REASONS TO BUY
Easy app
Incredibly comfortable
Good ANC
Boomy bass
REASONS TO AVOID
Pricey
Meh calling
Too much thump
Bose QuietComfort Review
A cozy headphone with great but not mind-blowing sound and ANC
The QuietComfort is a mid-range priced headphone that blocks a significant amount of ambient distractions and offers good comfort and sound quality.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
By Genaveve Bradshaw ⋅ Senior Review Analyst ⋅ August 1, 2025
Contributions From: Rachael Lamore & Lissette Velasquez
RELATED: Best Wireless Headphones of 2025
Our Verdict
We consider the Bose QuietComfort to be the “less talented, less popular, younger sibling” of the QuietComfort Ultra. It comes from the same Bose pedigree, known for its outstanding sound, noise cancelling, and user experience, but the regular QuietComfort doesn't do any of it as well as the Ultra. The QuietComfort is best for mid-range budget shoppers who seek premium comfort and quality ANC and thrive on thick bass. Its punchy mix will satiate pop, hip-hop, and dance lovers, but it's not for everyone. It includes a fully adjustable ANC that lets you select the right level of noise blocking. Plush materials add to the experience, providing supreme comfort while you sit back and enjoy an exciting, head-bobbing sound mix. But, its call quality is subpar. However, if you can't splurge on another top picks, it's a nice choice if you're looking to upgrade from the budget tier.
Our Analysis and Test Results
From aesthetics to audio, the QuietComfort is one of the most customizable.
We put this headphone through the wringer, taking objective measurements of sound, ANC, and call quality in our state-of-the-art audio studio. We also made evaluations first-hand, using a panel of audio expert judges.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
Sound Quality
Our expert audiophile says, “Overall, I quite liked them! They have proficient gain (volume) and a solid, good, reliable sound quality. They just don't provide that top-shelf, totally immersive sound experience that I was hoping for, but they still do a damn good job.”
The sound on the QuietComfort is warm and fleshed out with great depth and body. We enjoyed listening to most genres of music, but the sound profile feels heavily sculpted. It's like listening to the cinematic version rather than sitting in the studio.
If you're fond of punchy bass lines, you'll love the extra emphasis. Plus, the lows never sound muddied, even at loud volumes. We loved the added drama on hip-hop bangers like “IV. Sweatpants” by Childish Gamino and “Area Codes” by Ludacris. Taylor Swift's “Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?” was a delight.
These headphones shine in the mids, sounding natural with good clarity and clean precision. Instruments and vocals sound developed, but sometimes, the thumpy lows can overpower acoustic-style tracks, as we noticed while listening to indie, folk, and soft rock tracks from Father John Mistry and Jim Croce.
The highs sound crisp and present and entirely adequate, but if we're nitpicking, they aren't entirely balanced with the other frequencies. They never sound harsh or tinny; we just wish they were emphasized to add more sparkle or presence to singer-songwriter mixes with minimal instrumentation and heavy emphasis on intimate vocals.
"Finally, some bigger, punchier bass!" proclaimed one of our testers.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
Soundstage
The QuietComfort headphones are almost spot on average for soundstage. You can definitely locate where each sound is supposed to be coming from on tracks like “Sunday Morning” by The Velvet Underground or “Where Do We Go from Here” by Charles Bradley. However, the sound doesn't feel as immersive as other flagship models.
Frequency Response
The frequency response analysis conducted in our cutting-edge audio studio complements the opinions of our panel of experts. The QuietComfort follows our Target Response well, with a marked deviation in the bass range. This indicates that the general blend of sound will complement most musical genres but offer the best experience for punchy bass across hip-hop, pop, and dance genres.
The highs are also slightly elevated above our target response, and while we did notice some occasional sibilance, it was never piercing or keening. One of our testers said she could listen to music loudly and “never have to wince and reach for the volume button because of upper-end noises becoming too sharp.”
"These are some of my favorites to wear as far as comfort goes," noted one of our testers.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
Comfort and Fit
The QuietComfort is one of the coziest pairs of headphones in our lineup. We could all wear them for up to 10 hours straight without discomfort.
The plush faux leather on the earcups and headband is pleasant and buttery soft. The earcups can handle ears of nearly every size, with a measured interior size of 61 x 40 millimeters. Our testers with ear dimensions of 2.1-2.5 inches tall to 1.5-2.0 inches wide found the fit perfect.
The gentle clamping provides enough force to feel secure but not tight, making these an excellent option for glasses wearers. We found the cozy feel held true even with thick-framed specs. But, they easily fall off with swift head movements or a deep backstretch.
Noise Cancellation
The QuietComfort provides great, but not mind-blowing ANC. It outperforms most budget-tier headphones we tested but still falls short of some premium models.
The QuietComfort's microphones, located inside and outside the earcups, work together to limit external sounds by an average of 27 decibels. This was sufficient to block noisy distractions while riding in a car, running errands, or working in the office, but not strong enough to fully remove low-frequency, loud airplane humming.
Bose doesn't offer a true passive mode (sound-blocking based on physical design without the aid of microphones and algorithms). The two default settings are Quiet mode, where ANC is on, or Aware mode, where ANC is off and external sounds are actively relayed through the headphones. The Aware mode is what good transparency mode means, with a pleasant sound that is not overly loud, though not quite clear enough to carry on a conversation. To get a passive-ish mode, where ANC and transparency are off, you must create a custom ANC mode in the app.
On any headset, ANC is active in the low- to mid-frequency range, with passive noise cancellation kicking in for sound blocking in the treble range. The QuietComfort's ANC blocks out 20-30 decibels of sound in the mid to low range. The lack of passive mode isn't a deal breaker. However, if you experience headaches, dizziness, or disorientation with ANC and hope for a comfortable yet effective level, this pair might not work well for you.
The QuietComfort provides outstanding noise isolation.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
One of the biggest considerations you'll need to make is if you are okay with a thumpy, bass-forward sound mix. Some will love it and some will hate it.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
Ease of Use
The QuietComfort's user experience is outstanding.
These headphones have intuitive controls and a well-thought-out app that allows you to customize them. The cherry on top is a reliable connection to multiple devices on any operating system.
The Bose fold and come with a compact carrying case, making them excellent travel companions.
Controls
The all-button controls earned top ratings for their reliability and ease of use. Unlike most headsets, which require you to depress the power button for 3-10 seconds to enter Bluetooth pairing mode, the Bose has a slide power button you hold in place until the indicator light blinks blue.
The controls scored high in our testing, but we wish the QuietComfort supported Head Detection, which automatically pauses sound when you remove them.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
The QuietComfort also features multifunction and volume control buttons on the right earcup. The buttons are large and adequately spaced, making them easy to locate when blindly using them. The multifunction button controls media playback and phone calls, with direct access to your mobile device's voice assistant. A left earcup button lets you switch between Quiet and Aware mode, and other custom-made noise-cancelling modes.
Customization
We love the Bose app for ease of use and versatility. EQ customization is the most important feature, which some testers used to dial down the bass.
While you can select between presets or manually adjust the EQ yourself, the sound customizations are more limited than some of the competition.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
The presets have only four options that increase or decrease the gains of the bass or treble. The manual slider gives you control over the mids, but we only noticed a difference if we really cranked the ranges up or down.
However, despite these limitations, the Bose app is still one of our favorites. There are loads of useful features that let you customize the level of noise canceling (including optional Wind Block), manage Bluetooth connections, and rename your device (we chose "Green Machine").
Credit: Matt Lighthart
While you technically can customize the sound mix, it isn't the most fun. Unlike premium competitors that support spatial audio, the QuietComfort lacks this feature and misses out on the added layer of sound dimension.
The QuietComfort's unique Bluetooth slider control made pairing to our devices that much easier.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
Connectivity
These headphones pair easily with Apple and Android devices and hold a stable connection even when multiple devices are connected. We experienced no issues.
We measured a 125-foot connectivity range in an outdoor setting with minimal network interference, which was about average for our cohort.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
The QuietComfort has a rock-solid Multipoint feature. “Using Multipoint here is a dream,” rejoiced one tester. The Bluetooth slider makes it easy to pair. It seamlessly connects to new devices running any OS and swaps audio between them without fault. You can manage the connected devices in the Bose app and easily remove devices you no longer pair with.
In the analysis of Amazon 1-star reviews reporting connectivity issues, only 0.46% report issues. This percentage is low, indicating that most users are satisfied.
We gathered data from Amazon reviews on 08/01/2024, to find a percentage of the total number mentioning connectivity issues.
You can also wirelessly connect the QuietComfort to other Bose speakers or soundbars to enjoy TV without disturbing others. Just be sure to browse the SimpleSync-compatible devices to ensure your speaker or soundbar supports it.
Bose claims a 24-hour battery life. Our assessment was close, measuring in at 23 hours.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
Battery
The QuietComfort's battery life is almost 23 hours, which is below average.
According to Bose, 15 minutes of charge time will provide three to four hours of playback time. You'll have to leave it plugged in for at least two hours to recharge fully, and the headphones cannot be used while charging. You can use these headphones passively by plugging directly into your device with the included audio cable. However, ANC will not work with the audio cable.
Call Quality
The QuietComfort leaves significant room for improvement in call quality.
While Bose claims that “the microphone system adapts to your environment to isolate your voice from competing background noises,” this feature didn't perform well. The QuietComfort isn't the one if you're looking for headphones to make calls.
During our calling stress tests in controlled, noisy environments, QuietComfort did not do a great job of dulling ambient sounds. The background noise was so loud that it drowned out the caller's voice.
The loudspeaker announcements and train sounds are readily apparent, overpowering our female caller's voice.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
We also tested using a shared office space during our simulated call.
Background white noise, voices, and keyboards are easily audible, though the caller's voice at least sounds clear.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
When we remove the distractions and simulate a call from our sound-insulated audio studio, the QuietComfort performs well; however, real-life phone calls from a quiet office room sound distorted and unimpressive.
Without any background interference, our caller's voices are slightly fuzzy but overall pretty dang clear.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
Unfortunately, the great call quality in our baseline simulated tests did not hold true in our real-life calls. Voices sound like they are calling from a tunnel, and there is some buzz-sounding distortion at the beginning and ends of words.
We suggest leaving the QuietComfort on the rack if call quality is important to you.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
The distortion was so strong we couldn't distinguish between the words “doll” and “dogs.” The audio cable has an in-line microphone that may improve call quality.
We encourage you to fully explore your options before taking the plunge on the Bose QuietComfort.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
Should You Buy the Bose QuietComfort?
The QuietComfort headset provides great sound quality, noise cancellation, and comfort, but other models do it better, and it falls short in call quality. The QuietComfort is a nice step above budget models with cleaner sound, better noise isolation, and a more user-friendly experience. However, the price jump is significant. If you can snag the QuietComfort on sale, it's a nice upgrade, but at market value, you may be better off splurging on a different set of premium headphones or saving money on headphones that are almost as good.
What Other Wireless Headphones Should You Consider?
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are a slightly more expensive alternative, but they offer outstanding ANC, magnificently immersive sound with a more developed mid-range, and premium features like head detection, spatial audio, and higher-quality Bluetooth codec support. The Apple AirPods Max are a great choice for first-class noise blocking and a warmer, mellower sound mix. Lastly, the 1More SonoFlow is an excellent budget alternative that performs relatively well across all our test metrics, especially for the price.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Compare Bose QuietComfort versus top competing products:
—Genaveve Bradshaw, Rachael Lamore, and Lissette Velasquez
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