So the highly anticipated Bose QC45’s are finally here. Now overall the Bose QC45’s are a great pair of headphones to consider… but they really excel when it comes to their comfort. But today we’re going to see how the QC45’s stack up to the Sony 1000XM4’s… and I’m also going to lightly compare them to the Sony XB900N’s… cause the XB900N’s are on their way out cause the XB910N’s are finally here as well.
Now regarding pricing… the Sony 1000XM4’s are the most expensive headphones here retailing for $350. However these headphones routinely like to go on sale for $280. Then there are the QC45’s which retail for $330. And just knowing bose… these will might not go on sale as often. And then there are the XB900N’s which have a retail price of $250… but you can easily find them on sale these days for $150. And at a $150 these things are a solid pick up. Nonetheless if you want to pick any of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below.
Now first let's talk about these cases. Unfortunaltey the XB900N’s only come included with a carrying pouch. So you’ll might want to invest in a hard shell case if you plan on traveling with these headphones. Where as both the Bose QC45’s and 1000XM4’s come included with hard shell cases. And I have zero complaints about these cases. They’re small so you can stuff them into a cramped backpack and they're going to keep your headphones protected.
But now lets talk about the headphones themselves. Build quality wise these headphones are all on par with one another. They all have mostly plastic bodies with a stainless steel head band. And they all have super padded headbands and ear pads that are wrapped in leatherette. However the plastics and leatherette on these headphones do feel very different from one another. The plastics on the XB900N has a textured feel to it and I actually prefer the feel of the leatherette on the XB900N’s over the leatherette on the 1000XM4’s. The leatherette on the 1000XM4’s just feels a little more plastic. However the plastic body panels on the 1000XM4’s have this slate finish to it. Which does feel better. But then there are the QC45’s who’s plastic body panels have a smooth finish to them… and they also have the best feeling leatherette here. So overall, all three of these headphones have good build quality… but I am going to have to say the QC45’s feel the most premium just because they have the best feeling leatherette.
But now lets talk about fit. Plainly said, the QC45’s are the most comfortable headphones here for multiple reasons. Now don’t get me wrong, both of Sony’s headphones fit great as well… but the bose are just more comfortable. When it comes to clamping force, all of these headphones are Big Head Approved shirts down below. But the QC45’s have less clamping force. So if you’ve got a bigger head or if you just like wearing hats then you’ll might want to go with the QC45’s. But then there’s their weight. But then theres their weight. Both the XB900N and 1000XM4’s weigh in at 254. Which is a little below average cause most ANC headphones weigh in at around 270 to 290 grams. But overall, you forget that you’re wearing both of Sony’s headphones if you’re working at your desk or watching a movie… and these headphones aren’t too noticeable on your head when you’re walking around with them on. But then there are the QC45’s which weigh in at 234 grams. Now I know this 20 gram difference will might not seem like a lot… but the QC45’s are truly less noticeable on your head when you’re wearing them. But finally there are the ear pads. Now the ear pads on both of Sony’s headphones are equally as spacious and they should have no problem accommodating average sized ears. But if you have really large ears or ears that stick out a lot then you’ll definitely want to go with the QC45’s cause their ear pads are just way more spacious. But also the ear pads on the QC45’s do stay cooler for loner cause their have less surface area coming in contact with your skin. Where as the XB900’s ear pads do like to heat up the fastest here because they do have more surface area. And finally there are the 1000XM4’s ear pads which are in the middle. But overall like I said, all of these headphones fit fine. But the QC45’s are the most comfortable headphones here for multiple reasons. They have less clamping force, they’re lighter, their ear pads are more spacious and they stay cooler for longer.
But now lets talk about tech specs. Now all three of these headphones charge via a USB C port as they should. And this is actually a notable upgrade for the QC45’s. Now when it comes to battery life the QC45’s have an advertised battery life of 24 hours with their Active noise cancelation turned on. Now battery life of 24 hours is fine… but the 1000XM4’s have an advertised battery life of 30 hours with their ANC turned on and the XB900N’s have an advertised battery life of 35 hours with their ANC turned on. And since you can actually use both of Sony’s headphones with their ANC turned off… you can also extend their battery that way.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity… both the QC45’s and 1000XM4’s can be simultaneously connected to 2 devices at the same time regardless of operating systems. So you can easily hot swap from one device to another which is great for power users. However, with the XB900N’s… they can only be connected to one device at a time. So they aren’t the best for power users.
However when its comes to performance all of these headphones have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device… and when it comes to audio codecs, the QC45’s only have support for SBC and AAC. Now SBC and AAC are going to be perfectly fine if you’re streaming your music and of you’re an iPhone user. But Sony’s headphones have support for higher quality audio codecs. Now the XB900N’s have support for SBC, AAC, LDAC, APTX and APTX HD… But since Sony is phasing out APTX support on their newer headphones… the 1000XM4’s only have support for SBC, AAC, and Sony own LDAC. But just keep in mind if you want to take advantage of these higher quality audio codecs you need to be an android user.
But if you want to you can always use a wired connection with any of these headphones because they all still audio audio jacks and they all still come included with audio cables. Something that takes a lot of courage if you ask me. However just keep in mind the Bose are using 2.5 millimeter audio jacks where as the Sony’s have 3.5 millimeter audio jacks. And Unfrotunaltey you can’t use their USB C ports as a wired connection.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones. I’m going to have to stress here that the QC45’s are made for a very specific type of person. The QC45’s are better suited for someone who likes a neutral or vocals focused EQ. The QC45’s put an emphasis on the mids… but more importantly their Bass will not physically rattle your head. So for that reason some people will say the QC45’s sound flat. Now the QC45’s don’t actually sound flat… their bass is just mostly on the audible side. So you’re not going to get too much physicality out of them. However, the QC45’s do have the superior instrument separation and clarity here. However another very important thing to keep in mind here is that the QC45’s don’t have an adjustable EQ. You’re stuck with what bose gave you. Now I think the QC45’s sound fine… but I do wish these headphones had an adjustable EQ cause the NC 700’s have one. So maybe they’ll add it in a future firmware update.
But then there are Sony’s headphones which do have adjustable EQ’s. So you can make them sound however you want. Now the 1000XM4’s are the people pleasers here. If you like a neutral EQ they can do that or if you like a bass heavy EQ they can also do that. And unlike the Bose, you’ll actually get some physicality out of the bass on the 1000XM4’s. The bass on the 1000XM4’s is going to be able to satiate most people. However if you’re not like most people and you really like bass, then you’ll want to go with the XB900N’s cause their bass is on a whole other level. Having the bass slider on the 1000XM4’s set to 10 is like having the bass slider on the XB900N’s set to 4. So the XB900N’s can really rattle your head if you want. Now all of this extra bass isn’t just a lot of fun when it comes to listening to music… it also adds an extra level of impressiveness if you’re watching a movie with these headphones. So overall when it comes to sound the Bose are better suited for someone who like a more neutral or vocals focused EQ, the 1000XM4’s should be able to please most people, and then there are the XB900N’s which have an above average amount of bass.
Now when it comes to the media controls on these headphones this could actually be a deciding factor for some people. Now both of Sony’s headphones are using touch pads. And both of these touch pads are accurate and they're easy enough to use. However, if you don’t want to have to deal with touch pads on your headphones then you can always just go with the physical buttons found on the QC45’s.
But just keep in mind, the 1000XM4’s are the only headphones here that have wear sensors. so they’ll automatically play or pause your music when you take them off or put them back on. Now personally I don’t care for wear sensors on my headphones and I usually just turn them off… but I want to point this out for the person that just needs to have all of the features.
And finally there’s voice assistant integration. Both of Sony’s headphones have support for google assistant and Alexa so if you want you can make this a dedicated voice assistant button. And I think voice assistant integration is great specifically if you’re an android user. But you can always activate your phone’s default voice assistant by just pressing and holding on the Sony’s touch pads or by just pressing and holding on the Bose multi purpose button.
But now lets talk about the Active Noise Cancelation on these headphones. Plainly said… the Bose QC45’s do in fact block out more noise than the Sony 1000XM4’s. However the Bose QC45’s have noticeably more cabin pressure than the 1000XM4’s. Now they don’t have as much cabin pressure as the AirPods Max and they have less cabin pressure than their predecessors, the QC35’s. But with the QC45’s you will feel like you gotta pop your ears from time to time. Where as with the Sony’s you bearly feel any cabin pressure. But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC test
So like you may have just seen, the QC45’s block out a little more noise than the 1000XM4’s and they block out way more noise than the XB900N’s. Now its expected that the XB900N’s won’t block out too much noise cause they are a pair of mid tier ANC headphones where as these other two headphones are categorized as premium ANC headphones. Nonetheless like I said, even though the QC45’s block out more noise than the 1000XM4’s… they do have more cabin pressure. So you are going to feel like you gotta pop your ears from time to time. So for that reason I still prefer the ANC on the 1000XM4’s. They still block out an impressive amount of noise, all the while being more comfortable.
But one pet-peeve that I do have about the QC45’s is that you can’t use them with the Active noise cancelation turned off. You either gotta use them with their Active noise cancelation or ambient mode turned on. And sometimes you do want to be able to use your headphones with their active noise cancelation turned off because number one it does extend battery life, sometimes your music does sound better, or sometimes you just want to take a break from the cabin pressure on your headphones. Which is especially true with the QC45’s.
But now lets talk about the ambient modes on these headphones. Now I think its great and all that the QC45’s have an ambient mode. Cause this is a notable upgrade for them. But unfortunately their ambient mode does need work. For starters you can’t adjust their ambient mode like you can on both of Sony’s headphones. With the Bose there’s only one setting. But also the ambient mode on the bose doesn’t sound as clear and its very hard to actually understand what people are saying even when they're talking directly at you. Where as that isn’t an issue with the Sony’s. And one stand out characteristic about the 1000XM4’s is that they have an active ambient mode. Meaning that they’ll automatically turn off their ambient mode if there’s a sudden spike in loud noise saving you from just getting your ears blasted. And finally the 1000XM4’s have speak to chat which works a little like this.
“ Hello there, so this is speak to chat. basscily when I start talking the headphones will automatically lower the volume of your music and pump in all of the ambient sound around you so that you can talk to someone without having to even touch your headphones. Now these headphones will stay in this state for a pre determined amount of time or you can cancel speak to chat by tapping on their touch pad.
Now personally I don’t use speak to chat on my headphones cause I’ve found that its very easy to accidentally activate it making it more of a nuance for me. And personally I do prefer quick attention which is found on both of Sony’s headphones where if you fully cover their touch pad they’ll lower the volume of your music so that you can talk to someone like this.
So yeah, I do prefer quick attention over speak to chat because its more intentional… and I feel quick attention is a great feature for my constant travelers or flyers. And unfortunately the QC45’s just don’t have any such feature. The NC 700’s have conversation mode… but not the QC45’s
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now over all Sony’s microphones aren’t the greatest.
But they are decent enough for a quick phone call while in a quiet room.
However in a quiet room the QC45’s do have a little better clarity to them.
However when it comes to blocking out noise pollution… even though you can still here my voice… its does sound a little shallow and hollow… and there’s a little bit of static in the background.
Now the 1000XM4’s block out significantly more road noise than the QC45’s… but my voice doesn’t sound super clear.
And then there are the XB900N’s which barely block out any road noise.
And the same thing can be said about chatter. The XB900N’s are barley blocking out any noise.
But then there are the 1000XM4’s which are blocking out a decent amount of chatter… but my voice doesn’t sound super clear.
And then there are the QC45’s which are also blocking out some chatter… but my voice still sounds a little shallow and hollow.
But with all of that being said, if you’re looking into getting a pair of premium ANC headphones and you want all of the features that you’d come to expect from a pair or Premium ANC headphones today… then you still want to go with the Sony 1000XM4’s. The 1000XM4’s have an adjustable EQ so you can make them sound however you want. Even though they blockout less noise than the Bose QC45’s they have less cabin pressure which contributes to over all comfort. They have a much better performing ambient mode which I feel is just as important as active noise cancelation. And they also have a longer battery life. I just can’t help but feel that bose is holding the QC45’s back to compel you to upgrade to the NC 700’s. However, the QC45’s are more comfortable to wear than both of Sony’s headphones. They have less clamping force, they're lighter, their ear pads are more spacious and their ear pads stay a little cooler for a little longer. And at the end of the day, comfort can be a deciding factor for some people.