Bose is well known for its expertise in noise cancellation. In 2023, the audio giant drastically reduced its lineup of headphones and earphones, cutting a significant amount of time.
We bid farewell to the beloved Bose 700, but welcomed the excellent Ultra series offered in over-ear headphone and earphone form.
However, there is a new player - QuietComfort. Price-wise, these cans sit below the QuietComfort Ultra, but above the infamous all-rounder, the QC45.
The issue? The QC45 and identical QuietComfort save the talk of new color options and improved sound. The fact that Bose is selling both pairs of headphones on its website at the time of writing further adds to the confusion.
Thankfully, I've thought about what's going on. So, whether you're considering replacing the QC45 with QuietComfort or you're not familiar with the Bose headphone game, this is the review to read.
- Buy Bose QuietComfort here
- Buy Bose QC45 here
What's the same between Bose QuietComfort headphones and Bose QC45?
Pick up a pair of QuietComfort and QC45 pairs (refer here). It's permissible to assume that Bose hasn't done much in the two years since the latter's release.
They weigh the same, have exactly the same dimensions, the same control layout and number of buttons (Yay to Touch Controls, Bose!), and the fit, finish, and comfort are identical (meaning, great!).
Both headphones feature Bluetooth 5.1 with compatibility for SBC and AAC codecs and multipoint connection. As far as I can tell, the mics and drivers remain unchanged even in quiet discomfort. Even the case is the same, with just a slight tweak to the Bose logo now visibly colored, in contrast to Gloss Black.
As mentioned earlier, at first glance, these are completely the same headphones.
However, there are some differences.