Get Them Here:
Bose QC Headphones: https://geni.us/GC-BoseQCHeadphones
Bose QC Ultra Headphones 2: https://geni.us/GC-BoseQCUltra2HP
Bowers Wilkins PX7 S3: https://geni.us/GC-BWPX7S3
So if you’re looking for a pair of headphones, I feel that you can’t go wrong with either the Bose QC Ultra Headphones 2 or the Bose QC Headphones cause both of these headphones fit very well and they both have very good build quality. They don’t have the best tech specs, but they’re super comfy. But if you want something with better sound quality or a more premium feel, then you can always look at the Bowers And Wilkins PX7 S3.
Regarding pricing, the Bowers And Wilkins PX7 S3’s have a retail price of $470, which is a lot but they are already going on sale for $430 and thanks to their build quality, id say therye worth it. Where as the Bose QC Ultra headphones 2 have a retail price of $450 and the Bose QC’s have a retail price of $360 but they can also be found on sale now. Now I think you can’t go wrong with either of Bose’s headphones, but nonetheless if you want to pick any of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button, and if you want to further support the channel then you can always watch some of the related videos in the description down below.
So first there’s the case, now both of Bose’s headphones come included with decent hardshell cases and both of these cases are smaller than the PX7 S3’s case cause both of these headphones have a fully collapseable design to them. So traveling with either of Bose’s headphones is just going to be easier. Where as with the PX7 S3’s, since these headphones have a lay flat deign to them, their case does have a larger foot print, you can still travel with these headphones, but they aren’t going to be as convenient. However the PX7 S3’s case does feel more premium, inside and out. But for traveling, id rather have something smaller.
But with the cases out of the way, lets talk about the headphones themselves, design wise, all of these ear cups pivot and swivel a good amount so they are going to be able to rest naturally on your head, and the headband on both the PX7 S3’s and Bose QC Ultra 2 glide in and out, where as the ear cups on the Bose QC click which I do prefer cause it just makes it easier to find your fit. Now overall, both of Bose’s headphones have very good build quality and they both have very good durability as well. And the same thing can be said about the PX7 S3’s as well. However with the PX7 S3’s, these do feel more premium cause these have exposed metal arms, they’re using real leather on the ear pads and headband and everything else is covered in fabric. Where as with the Bose QC Ultra 2, these also have exposed metal arms, which I think look good as well… but there’s still a good amount of plastic as well. Which is fine, but they don’t feel as premium.
But when it comes to fit, both of Boses headphones are the winners here for multiple reasons. First off when it comes to clamping force, the PX7 S3’s have a tight fit to them, they do break in after awhile, but they are still tight. So for that reason I would say that they are not big head approved. Where as with the Bose QC Ultra 2, these have a neutral amount of clamping force. Not too tight and not too lose, and I would say that these are big head approved. But then there are the Bose QC’s and these have an even loser fit, which I feel is great for traveling. But then there are the ear pads on these headphones. Now the earpds on the PX7 S3’s are apricots and they should be able to accommodate most people, but the ear pads on the Bose QC Ultra 2 are more spacious and the ear pads on the Bose QC’s are even more spacious… so if you have larger ears or ears that stick out a lot, boses headphones will have you better covered there as well. But also, the earpads on Bose’s headphones have less surface area coming in contact with your skin, so both of Bose’s earpads will stay cooler for longer than the PX7 S3’s, the Bose QC’s more so cause these have even less surface area.
But then theres also their weight… now the PX7 S3’s weigh in at 300 grams, which given their more premium materials, I think that’s fine. And besides most premium ANC headphones weigh in between 280 and 300 grams. But then there are the Bose QC Ultra headphones 2 which weigh in at 262 grams which I would consider to be light weight and the bose QC which weigh in at 235 grams which I would consider to be super light weight. So with both of Bose’s headphones, you don’t notice them shifting around on your head when you’re walking around with them on and they are both much easier to forget that you’re wearing them when you’re sitting at your desk, in bed or if youre on a plane. Where as with the PX& S3’s you never really forget that youre wearing these headphones.
So like I have said multiple times already, boses headphones might not have the best tech specs or the best performance out there… however both of these headphones fit very well and they are both super comfy. And when compared to the PX7 S3’s, both of these headphones have less clamping force, they have more spacious ear pads that stay cooler for longer, and they are both lighter as well, but the Bose QC’s are more comfortable than the Bose QC Ultra 2. And no matter how amazing your headphones specs are, if they don’t fit well you’re not going to want to use them, and well, boses headphones just fit very well.
But now lets talk about tech specs, when it comes to battery life, both the PX7 S3’s and the Bose QC Ultra 2 have an advertised battery life of 30 hours with their ANC turned on and you can always extend their battery lives by using them with their ANC turned off… and this is actually an upgrade for the QC Ultra 2. Cause with the Bose QC, these have an advertised batter life of 24 hours with their ANC turned on… but you can’t turn off their ANC.
And all of these headphones charge via a USB C port, as they should. But with the PX7 S3’s and Bose QC Ultra 2. you can use these USB C ports as a wired connection and you can use them while they are charging, making them a good option for gaming. Now the PX7 S3’s might not have an audio jack, but you can still use them with an audio jack connection cause they come included with a USB C to audio jack cable… where as both of boses headphones still have a 2.5 millimeter audio jack and they also come with a cable…
However, the Bose QC’s are the only headphones here that can be used passively, which I feel could be a big deal for flyers or for content creators. Where as with these other two headphones, if you want to use them with a wired connection, they still have to be powered on.
But when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, both of these headphones can be connected to any two bluetooth devices at the same, making them a great option for any power user out there that likes to hot swap between lets say your PC and iPhone… and latency is not an issue for any of these headphones so you can use them to watch videos with on your phone. And when it comes to audio codecs, all of these headphones have support for SBC and AAC, duh, but the Bose QC Ultra 2 also have support for snap dragon sound and the PX7 S3 have support for APTX Classic, HD, Adaptive, and Lossless… but in order to use any of these higher quality audio codecs you do have to be an android user cause iPhones top out at AAC, but regardless all of these headphones sound good with AAC.
But now lets talk about sound. And simply put, the PX7 S3’s sound much better than boses headphones. for starters the Bose QC Ultra 2 sound the same as the original Bose QC Ultra, and the QC Ultra 2’s sound similar to the Bose QC’s. Both of These headphones are going to be better suited for someone that like a more neutral sound signature or a more vocals focused sound signature cause these headphones just don't have a lot of kick in their bass. You can hear the bass, but you can’t feel the bass. And even if you were to go into their EQ and raise their bass all the way up, you’ll be able to hear it, but you’re not going to get too much of a resonance or kick from your bass. So they might not be as fun. And this goes for both of these headphones.
However, the Bose QC Ultra 2’s do sound very different with their ANC turned off. I feel that the Bose QC Ultra 2’s sound better with their ANC turned off , cause with their ANC turned off they sound a lot more open, the bass is a little more present and the mids and vocals aren’t over emphasized like with the original Bose QC Ultra or the Bose QC’s which you can only use with their ANC turned on. And this is a big deal, cause ANC changing the sound of your music, that’s something that happens on older headphones, cause with newer headphones, their sound doesn’t change all that much whether their ANC is on or off. So with the Bose QC Ultra Headphones 2, for the best sound quality, you do want to use them with their ANC turned off… but still these are going to be better suited for someone that likes a more neutral sound signature.
And then there’s the immersive audio on these headphones… and this is a feature that’s you’re not going to find on the Bose QC’s… and this is a feature that I never use for two reasons. For starters, immersive audio is going to take a toll on your battery life cause the Bose QC Ultra 2’s will go from 30 hours to 23 hours… but more importantly, I dont like immersive audio cause it adds a lot of reverb to your music, making it sound very unnatural. And with cinema mode, which is an all new feature for the Bose QC Ultra headphones 2… its another version of immersive mode which adds a lot of reverb to your audio, but it also amplifies the vocals.
So overall, i do not touch immersive mode or cinema mode cause it makes your audio sound very unnatural cause of all of the added reverb and it also takes an additional toll on the battery life. Also keep in mind, the Bose QC Ultra 2’s sound very different with their ANC turned on or off… I feel that for the best sound you want to use them with their ANC turned off cause your music is going to sound more open. The Bose QC Ultra 2’s sound good enough to get the job done, but these are still better suited for someone that like a more neutral or vocals focused EQ cause you’re not going to get a lot of kick out of their bass. But technically yes, the Bose QC Ultra 2 do have better sound quality than the Bose QC’s but only if you use them with their ANC turned off.
Where as with the PX7 S3’s for starters these headphones sound more balanced than both of Bose’s headphones cause they don’t put as much emphasis on the vocals… but more importantly they sound a lot more open. Now these headphones do sound a little more open with their ANC turned off… but its a very small difference. But more importantly, wheter their ANC is turned on or off, these headphones have a lot more resonance and just presences in their bass. And if you like to feel your bass, then these headphones will have you covered as well. Overall, when it comes to sound quality, its not even close, the Bowers And Wilkins PX7 S3’s sound more open, more balanced and they have more kick in their bass, so the are just more fun. Where as with Bose’s headphones, these just sound good enough to get the job done.
Now when it comes to your media controls, the QC Ultra 2 have a hybrid system, they have a physical button so you can play and pause your music and you can double tap to skip through your music, but to adjust your volume they have a touch pad that you swipe up or down on. But honestly, I don't like this touch pad cause it very hard to get the volume that you actually want. I just really wish they had a physical volume rocker like on the Bose QC headphones, so anytime that I need to adjust my volume on these headphones, I usually just use my phone cause I don't want to deal with the QC Ultra 2’s touch pad. And the media controls on the Bose QC’s is one of the big reasons why I like recommending these headphones either to non tech savvy people, or older people, cause not only are the Bose QC’s super comfy… thanks to their physical buttons and power on switch, these headphones are super easy to use. And the PX7 S3’s are also using physical buttons, they aren’t as easy to find as the Bose QC’s but regardless these physical buttons follow the design language that the PX7 S3’s are going for. Better build quality and analog buttons.
However, both the PX7 S3’s and Bose QC Ultra 2 have wear sensors, so whenever you take these headphones off they are going to automatically pause your music and when you put them back on, they’ll start playing your music again. Now I don’t really care for wear sensors on my headphones so I just sully then them off, but they are there if you want them. And tehcncinally speaking, the Bose QC’s should have wear sensors giving their price, but they don’t.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones… and well if activate noise cancelation is very important to you, then you shouldn’t get the Bowers And Wilkins PX7 S3’s, but so that you can see for yourself, we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
ANC Test
So like you may have just seen, if active noise cancellation is very important to you, or if you plan on trailing a lot with your headphones, then you shouldn’t get the PX7 S3’s cause the ANC on these headphones is more akin to a pair of mid tier ANC like lets say the Sony ULT wear. Where as both of Bose’s headphones are blocking out noticeably more noise than the PX7 S3’s, specifically chatter, And just as you’d expect, the Bose QC Ultra 2 are blocking out a little more noise than the Bose QC’s… However, the performance difference between the Bose QC Ultra 2 and Bose QC’s isn’t all that different, So for me it wouldn’t be worth paying the premium for the Bose QC Ultra 2… but its actually very good that bose isn’t artificially holding back the Bose QC’s and their active noise cancellation to get people to buy the Ultra 2’s. But the award thing here is, the Bose QC Ultra 2’s are actually blocking out a little less noise than the Original Bose QC Ultra’s. So here’s hoping that bose improves the ANC on the Bose QC Ultra 2 through a firmware update… or lets just hope that bose doesn’t degrade the ANC on the their Bose QC and Original QC Ultra to make the Ultra 2’s look good cause there is precedent for this.
But nonetheless, if active noise cancleiton is very important you, I still recommend that you go with either the Sony 1000XM6’s or Sony 1000XM5’s cause these are the kings when it comes to ANC, plus thank to their atmospheric pressure sensors, these will out perform these other headphones at cruising altitude.
And then there’s the ambient mode on these headphone, now the ambient mode on the PX7 S3 sounds good enough to get the job done… but the ambient mode on both of Bose’s headphones sounds more natural, and more importantly, their microphone arrays do a better job of rejecting wind noise when walking out doors.
But unfortunly, none of these headphones have a conversation mode and that’s a shame cause the Bose NC 700’s had one of the best, and it works like this.
Conversation mode
So like you may have just seen, with the Bose NC 700, at the press of a button they will quickly lower the volume of your media and pump in all of the ambient sound around you so that you can quickly talk to someone without having to remove your headphones, and this feature is super useful especially when you’re traveling with your headphones. And a conversation mode is super standard on premium ANC headphones, but for some reason Bose just abandoned it when they can easily add it to both of these headphones through a firmware update.
Mic Bose QC Quiet
But finally here’s the microphone test, and for the last few years bose has been struggling with their micrphones for phone calls.
Mic Ultra 2 quiet
But the mic on the Bose QC Ultra 2 has been improved. Now while in a quiet room, both of these headphones sound good… however I do feel the Bose QC Ultra 2’s do a slightly better job of focusing on your voice. But its a very slight difference.
Mic PX7 Quiet
But surprisingly, the Microphone on the Bowers and WIlkins PX7 S3’s sounds better and performs better than the mic found on either of these two bose headphones. Cause while in a quiet room, this mic does have better clarity to it.
Mic PX7 Road
But where the Bowers And Wilkins PX7 S3 really stands out is when it comes to dealing with noise pollution, cause right now this mic is doing a really good job of reducing all of this road noise, cause for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clealery hear all of this road noise, but if we were to switch back over to the Bowers And Wilkins PX7 S3, it is severely reduced.
Mic Ultra 2 road
Now the Bose QC Ultra 2 are also doing an okay job of reducing this road noise… but not as good as the Bowers And Wilkins PX7 S3, and you would think that a company like bose with all of their prestige, they would of better here.
Mix QC Road
And when it comes to the Bose QC’s you can still somewhat understand me, but there is a lot of road noise in the back ground by comparison and my voice is pushed down as well.
Mic Bose QC chatter
And when it comes to blocking out chatter, you can also hear a lot of noise pollution in the background, my voice does sound a little hollow and its getting pushed down on.
Mic Ultra 2 Chatter
Wehre as with the Bose QC Ultra 2, these are doing a better job of dealing with this chatter.
Mic PX7 Chater
But then there are the Bowers And Wilkins PX7 S3 which are doing a better job of dealing with this chatter, cause again for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel mcrihpone, you’re going to clealery hear all of this chatter, but if we were to switch back over to the Bowers And Wilkins PX7 S3, it is severely reduced. So overall, both of Bose’s mics are okay to take phone calls with while in a quiet room, but surprisingly, the Bowers And Wilkins PX7 S3 do a better job of dealing with noise pollution.
But with all of that being said, Bose’s headphones don’t have the best tech specs out there, they don’t have the best battery lives, they don’t block out the most amount of noise, they don’t have the best sounding microphones for phone calls and they don’t have the best sound quality. However both of Bose’s headphones fit very well and they are both very comfortable. And now matter how amazing your headphone’s tech specs are… if they don’t fit well, you’re not going to want to use them. And both of Bose’s headphones fit well. Specifically, they’re both lighter, they have a looser fit, their ear cups are more spacious and their ear pads stay cooler for longer than the PX7 S3’s. They also block out more noise than the PX7 S3’s and they have a smaller case… so these are going to be better for traveling. But with the PX7 S3’s these do have more premium materials, I think they look very stylish and they sound better than boses headphones. They sound more open and balanced and they have much better bass. The PX7 S3’s are nice, but you can’t go wrong with Bose;s headphones.