Bose Quietcomfort 45 headphone announced, 23rd September release.

[It’s Time To Go]

After they first surfaced in July in an FCC filing and again earlier this month, Bose is today introducing the QuietComfort 45 headphones. Priced at $329.95 and going on sale September 23rd, the QC45 headphones will offer improved active noise cancellation, a transparency / ambient sound feature that Bose calls "Aware Mode," upgraded voice call performance, and longer battery life that can now hit 24 hours on a charge. Bose is making a big deal about this product release, claiming that it's "updating the headphone that redefined headphones." Preorders begin today.

Available in black or "smoke white," they look quite similar to their QC35 II predecessors, with a design that's much more plasticky than Bose's other premium headphones, the Noise Canceling Headphones 700. But that means, like before, these can be folded up for easy storage in a bag or the included carrying case. Bose says it has refined the design in subtle ways: according to the company, "pleats and puckers have been removed from soft materials, and gaps between components have been replaced with smooth transitions."

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The controls are largely the same, with four buttons on the right earcup and one on the left for toggling between noise canceling and transparency modes.

Speaking of which, Bose claims the noise cancellation on the QC45s does a better job than the QC35 II headphones when it comes to eliminating mid-range frequencies, which are "those typically found in commuter trains, busy office spaces, and cafes." Whereas the Noise Canceling Headphones 700 allow you to customize the amount of noise cancellation applied, the QC45s will offer just two modes: quiet and aware.

The QC45s also step up in terms of microphone performance. Bose has included a beam form array for improved voice isolation on calls, and there's also "a rejection array" that is meant to prevent distracting nearby sounds from being picked up and coming through to whoever you're speaking with.

Battery life is rated at up to 24 hours of straight playback. And yes, the QC45s have a USB-C jack. Bose says a full top-off takes two and a half hours, but you can get three hours of playback with a brief 15-minute charge. Like their predecessors and the NCH700 (which remain for sale), the QuietComfort 45 headphones support multipoint pairing for two connections at once.

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Bose announces QuietComfort 45 noise-canceling headphones with 24-hour battery life

Same design, better everything else.

www.theverge.com

I'll be very interested to see how they compare to my Sony WF-1000XM4 headphones, which are some of the best wireless headphones I've tried.

 

[Sec0nd]

The QC35II is my favorite headphone ever. So good that I can't imagine getting this one would be worth the money while I'm still in love with my old one.

USB-C is really nice though...

 

[Andi]

Bought QC I back in 2016, only had to change the leather pads once. One of the best tech purchases i ever made. This still go strong, battery is great too! If the 45 are as good or better and you are looking for a headset, go buy it! You will not regret it!

 

[echoshifting]

I wonder how the sound quality is compared to the NC700s. That's what I'm wearing now and it's the best set I've ever owned. I do wish Bose would step up their app game though.

 

[Jersa]

I've the Sony 1000xm3 headphones, but recently picked up the Bluetooth set of the Bose A20s for flying. The noise cancelling and music quality through Bluetooth sound great. Might give these a shot if it is of similar caliber.

 

[elLOaSTy]

My almost 10 year old QC15's still work great, Ive just had to replace the foam a couple times but its cheap and easy. If and when those fail I'll replace them with these.

I bought a bluetooth adaptor for them some years back. It works great, what an awesome upgrade it was, plus I do still like using AAA.

 

[Pargon]

It's good to see that Bose are smart enough to admit their faults and provide a successor to the QC35 rather than sticking with the awful NC700 design.
Physical controls are so much better than gesture-based interfaces (looking at you, Sony).
I do still prefer the QC25 design to the QC35, though. It will be difficult to tell without a direct comparison, but I hope it's closer to that.

What I'm not happy about, is that the headband on my QC35-II has warped over time, and Bose earpads will disintegrate in 18–24 months.
I eventually swapped them out for velour pads, too - since pleather is uncomfortably hot during the summer. That does hurt the ANC performance somewhat. I'd like to see someone other than Apple offering a fabric option.

And Bose's wireless connectivity is pretty bad.
They have a noticeably shorter range than Sony or Apple Bluetooth headphones.
I expect they'll still only be supporting SBC/AAC codecs, too.

My almost 10 year old QC15's still work great, Ive just had to replace the foam a couple times but its cheap and easy. If and when those fail I'll replace them with these.

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I'm still disappointed that my QC25 (wired, AAA) died, even though Bose replaced it with a QC35-II (wireless, rechargeable). One of the sides just stopped working entirely.
I preferred that to either of the QC35 revisions, but I had a limited edition colorway (triple-black) that couldn't be replaced.

 

[elLOaSTy]

I'm still disappointed that my QC25 (wired, AAA) died, even though Bose replaced it with a QC35-II (wireless, rechargeable). One of the sides just stopped working entirely.
I preferred that to either of the QC35 revisions, but I had a limited edition colorway (triple-black) that couldn't be replaced.

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Yeah I use them for at home and travel, and outside of travel I still just plug them in. The Bluetooth adaptor 3rd parties made for the 15 and 25's are really sleek, they pop into the aux slot and control the headphones so it's not awkward looking. It's too bad you couldn't hold on to them but better that they were replaced.

 

[Deleted member 4614]

Just ordered these, hoping they're great.

 

[shnurgleton]

Love my 700s but the QC line is legendary, plastic construction and all

 

[Kyoufu]

I don't see a major reason to upgrade from my QC35 tbh.

 

[Galkinator]

I have my QC35 for 2 years now and it's easily one of the best products I've ever had.
It's cool that they continue this line but personally I don't see anything worth upgrading for, especially the 24 hr battery which is about the same as QC35 so this is a really minor improvement if any.

 

[It’s Time To Go]

Turned out they shipped later than they thought, reviews were late and my own only arrived yesterday

CNET

The QC45 are excellent noise-canceling headphones with good sound, top-notch noise-canceling, good headset performance and solid battery life. They're a clear upgrade over QC35 II. That said, if you already own the QC35 II, I don't think they're quite enough of an upgrade to make them an instant must-have unless you really want USB-C charging. And if you already own the 700, these aren't an overall upgrade. (The 700s are over two years old, so they're probably due for an upgrade in the not-so-distant future, though Bose does seem to take its time upgrading its headphones.)

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The Verge

The QuietComfort 45s are Bose at its best. They're not some grand departure, and they adhere so closely to what's come before that it's easy to perceive them as less ambitious than the Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. But with their enhancements to noise cancellation, a useful new aware mode, and other tweaks, Bose has added ample appeal to what was already a solid foundation. And you're not simply going to find a more comfortable pair of noise-canceling headphones. I just hope the company unlocks their fullest potential with some firmware updates in the coming months.

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PCMAG

The QuietComfort 45 headphones cement Bose as the leader in active noise cancellation, with better performance than the $549 AirPods Max, the $349 Sony WH-1000XM4, and Bose's own $379 Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. That said, the QC 45 aren't the best-sounding pair of the bunch, and each competitor offers unique strengths. The AirPods Max deliver unparalleled connectivity with Apple devices, as well as Apple's unique Adaptive EQ and Spatial audio features. Sony's WH-1000XM4 headphones are the best bet for audiophiles. And the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 offer the ability to tune noise cancellation and sound signature to taste. Each of these pairs brings something to the table and is worth considering. But if it's the absolute best ANC you're after, the QuietComfort 45 headphones are the ones to get, and our Editors' Choice winner for class-leading noise cancellation.

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[Helix]

I love the QC headphones but damn these ANC earbuds are getting real good these past few months. I was intially looking into getting the 45s but now I'm looking at QC Earbuds and WF XM4

 

[It’s Time To Go]

My thoughts (for context I own AirPods pros, Max, Sony WF-1000XM) are

They blow my AirPod max's out of the water. Maybe its cos I was so disappointed with them specially since they were so expensive but yeah, miles better than either apple headphone
Top quality ANC. I haven't used them outside of my home yet, but from wearing them inside it feels like far superior ANC to the Sony ones.
Very loud, which I like, since neither in ear buds or the AirPods max are very loud. I think the Sony ones edge them out slightly in terms of music quality? But again I'd have to give them longer than a day to compare.
I personally don't care about the lack of options between ANC or quiet mode. I was kinda annoyed to have to download another app to get the best out of them, but its not a big deal.

 

[Psychotext]

Yisssss.... I hated the last design so I'm all over these. They'll be great for when I get back to travelling.

 

[construct]

qc 35s are a dream to wear compared to one of my $500 pair of headphones. i gladly welcome their successor