Sony WH-1000XM5 VS Bose NC 700 Vs Bose QC45

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0:00 Intro
1:41 Case
3:02 Design
4:42 Fit
7:45 Tech Specs
11:14 Sound
13:10 Media Controls
14:14 Active Noise Cancelation
17:00 Ambient Mode
22:30 Mic Test
24:26 Verdict
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So the new Sony WH-1000XM5’s have some very important upgrades on them like better active noise cancellation, better sound, better feeling leatherette, and better sounding microphones… but their all new design is a bit of a problem. But today we’re going to compare the WH-1000XM5’s to both the Bose NC 700 and Bose QC45’s. And I’m actually very excited to talk about the Bose QC45’s today cause after a recent firmware upgrade, they did get a measurable ANC performance, which was a huge surprise and a welcomed one as well.

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[nickjacobsss]

I went out and bought the xm5 and qc45's to try head to head.
Although most reviews say to get the XM5's... I ended up keeping the qc45's and returned the sony's. 

My reason, I was buying these to code for hours on end without interruption, so ANC and Comfort are the only things that matter. 
Both models had plenty good ANC, but the QC45's are just way more comfortable once you hit the 2+ hour mark. 
The sony padding is initially softer, but gets unreasonably hot after a while, which creates distraction.
Although the actual sound was better on the XM5's, the QC's still sound good enough. 
Also I really like that bose kept the oldschool controls on the QC45's
I will say the one thing I really liked on the sony's was transparency mode enables when you hold your hand over the cup.

[vokso]

As much as I like the XM5, I took the Bose QC45 for a simple reason: COMFORT and ANC. You can easily forget you are wearing the Bose, they are that light and comfortable! I really wanted to get the Sony because of the microphone but I was bit turned off by the price and the comfort that doesn't match the Bose ( I am just speaking here and I don't have Piccolo's ears! . Guys, comfort is KEY! When headphones don't fit well or are not comfy, they will gather dust on a shelf. by the way, on bestbuy the bose QC45 are being sold for $245 vs 350 for the sony (the difference ain't worth a Benjamin to me ), a great deal!

[nihlify]

I don't agree with the comfort of the XM5. I've literally worn them all day for a week and haven't notice any comfort problems.

[zugo-tg]

Only reviewer so far to compare these to the NC700's. Respect

[satoapendragon]

Love the Qc line. The physical buttons are a massive highlight. Sold my 700s because I hate touch pads on headphones. Also the light weight of my 35II is great. If I had the cash I'd upgrade to the 45s

[ragzzytv]

once in every 2 3 years I change my headphones and when I'm looking for a new one, I just see what's latest in the market and then head straight to your channel to see how they fare. I bought my Sennheiser 4.50 BTNC, Bose QC buds, Sennheiser Momentum 3 buds all by seeing your reviews. it's on point and just tell me what I want to know without the overarching hype talk or bias. Even If my preferences are different than what you choose, I have enough data from your video to make that decision on my own. I really appreciate what you are doing here. Great work mate :)

[JussiVaihia]

Wore xm5s all day long on sunburnt head without issues. Great upgrade over xm2s. The headband scare had me worried, but Im not feeling it.

[Trewe]

Apologies if this has already been mentioned. Another major issue with the XM5 is that the ear cups get hot! The synthetic ear pad material, recycled soft plastic?, doesn’t dissipate heat and causes ear temp’ to rise quickly. From my experience I can only listen to them for 30mins before having to take a break and let my ears cool down. Sony do need to address and I’d suggest they do this by using using woven natural fibres rather than plastic for the padding.

[Methenavigator]

this video is the realest comment for Bose QC45 among what i have watched, solid content!

[ronnieshafran]

Great review, spent hours trying to figure out the most comfortable pair and you really helped the most on YouTube.

[Squidboyy]

Finally a truly honest and professional review and comparison of these headphones.

First of all, I think 95% of all reviews of the new XM5s on YouTube are right out bought by Sony. You honestly can not trust any of them because of course their headphones will always come on top and they will not touch on the real feel and usage of the headphones which isn’t as great as the rest. Not even the sound quality, the XM5 sound good to almost anyone, but they sound good for a reason, bass, because mainstream people like bass and the most bass a headphone has, the better it is, which is in fact obviously totally false and just insane. That’s why Sony reduced the bass just a touch in the XM5s compared with their predecessors, they know the bass isn’t what makes sound great and it isn’t good for your eardrums either if you still want to hear any sound when you’re getting older. But I guess nobody’s thinking about that.

Fantastic review and comparison here, the best there is anywhere online, each major feature touched and presented very accurately and honestly.

To be honest, I could not agree more on the importance of comfort when it comes to headphones. When you are on a +1 hour or 16 hour flight, the Bose QC45s are the best ANC headphones money can buy atm. Both for their comfort which is unmatched and also the very comfortable sound signature, because you honestly can’t be serious to listen to music for a long period of time with the kind of bass any of the Sony headphones have.
Comfort must be both in feel, fit and wear of the headphones but also in the sound. A flatter, more accurate sound signature equals much less fatigue and headache when enjoying music for hours.

One last thing to mention, perhaps people don’t know of this but all Bose QC35s’ and QC45s’ headbands are made out of metal, I believe it’s aluminum, if you ignore the plastic you can see a little there, and if you literally cut off the headband cushion, you’ll see they’re metal all around without any plastic combining. What this means is that this contributes to their flexibility and durability, since their headband can never ever snap in two, it’s practically impossible to snap it. And another benefit to this is that if the leatherette wears out on the headband after two years, you can simply cut it off, buy and install a brand new one yourself and there you go, you’ve got brand new headphones. Of course if you chose to change the ear pads as well.
I don’t personally see nor think the headband on the XM5s is made out of metal nor can its leatherette be changed so easily if at all when it starts scraping and looking like crap in a couple years.

Think about all of these before throwing your money at any headphones.

[Medz]

I agree with you about the XM5's. My ears touch the bottom of the cups. I'm going back to my 700's which I find fit better and simply turning on the "More Bass" EQ setting makes them sound (to me) as good as the XM5's.

[Bluemoon-wwko]

Thank you for mentioning/comparing how comfortable those headphones are! My problem with wearing Sony headphones is that my ears become really hot after one hour of wearing them. I tried XM10002, 3, and 4 right after they were released, but I returned all of them. QC35 was the only pair of headphones that I can wear for more than 1 hour and I found NC700 is good too! Still, NC700 has more clamping pressure than QC35, but I like their new features and sound profile. As you mentioned XM5 is less comfortable than NC700, so I will skip the XM5. Thank you for saving my money!

[ChillFantasticFive]

Nc700's are way underrated. Sound quality is much better than xm4 and the call quality was top until xm5 edged them out. I got a pair and returned them for xm4's beacuse i thouhbt they were defective. Lo key missed them. Xm5's are perfect (for me)

[bboysupes]

Thank you so much for talking about clamping force. I had the XM3s, but the clamping force was too much and I would get headaches and jaw pain from wearing them for longer than an hour or so. I think I'm gonna go with the QC45s for my next set of wireless headphones

[Krishnakumar-wlih]

I think recycled plastic should be used in low and midrange headphone. Flagship ones should always come with premium materials as its all about experience

[gauravmaitei]

I've been watching video reviews for headphones since 2 weeks on almost daily basis to decide on my new headphone and absolutely none of the reviewers mentioned about 17:52 in their videos. You've earned a subscriber!

[MultiPasswordman]

Thanks for the review. I decided to get the QC 45!

[deljohn]

Regarding the hotspot issue described in the video: The narrower band and slightly reduced weight of the XM5's reduces the contact area/weight across the top of my head when compared to my XM3's. So, I am not having an issue with the redesign. Of course, this is my own experience and your mileage may vary.

[piokul]

Thanks, your reviews are very thorough and objective. They helped me a lot in researching what to buy for my particular needs.