But the QC35’s
do have noticeably less clamping force than
these other two headphones. And the Bose QC35’s
are also a little more light weight than then
other two headphones weighing in at 240 grams.
Where as the Sony’s weigh in at 254 grams
and the Bose NC 700’s weigh in at 264 grams.
Nonetheless all of these headphones are light
weight cause most premium ANC headphones in
this category weigh in between 270 to 290
grams. So thanks to their light weight, all
of these headphones are easy to forget that
you have on and they aren’t super noticeable
on your head when you’re walking around
with them on. However when it comes to their
ear pads there are some major differences.
The ear pads on the 1000XM4’s have been
made slightly more spacious than the ear pads
on the 1000XM3’s. So these headphones should
be able to fit a little more people. But if
you have larger ears or ears that stick out
a lot then you’re defneitly better off with
going with either of these bose headphones.
Now Sony’s headphones fit me just fine,
but I will admit that having the extra breathing
room on the Bose NC 700’s is really nice.
But another important thing to point out here
is that since the ear pads on the Bose NC
700’s have less surface area coming in contact
with your skin than these other two headphones…
the NC 700’s do heat up a little slower
than these other two headphones. Now these
other two headphones don’t have an over
heating problem but the NC 700’s do stay
cooler for longer. So over all… all of these
headphones fit great, you can wear them for
hours on end without any problems and the
Sony’s should be able to fit most people.
But if you do have larger ears or ears that
stick out a lot then you are better off going
with the Bose NC 700’s.
But now lets talk about tech specs… both
the sony’s and Bose NC 700’s charge via
a USB C port as they should. But the Bose
QC35’s are still charging via a micro usb
port which is an inconvenience at this point.
And when it comes to their battery life, both
of Bose’s headphones will get the job done
but I feel they both can do better.
Both of Bose’s headphones have an advertised
battery life of 20 hours, which is a little
below average and we do like to see at least
a 25 hour battery life. Where as the Sony’s
have an advertised battery life of 30 hours
with their ANC turned on and you can even
stretch them out to 38 hours if you use them
with the ANC turned off.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity
thankfully all of these headphones can be
connected to two devices at the same time
so you can easily hot swap from one device
to another. And this is a rather big deal
cause this is a new feature for the 1000XM4’s.
Now its not a huge deal that you headphones
can do this… but it is very nice to be able
to.
And when it comes to watching movies or videos
on your phone… all of these headphones have
zero latency across the board whether you’re
using an iPhone or an android device. Which
is always great. And one obvious but very
important thing to point out here is that
you can use all of these headphones with a
wired connection cause they all still have
audio jacks. Now I like point this out cause
some manufactures are starting to remove the
audio jack on some of their headphones just
like how Apple did with their Beats Solo Pro,
but they’ll be more than happy to charge
you $35 for an Audio to lighting port cable.
But now lets talk about listening to music
with these headphones cause when it comes
to sound, Bose’s headphones are very different
from Sony’s headphones. Now both the Bose
QC35’s and Bose NC 700’s are better suited
for people who like a neutral or vocals focused
eq. The bass on both of Bose’s headphones
isn’t going to physically rattle your head
all that much. The bass on Bose’s headphones
is mostly just on the audible side… it resonates
a little bit but it does resonate as much
as some other headphones out there that can
induce goosebumps. Now even though the Bose
NC 700’s now have an adjustable EQ and you
can raise the bass on these headphones…
even if you were to turn them up to 10 they
still aren’t going to physically rattle
your head. So for this reason a lot of people
will might say that Bose’s headphones sound
flat. But they don’t, they’re catering
to a different audience. Cause where the Bose
NC 700’s do out shine the Sony’s is when
it comes to their sound stage and instrument
separation. The Bose NC 700’s sound more
open than then Sony 1000XM4’s, making it
feel like youre more engulfed in your music.
Where as even though the soundstage on the
Sony’s is decent… they do sound a little
more narrow. But at the end of the day I do
feel the Sony’s are going to be able to
please most people. Thanks to their fully
customizable EQ you can make them sound however
you want. If you want a neutral for vocals
focused EQ like the Bose you can do that…
or if you like a bass heavy EQ then you can
also do that. And unlike the Bose, the bass
on the Sony’s is going to physically rattle
your head a decent amount and it should be
able to satiate most people. Now personally
I just like using these headphones while in
their stock EQ but I do like switching them
over to a bass heavy EQ when im going to watch
a movie with them cause all of that extra
bass does give you an extra level of immersivness
to what ever you’re watching. Where as with
the Bose you don’t get the same level of
immersivness when you’re watching a movie
with them cause of their more tamed bass.
So over all the Bose NC 700’s are great
if you want the better sound stage and better
detail where as with the Sony’s they should
be able to please most people but if you want
to physically feel your bass then they are
the way to go.
Now when it come to the media controls on
these headphones… the bose QC 35’s are
using physical buttons, and this might actually
be a deciding factor for some people who just
don’t like using touchpads on their headphones.
Now the touch pad on both of these headphones
are fine… but personally the touch pad on
the Bose isn’t my favorite cause it is rather
small but I also don’t like that you constantly
have to flick this touch pad up or down to
adjust your volume. Cause with the touch pad
on the Sony’s you can actually swipe up
or down and hold to continuously raise or
lower your volume which does feel sleeker.
But over all both of these headphones do have
easy to use and accurate touch pads.
Now something the Sony’s have that the bose
don’t are wear sensors so when you take
these headphones off they’ll pause your
music and when you put them back on they’ll
start playing your music again. Now personally
I don’t care for wear sensors so I just
turn them off but I still wanted to address
them.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation
on these headphones. Now first off both the
Bose NC 700’s and Sony 1000XM4’s out class
the Bose QC35’s when it comes to ANC performance
specifically cause these headphones have significantly
less cabin pressure than the Bose QC35’s
which do end up giving me headaches. It might
not happen to everyone but it does to me.
So for me the real ANC comparison is going
to be between these other two headphones.
Now the ANC on both of these headphones have
very little to no cabin pressure… but the
Sony’s do have a little less cabin pressure
making them more comfortable. The ANC on either
of these headphones doesn’t change how your
music sounds and they also block out an impressive
amount of noise. But so that you can see for
yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC
test.
So like you may have just seen, both of these
headphones block out an impressive amount
of noise. But ultimately the Bose NC 700’s
do manage to block out a little more noise
here in this controlled test where these headphones
are all blocking out the same audio samples.
When it came to blocking out road noise, or
the constant low frequency sound… there’s
a high pitch tone to the Sony’s in the background
where as the Bose don’t. And when it came
to blocking out chatter or the random higher
frequency sound, even though it might look
like the Bose and Sony are blocking out the
same amount of noise… the Sony’s are actually
letting in a hair more noise in. So as of
right now with the Bose NC 700’s running
their 1.5.1 firmware block out a little more
noise than the Sony 1000XM4’s running their
2.0.6 firmware which is the latest firmware
at the time of this recording. Now ultimately
I am splitting hairs here cause most people
aren’t going to notice these minute differences
and personally I do prefer the ANC on the
Sony 1000XM4’s over the Bose NC 700’s
cause of their reduced cabin pressure… but
like I mentioned in their full review the
Sony 1000XM3’s running their 4.5.2 firmware
do block out more noise than the 1000XM4’s…
and they also block out more noise than the
Bose NC 700’s. So I do feel that we are
going to have to revisit the ANC performance
on the Sony 1000XM4’s after they get another
firmware update. Its still great, but we know
sony can do better.
But now lets talk about the ambient mode on
these headphones. You can make it so that
these headphones let in some of the surrounding
sounds around you which can be very useful
for when you’re walking around the city
or so that you can easily hear when someone
calls your name when you’re watching the
legend of kora at home. Now the ambient mode
on both of these headphones sounds very natural,
there’s zero hissing in the background and
both of these headphones do a great job of
blocking out wind noise when walking out doors.
But unfortunately the Bose QC35’s don’t
have an ambient mode. You can reduce their
active noise cancellation but you can’t
actually have them pump in sound. Now ultimately
I do prefer the ambient mode on the Sony’s
cause the Sony’s have an active ambient
mode meaning that they’ll actively block
out any sudden spikes in loud noises. But
so that you can see what im talking about
we’re going to jump into a demo. Slight
head phone warning
So like you may have just seen… when the
sony’s detected that spike in loud noise
they turned off their ambient mode and when
the noise stoped they turned their ambient
mode back on. Now personally I love when headphones
have an active ambient mode cause it does
save you from jump scares and it really does
come in handy when you’re working at home
and your dog starts barking when the UPS man
comes around. Where as with the Bose they
let in everything. So if your dog start barking
with the bose all of that is going to get
pumped in as well.
Now one new feature that sony is really trying
to push on the Sony 1000XM4’s is their new
speak to chat feature which is an extension
of their Ambient mode and it works a little
like this.
But ultimately for me speak to chat is just
a gimmick that im just not going to use. Now
speak to chat doesn’t get activated when
other people are talking around you, it does
a great job of rejecting that. But if you
do decide to use speak to chat than you have
to be completely silent. Speak to chat on
these headphones will get activated if you’re
singing along to your music, if you’re thinking
out loud even very quietly, and its also going
to get activated if you start laughing.
So the days that I did try to use speak to
chat on these headphones they just paused
my music everytime I would mutter a single
word becoming more of a nuances rather than
helpful. So if you are going to have a quick
conversation with someone personally I do
prefer to use quick attention on these headphones
where if you full cover their touch pad they’ll
lower the volume of your music and let in
all of the ambient sound around you like this
But the problem with quick attention is that
you gotta constantly keep their touch pad
covered. And if you’re going to try to talk
to someone like this… this both looks and
feel very awkward. Sony just has to change
it so that when you cover their touch pad
for a full second the headphones will get
locked into quick attention mode, you can
have your conversation with your hands free
like a normal human, and then when you’re
done you can just double tap on their touch
pad and the headphones will go back to normal
again.
And im making a big deal about this cause
the Bose NC 700’s also have a similar feature
which they call conversation mode which works
like this.
So like you may have just seen once conversation
mode on the Bose was activated you can just
let go of their button and then your hands
are free. So I just feel speak to chat is
an over engineered solution to a very simple
problem which sony can easily fix with a small
change to quick attention.
But now here’s the microphone test now technically
the microphone on the Sony 1000XM4’s has
been improved from the 1000XM3’s but my
voice still doesn’t sound super clear. However
this microphone does a really good job of
blocking out that AC unit, cause if we were
to switch over to my lapel microphone you’re
going to clearly hear that AC unit. But if
we switch back over to the Sony 1000XM4’s
you don’t hear it as much.
Now even though the Bose QC35’s don’t
do as good of a job blocking out that AC unit…
my voice does sound clearer which I feel is
more important.
But then there’s the microphone on the Bose
NC 700’s. My voice doesn’t just sound
very clear… this microphone also does a
great job of blocking out that AC unit. So
if you do plan on taking lots of phone calls
then the Bose NC 700’s are the way to go.
Cause even though the microphone on the Sony
1000XM4’s has been improved… it still
paled in comparison to the Bose NC 700.
Now before we jump over to the final verdict
the last thing I want to address here is going
to be software updates. Now over the last
few months, software updates on all of Sony’s
headphones have been very straight forward
without any issues and they’ve also added
features to their headphones over the course
of their lifetime.
Where as with Bose on the other hand… over
the last 18 months or so Bose’s software
updates have been a little spotty. Sometimes
they take a long time to instal, or they take
multiple attempts and sometimes there are
bugs. And I have experienced some bugs in
the past with my headphones. Now even though
Bose’s costumer support is quick to help
you… people just want their stuff to work
and personally I do get nervous everytime
I have to update these headphones. So im just
saying, you’ll might have to reach out to
Bose’s costumer support someday if you get
a bad firmware update.
But with all that being said, both the Sony
1000XM4’s and Bose NC 700’s are a pair
of top teir ANC Headphones and you can’t
go wrong with either one. But there are some
crucial differences between them to take into
consideration. First off if you want to physically
feel your bass than you are better off with
the Sony’s or if you want that wider sound
stage you should go with the Bose.
Now even though the Bose NC 700’s are blocking
out a little more noise than the Sony’s…
personally I still prefer the ANC on the Sony
1000XM4’s cause they have a little less
cabin pressure. But we know they can do better.
Now even though the Sony’s should fit most
people just fine… if you have larger ears
or ears that stick out a lot you’re still
better off going with the Bose NC 700’s.
And besides… having that extra room with
the Bose is very nice. And finally there’s
the microphone on these headphones. If you
do plan on taking lots of phone calls than
the Bose NC 700’s are a no brainier here.
Now for the people that are still holding
on to the Bose QC35’s I say its defneitly
time for an upgrade specifically cause these
newer ANC headphones block out more noise
with less cabin pressure. And whether youre
a commuter or not the ambient modes on these
headphones are very helpful.
But when it comes to choosing between one
of these two headphones… one isn’t out
right better than the other… its all going
to come down to your needs. But I will say,
sony don’t get comfortable.
