Bose Quiet Comfort 45 headphones review – an investment in quality

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• VERDICT

The Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones are nothing short of excellent with superior noise cancellation, brilliant sound and long battery life. They are an investment in quality.

The new Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones have been a long time coming – but it was definitely worth the wait. The QC45s have improved noise cancellation and now have even longer battery life.

The previous model – the QC35 – were the signature Bose headphones for anyone who travelled frequently and wanted to enjoy superior audio.

On our travels over the years, it wasn’t uncommon to see several passengers wearing them.

But the Bose QC45 are now here – and they are miles better.

The design of the headphones has been tweaked to give them a sleeker and more modern look, but they still retain the iconic shape and fit of the beloved QC35 headphones.

They are a little more compact than the excellent Bose 700 Headphones which are now the same price as the new QC45 headphones at $499.

The name of these headphones says it all. QuietComfort.

Quiet thanks to the brilliant active noise cancellation.

Comfort thanks to the high-quality materials and fit which means you can wear them for hours – or for your entire flight.

The smooth ear cushions are made of soft synthetic leather and the headphones are loose – meaning there is hardly any clamp force, so they don’t feel too tight on your head.

The same soft material also covers the headband, so the headphones sit comfortably on your head.

Build quality is high right down to each pivot point and hinge which is made of durable cast metal.

The Bose QC45 headphones are also quite light at just 240g.

Now the Quiet part is even more amazing thanks to the Acoustic Noise Cancelling technology – an area Bose has developed after 50 years of research.

The microscopic microphones on the earcups are what picks up the ambient sound which is then cancelled with the opposite signal.

Bose has always had the best level of noise cancellation and we’re pleased to say it is not only as good but it’s even better.

With ANC, you can focus in on what you’re listening to without distractions.

And if you’re on an aircraft you won’t be hearing the engines or any other cabin sounds – only what you’re watching or listening to.

The ear cups also provide an additional passive noise cancellation because they completely cover your ears.

But there are times when you need to be aware of your surroundings which where the Aware feature comes in to play.

You can press the button on the left earcup to toggle between Quiet and Aware mode.

Aware mode turns on all the microphones on the earcup so you can hear everything as well as if you took the headphones off.

Now you can walk up and order a coffee and talk to people without the need to remove the QC45s.

It goes without saying that Bose QC45s sound amazing. We expected nothing less thanks to the TriPort acoustic architecture and Active EQ that is volume optimised to boost the highs and lows and offer a consistent performance no matter what you’re listening to.

And the bass is just at the right level without being too over the top like some other brands.

There’s an additional fourth microphone on the Bose QC45 which isolates and focuses on your voice with a noise-rejecting algorithm, so your calls are also clear through the headphones.

The calls we made with the headphones managed to reduce wind noise and we could even hear our own voice on the call as well.

There is a companion app for the Bose QC45 headphones but it’s basically to help pair them and to give you another way to toggle between Aware and Quiet modes.

You can also control how loud you can hear your own voice through the headphones on a call.

But there’s no way to control the level of noise cancellation and there are no pre-set equalisers to adjust the sound slightly. We think this is Bose’s way of saying you – we’ve got this – we don’t need you to adjust this.

Users can also access their phone’s voice assistant by pressing and holding the multi-function button.

And what about the battery. You can get up to 24 hours of playback on a single charge even if you’re running the Acoustic Noise Cancellation. And when it’s time to charge via the included USB-C cable you can get to full charge in just two and half hours.

And a quick 15-minute charge will give you enough juice for up to three hours of listening.

The Bose QC45 headphones are available now and are priced at $499.

VERDICT

The Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones are nothing short of excellent with superior noise cancellation, brilliant sound and long battery life. They are an investment in quality.