Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 Review

The 3-Minute Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 Review

A Review of How True Wireless Earbuds Became Real

The Specifics

There are few leaders in audio technology like Bose. Its noise-cancelling headphones were the best in class, until Bose let go of the steering wheel. Bose appeared to simply offer cosmetic upgrades like the Bose QC 35 II. Newer options like the Sony WH100XM3 surely surpassed it in quality. They offered superior noise-cancellation with intuitive touch controls, USB-C charging, and more adaptable sound quality than Bose’s entire catalogue. Then the Bose Noise Cancelling 700 graced the stage as the true ambassador of the Boise Noise Cancelling line.

One may wonder if such a weird name is fitting at all, but roses would still smell sweet even if you called them anything else. The 700 is a total overhaul of the Bose Noise Cancelling range.

With a sleeker design than its predecessors, it features a neatly padded stainless steel headband tapering towards the earcups and is easily adjustable. Compared with similar products from Beats and Sony, the 700s look like they are from the future.

The sound profile is more neutral than the Sony’s; however the bass on the Bose is simply present, whereas the Sony’s is more emphasized. This implies the music on the Sony sound somewhat more exciting while the Bose’s sound is more balanced.

The headphones on the Bose don’t offer adjustable built-in EQ, so you can’t boost the bass if you want though you can do this in music apps such as Spotify.

The Bose 700 charges with a supplied 20 in USB cable over USB-C and by Bose’s estimates, 15 minutes of charge can get you 3.5 hours. A full charge takes an extra 2 hours. The full battery life itself is around 20 hours.

In an AR-crazy world, the 700 presents Bose AR*, a “first-of-its-kind audio augmented reality platform that makes astonishing new audio experiences possible,” according to the Bose website. This is in addition to optimization Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant, either of which can be selected in the music app.

The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 is 8 x 6.5 x 2 in dimensions and weighs 8.96 oz

Features & Design: 4/5 | Performance: 5/5 | Value: 4/5 | Battery Life: 5/5

The Best

Superior noise cancellation compared to other products in its league. Works excellently in loud environments like airplanes where the din can be quite loud and unbearable. Noise cancellation also features Conversation Mode to pause music and let surrounding noise in (so you can have a quick chat or order coffee).

The Bugs

Performance was is not an issue with the 700, though one might expect some incompatibility with the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. There has been a report of it not connecting to the music Music app in iOS.

Is it for you?

Yes. You can maintain a connection to two devices at the same time with Multi-point technology. You really don’t want to disconnect completely from one thing to do the other Let’s say you are connected to an iPad playing a video and your smartphone. The headphones will automatically pause the video to answer the call and resume it when you’re done.

What we like

The Bose 700 lets you adjust how much of your own voice you hear during a call. The sound is delivered with better bass, and the touch controls let you adjust volume and pause music on the right ear cup.

What we don’t like

The noise cancellation feature does not really differentiate from competing devices except where the noise is really loud.

Should you buy it?

For anyone looking for new headphones to consume all the discordant babble around you and help focus on the task at hand, the Bose Noise Cancelling 700 headphones are a real bargain.