So the Bose QC Ultra headphones are a very impressive of premium ANC Headphones that block out a ton of noise, they’re comfortable to wear for hours on end and they have a decently small case which is great for traveling. However they do have their issues and short comings. Nonetheless, today we’re going to compare the Bose QC Ultra to the Sony 1000XM5’s and the Sony 1000XM4’s. Is bose back on top and is Bose worth the premium? I don’t think so.
Regarding pricing, the Bose QC Ultra has a retail price of $430… that is up there and it is a little more than the Sony 1000XM5’s which have a retail price of $400 and the Sony 1000XM4’s which are the oldest headphones here and they have a retail price of $350. But Sony’s headphones routinely like to go on sale and I do expect the Bose QC Ultra to go on sale from time to time as well. Nonetheless, if you want to pick any of these headphones up, they’ll be linked down below.
Now first lets talk about the included carrying cases cause I think that this is a big deal if you plan on traveling with your headphones. Now all of these cases are hardshell cases, which is great cause they’re all going to keep your headphones well protected, even if you cram them into a cramped backpack. However, both the Bose QC Ultra and Sony 1000XM4’s have decently small cases that aren’t to think and they don’t have a large foot print. But then there’s the 1000XM5’s case which just has a significantly larger case cause these headphones have a lay flat design to them. So I feel that traveling with the XM5’s is a hassle when compared to either the XM4 or Bose QC Ultra.
But with the cases out of the way, lets talk about the headphones themselves. Regarding fit, all of these headphones fit well. All of these headphones have a neutral amount of clamping force as in they aren’t too tight and they aren’t too lose. So they’re all big head approved, and even if you have a larger head and if you like to wear hats, all of these headphones should have you covered. And when it comes to their weight, all of these headphones are in the same ball park, the Sony 1000XM4’s weigh in at 255 grams, the Bose QC Ultra weigh in at 254 grams and the Sony 1000XM5’s weigh in at 250 grams. So with all of these headphones, they’re easy to forget that you’re wearing them when you’re sitting still and you don’t notice them shifting around too much when you’re walking around with them on. But the main fit difference between these headphones is going to come down to their ear pads and headbands. Now first, when it comes to the ear pads on these headphones, the 1000XM5’s have the shallowest ear pads here. So even if you have average sized ears, they’re going to press down on your cartilage, which can get uncomfortable after like 30 or 40 minutes, where as the ear pads on the 1000XM4’s are a lot more spacious than the ear pads found on the XM5’s cause they’re a lot deeper. But then there are the ear pads on the Bose QC Ultra which are even more spacious than the ear pads found on the XM4’s. So with the XM4’s, these will have no problem fitting most ear types, but if you have very large ears or ears that stick out a lot, then you’ll might want to go with the Bose QC Ultra. And with the XM5’s, these are going to be better suited for people that have flatter ears. But then there are the headbands on these headphones, and peronsally I am not a fan of the headband on the XM5’s. Since this headband is so thin and since its so minimally padded, I have found that this headband likes to create hot spots on the top of your head after like 40 minutes. Where as the headbands on both the XM4’s and Bose QC Ultra have a lot more padding and they also have a lot more surface area, so hotspots aren’t an issue for these headphones. So overall when it comes to fit, I am going to have to say that both the Bose QC Ultra and Sony 1000XM4’s fit well. However, the Bose QC Ultra are a little more comfortable specifically cause they have more spacious ear pads. And then there are the 1000XM5’s, personally I don’t like how these headphones fit cause of their shallow ear pads and minimally padded headband.
But with fit out of the way lets talk about tech specs. Regarding battery life, the Bose QC Ultra are trialling behind here a little bit. With the ANC turned on, the Bose QC Ultra have an advertised battery life of 24 hours… which is okay. But if you were to use them with their immersive audio turned on, then they are going to have an advertised battery life of 18 hours, which can be problematic if you plan on traveling with these headphones.
Where as with both of Sony’s headphones if you were to use them with their ANC turned on, they are going to have an advertised battery life of 30 hours… or if you use them with their ANC turned off, then they can go for as long as 40 hours… and this is actually another issue with the Bose QC ultra, cause you can’t use them with their ANC turned off.
And when it comes to charging these headphones, they all charge via a USB C port as they should, and when it comes to the fast charging numbers on these headphones, with the XM4’s if you were to charge them up for 10 minutes from a dead battery they are going to get you 5 hours of playback time, and with the XM5’s if you charge them up for 3 minutes, they are going to get you 3 hours. Where as with the Bose QC Ultra, if you charge them up for 15 minutes, they are only going to get you 3 hours of playback time.
So overall, the battery life on the Bose QC Ultra is okay, but Bose is still struggling when it comes to battery life cause both of Sony’s headphones have longer lasting batteries, they have better fast charging numbers, and Sony gives you the option to use your headphones with their ANC turned off so you can extend their battery life that way.
Now when it comes to connectivity, with all of these headphones they can be connected to any two bluetooth devices. Which is good cause if you’re a power user with devices from different eco systems, you can easily hot swap from one device to another.
And when it comes to overall performance, these headphones have zero latency across the board when watch movies or videos on your phone whether you’re an iPhone or an android user, but when it comes to audio codecs, the Bose QC Ultra still only have support for SBC and AAC. Where as with Sony headphones, they have support for SBC AAC and LDAC which is Sony’s own high res audio codec, just keep in mind that if you want to use LDAC you do have to be an android user, and if you do decide to use LDAC, that is going to take an additional toll on the battery life.
But if you want to, you can always use a wired connection with any of these headphones cause they all still have an audio jack. The only thing is, Bose’s headphones are using a 2.5 millimeter audio jack where as with the Sony’s have your standard 3.5 millimeter audio jack… but also, with Sony’s headphones you can use them passively. As in, the headphones dont need to be powered on. Where as with the Bose, they do need to be powered on even if you want to use them with a wired connection. But with all of these headphones, you cant use their USB C ports as a weird connection either.
But with all of that out of the way, lets talk about sound. Now both of Sony’s headphones are people pleasers. As in if you like a neutral sound signature or if you like a bass heavy sound signature both of these headphones should have you covered… and with both of these headphones you can adjust their EQ to your liking cause they both have an adjustable EQ. However, the XM5’s do have slightly better instrument separation to them than the XM4’s, so they sound a little more open and they have a little more detail… but the XM4’s have a little more bass to them. Personally I think more people are going to prefer the XM4’s over the XM5’s cause they have a little more physicality or kick in their bass, so you can actually feel their bass. Cause with the Bose QC Ultra, these are a pair of headphones that are better suited from someone that like a more neutral or vocals focused EQ cause the bass on these headphones is mostly on the audible side. As in you can hear the bass, but you dont really feel the bass. Now the Ultras also have an adjustable EQ and you can go in and raise their bass, but even if you crank their bass all the way up, you’re still not going to feel it rattling your head like how you would with the Sony XM4’s. But what really makes the Bose QC Ultra Standout here is their immersive audio feature. Basically this is going to put the vocals right in your face and the instrumentals are going to open up, giving these headphones better instrument separation and openness. Now immersive audio also does the whole head tracking thing, but I also feel that this is a gimmick, so I keep them set to motion so that my music stays still, yeah I know, the naming here is a little weird. Now plainly said, yes, the Bose QC Ultra Sound way more impressive than both of Sony’s headphones with their immersive audio turned… but the problem is, this is going to take an additional toll on the battery life cause they are going to go from 24 hours to 18 hours. So overall, I feel that both of Sony’s headphones are going to be able to make most people happy. However, if you want to physically feel your bass then you’ll want to go with the Sony 1000XM4’s. But if you’re someone that like a neutral sound signature and if you want that instrument separation, then you’re going to want to go with the Bose QC Ultra… but you are going to have to sacrifice some battery life.
Now when it comes to controlling your media, the bose have a hybrid system where they have a physical button to play or pause your music and you can skip through your music as well. And to adjust your volume they have a touch pad that you can swipe up or down. And personally I hate adjusting the volume on these headphones cause it so problematic. Either the steps are too big, the steps are too small or you get a lot of missed inputs. Where as with the Sony’s they both have a touchpad. You double tap to play or pause, swipe front or back to skip through your music and you can swim up or down to adjust your volume. And if you press and hold, they will continuously raise or lower your volume. Now I know some people aren’t fans of touch pads on their headphones, but I highly prefer the touch pads on both of Sony’s headphones over Bose’s medias controls, cause right now, adjust their volume is a headache.
But something that all of these headphones have are wear sensors, so when you take your headphones off they will automatically pause your music, and when you put them back on they’ll start playing your music again. Now personally I dont really care for wear sensors on my headphones so I usually just turn them off, but they are there if you want them.
But now, lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now for the last year and a little bit, the Sony 1000XM5’s were the kings when it came to blocking out noise. They blocked out the most amount of noise at sea level and they also blocked out the most amount of noise at cruising altitude. But now we have the Bose QC Ultra, and I can confidently say they block out more noise than the Sony 1000XM5’s both a the low end and the high end. But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into the ANC Test.
ANC Test
So like you may have just seen, the Bose QC Ultra block out overall more noise than the Sony 1000XM4’s and the Sony 1000XM5’s. Which is great, however, the Bose QC Ultra are a little more aggressive when it comes to blocking out noise than Sony’s headphones. When there is a lot of noise to block out, you start to feel some cabin pressure with the Bose QC Ultra. Now the cabin pressure on the Bose QC Ultra isn’t as bass as the cabin pressure found on the AirPods Max or Bose QC35… but you do feel it. Where as with both of Sony’s headphones, even when there is a lot of noise to block out, they still have less cabin pressure than Bose’s headphones. So yes, Bose’s headphones block out more noise than both the Sony 1000XM5’s and Sony 1000XM4’s… but they do so with more cabin pressure. So some people are still going to prefer the ANC on the 1000XM5’s over the Bose QC Ultra cause they still block out a ton of noise, but with less cabin pressure, making them more comfortable to wear.
Now all of these headphones also have an ambient mode and the ambient on all of these headphones sounds very natural and they all do a good job of blocking out wind noise when walking out doors. However, with both Sony’s headphones you can adjust how much noise these headphones block out and you can also make them focus only on people’s voices. Where as with the bose you cant. But also, all of these headphones have an active ambient mode, so they’ll protect your hearing from sudden loud noises which is good if you plan on commuting with your headphones… but these active ambient modes are very different. But let me just show you, headphone warning.
XM4 Demo
So like you saw, with the XM4’s as soon as they siren started they turned off their ambient mode and when that siren stopped, they turned their ambient mode back on. The XM4’s get it right here. Where as with the Bose, they’re a little slow to react, like this.
Bose Demo
So like you saw, with the bose it took them awhile to react but eventually they got it. But Bose’s reaction time really needs to improve when compared to the XM4’s. But then theres the XM5’s which react fast… but they dont seem to get it quite right.
So like you saw, with the XM5’s they react to that siren very quickly… but then they turn their ambient mode back on and off and on and off… I dont know why the XM5’s can’t get it right like the XM4’s… and even after over a year, Sony still hasn’t fixed this through a firmware update. But overall, the Sony 1000XM4’s have the best ambient mode here cause you can adjust it, and its also going to actively protect your hearing. Where as with the Bose, they also have a good sounding ambient mode… but I prefer to use their Active Sense turned off cause its too slow to react and its overly sensitive. Like you saw, the active sense was slow to react to the siren in the demo, but also, its overlay sensitive cause the Active Sense will turn off your ambient mode if theres a car rolling by, or if there’s a lot of chatter if you’re at the mall… and those are the exact sounds that im trying to listen for. So with active sense being turned on, you just hear snippets of the outside world. And for me, a good ambient mode on your headphones is just as important as good active noise cancelation cause an ambient mode is extremely useful if you’re walking around the city, if you’re at the airport, or even if you’re at home and you still need to be aware of whats going on.
But then, theres speak to chat and quick attention on Sony’s headphones. And speak to chat works a little like this.
Speak to chat Demo
But personally, I’m not a really big fan of speak to chat because it is very easy to accidentally activate. If you’re talking to yourself very quietly that can activate it, if you’re singing along to your music, that can activate it, if you start laughing that can active it, and on rare occasions loud enough outside noises can activate it. So that’s why I don’t use it.
Personally I prefer to use quick attention on both of Sony’s headphones cause its more intentional. And basically, when you fully cover the touch pads on these headphones… they’ll 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 remove you’re headphones like this.
And then when you let go, your headphone will go back to normal again. Now personally I really like this kind of features on my headphones cause its very useful if you’re flying and its useful for quick conversions. And this is something that is straight up missing on the Bose QC Ultra.
And personally I am very annoyed that the Bose QC Ultra dont have this feature cause the Bose NC 700 has this feature and its called conversation mode, and conversation mode is actually better than quick attention on Sony’s headphones. So I really hope that bose adds a conversation mode to the Bose QC Ultra through a firmware update.
But overall, I do feel that the Sony 1000XM4’s have the best ambient mode experience here. You can adjust it to your liking, its going to protect your hearing from sudden loud sounds, but its not going to block out the sounds that you do want to listen for, and you have quick attention which is super useful specially if you plan on flying with your headphones.
Mic XM4 Quiet Room
But finally heres the microphone test, and the Sony 1000XM4’s have the worst preforming microphone here. Now while in a quiet room, this microphone sounds decent.
Mic QC Ultra Quiet
But with the Bose QC Ultra, this microphone does a better job of picking up your voice while in a quite room.
Mic XM5 quite
But then theres the Sony 1000XM5’s which I feel has even better clarity than the Bose QC Ultra while in a quite room.
Mic XM5 Road noise
But what really makes the Sony 1000XM5 stand out here is how well this microphone is able to deal with noise pollution, cause right now this microphone is doing a really good job of reducing this road noise, cause for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clearly hear all of this road noise, but if we were to switch back overt to the Sony 1000XM5’s, it is severely reduced.
Mic Bose Road Noise
Now the Bose QC Ultra also do a decent job of reducing this road noise and they keep your voice front and center, but this microphone doesn’t block out as much noise as the Sony 1000XM5 and the clarity isn’t a good.
Mic XM4 road noise
But then theres the Sony 1000XM4’s, and this microphone is letting in a lot of road noise.
Mic XM4 Chatter
And its the same thing when it come to blocking out chatter.
Mic Bose QC Chatter
Where as with the Bose QC Ultra, this microphone is blocking out some chatter and theres a good amount of clarity in my voice.
Mic Sony XM5 Chatter
But then there are the Sony 1000XM5’s and these are blocking out a lot more chatter and my voice sounds very clear. And again for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clearly hear all of this chatter. But if we were to switch back over to the Sony 1000XM5’s it is severely reduced. So overall, all of these headphones have decent sounding microphones to take phone calls with while in a quite room. But the Sony 1000XM5’s do have the best preforming microphone here cause they do the best job here of dealing with noise pollution.
But with all of that being said, the Bose QC Ultra are defiantly a very impressive pair of headphones that block out a lot of noise, they sound great with their immersive audio turned on, they have a good sounding ambient mode and they have a decently small case which is great for traveling. However, with the Bose QC Ultra you do have to pay a premium over both of Sony’s headphones and there are some short comings that you have to deal with. Now yes, they block out more noise and the 1000XM5’s… but they have a little more cabin pressure. Its not bad, but its there. If you want to get the best sound out of these headphones you have to use them with the immersive audio turned on which which is going to take a toll on the battery life… and the battery life and the fast chargning on these headphones could be better. Plus you cant use them with their ANC turned off. And if you’re going to use them with a wired connection, they need to be powered on. Their volume rocker is a lot a bit of a headache and I hate that they’re missing a conversation mode. And their active sense needs some tuning.
Personally, I feel that if you’re looking for a pair of headphones to travel with, I would go with the Sony 1000XM4’s, they block out a decent amount of noise with less cabin pressure. They have a much better ambient mode thats active and you have quick attention which is very conveinete. They also have a longer lasting battery life and you can extend it if you want, they dont need to be powered on to use them with a wired connection, and they also have a decently small case. Also, if you want to feel your bass, the XM4’s have it. The main draw back is, their microphone is lacking a little bit. But I think the Sony 1000XM4’s give you a better travel experience over the Bose QC Ultra and they’re more affordable as well. And finally theres the Sony 1000XM5, these block out more noise than the XM4’s and they have the best performing microphone here… but they’re not my favorite for traveling cause I don't find them to be as comfortable and their case can be a hassle.