Is the crown starting to slip to Bose, the king of noise-cancelling headphones?
In all my years of testing wireless headphones, one thing I’ve never thought about is, “is Bose trailing the competition?”
After all, this is a brand that has always mixed with the best in the market and has become a brand for noise canceling headphones of all shapes and sizes.
And it’s not just because of its brilliant noise cancellation that Bose finds itself among the class leaders. Historically, its wireless headphones have produced some of the best sound quality.
But for the past year or so, I’ve been testing Bose wireless earbuds and wireless headphones, comparing them to their main competitors; and the more time I spend listening, the more I find myself thinking the cracks are starting to show.
Recently, I heard the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) against the Sony WF-1000XM6, and the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) against the Sennheiser HDB 630.
Both Bose pairs are still very comfortable, with good build quality, great noise cancellation and decent features for the money. But there is a clear gap between them and the competition when it comes to overall sound quality.
Bose’s offerings are not poor players by any means, and compared to its predecessors, you can definitely feel that the tech brand has managed to make a small improvement in sound quality.
But when you compare the levels of detail, power and clarity, they can’t match what the class leaders are offering now.
And that is at the heart of Bose’s current position. Competing brands have made great strides in sound quality in recent years.
Apple is now a major competitor in the headphone space – its AirPods Pro 3 earbuds are arguably its best wireless earbuds to date. And AirPods Max shows that there is a place for luxury wireless headphones at high price points, offering exceptional build quality and sound quality for the money.
Technics has come out on top and is now a contender, while Bowers & Wilkins has continued to push its headphones to new levels of performance. We also saw Sennheiser do its bit to disrupt the space with its new flagship, the HDB 630.
The market has changed for the better when it comes to sound quality, and competitors now give you a lot more bang for your buck – it seems they’ve been making significant strides compared to Bose’s baby steps.
Have we reached a point where perhaps it is time for Bose to rethink its technology and engineering? It is possible.
If its current trajectory continues, the noise from the competition may be too loud for even the capable Bose noise canceling to handle.
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