Best headphones for walking:Bose quietcomfort 45 headphones review

As the beginning of noise-reducing headphones, The noise-reducing headphones products of BOSE have always been the benchmark in the industry. In 2021, BOSE released a new generation of flagship headphone QuietComfort 45, which continued the design of QuietComfort 35 series. Functionally, it still focuses on active noise reduction, adding AWARE MODE, equipped with four outgoing microphones to achieve clearer call effect, and has a battery life of 24 hours.So is it worth buying? This article collects some real reviews from quietcofort 45 users for reference.

Product Dimensions：3 x 7.24 x 6 inches

Item Weight：15.5 ounces

Form Factor：Over Ear

ASIN：B098FKXT8L

Item model number：866724-0100

Batteries：1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included)

Manufacturer：Bose

Charging Time：2.5 Hours

Item Weight：0.44 Kilograms

Units：1.0 Count

Number Of Items：1

Product name:quietcomfort 45  Price: $329

Rating: 4.6   Where to buy: Amazon or official website.

User review 1：

User: Hail Thomas   Nation:United States

“I did a lot of research looking into bluetooth headphones; as someone with hearing damage and is very picky about how their headphones rest on their ears, I knew I couldn't settle. I bought various other pairs before trying Bose Quiet Comfort, such as KVIDIO (Not tight to head/sound leaking, bassy sound), Sennheiser 350BT (Pinched my ears, quieter than other sets, could hear myself in calls and couldn't turn off in app), and Soundcore Q35 (Entirely different sound depending on the device and if plugged in, couldn't listen to music and be in voice call at same time without plugging in), all of which had their dilemmas. I really wanted a nice pair of bluetooth headphones for cheap, but in my search I recognized that wasn't possible, so I saved up what I had and thankfully snagged this on discount (bought for $180).

The sound is absolutely immersive; my worries about these headphones was that the bass was going to be too heavy, as SONY bluetooth headphones and other sets in this price range are usually very bass heavy. Fortunately, that wasn't the case with Quiet Comfort; it's strong, but it doesn't overpower. The mids and treble sound great too, and I can't say I've had any issues with listening to music, calls with friends, etc, other than those friends having shoddy microphones (No problem though).

The fit on this set is also solid; I have noticed in warmer weather that my ears get sweaty, but that's to be expected with any headset that's over-ear. My only note is that I noticed the inside of the headphones have molded to my ear. When I first got them, the meshy material with the L and R was flat, but now it's slightly caved in. I'm not sure if it's impacted anything, because I haven't heard a difference in sound, and they don't feel different. I will keep an eye on it for when I update this review.

The controls are simple, a switch on button and three buttons to turn up, down, pause, and skip music (and if on mobile, to use your voice assistant) on the right cuff. On the left, the only button is the noise cancelling (two settings; aware and noise-cancel). I enjoy that this headset has two ports, one for charging, and another to plug them into the device to use instead of bluetooth. However, I will note to anyone that uses these headphones plugged in; when the set is in wired mode, it disables bluetooth, and when still on it sounds incredibly quiet. And, when turned off and plugged in, the EQ and Stereo Sound disable, so using the headphones without them being on is really rough. These doesn't steer me away from using them though, as I mainly use them on and via bluetooth. I mean, to be honest, who uses bluetooth headphones with a wire anyway unless they're dead?

I'm also actually pretty impressed by the battery on these. They last me all day and night, and I plug them in when I sleep. They charge really fast, and I've only had two occasions of low battery, mainly due to me forgetting to charge em.

Overall, my only worry onward is the deterioration, if there is any, and possible connection issues. Haven't had those yet, and hopefully I won't in a year.”

User review 2：

User: Tina Bardot   Nation:United States

“I've had these for over a year and they're literally the best. I tend to use them while cooking and sometimes going on walking and in airplanes and they are absolutely amazing. The battery life is ridiculously long and I find them hyper comfortable. The noise cancellation SAVED me on multiple flights with crying babies and I find that the sound quality is super immersive. I mainly listen to podcasts and find that the sound quality is super crisp and non-distorting. Great purchase!”

User review 3：

User:B. Campbell    Nation:United States

“These are comfortable headphones that sound good with most source material. Aware mode allows you to hear what's going on around you and makes your speech sound normal, I found Quiet mode to be muffled and only used it when there was loud noise nearby.

Really disappointed by how this headphone pairs with Bluetooth devices. It only pairs with two devices, and when one is not present will not automatically pair with other known devices that happen to be available. In addition, if i have the headphones on when I'm making a call on my iPhone, have to manually select the headset in order to use it on the call.”

User review 4：

User:Elizabeth P    Nation:United States

“I finally bit the bullet and decided to buy these after reading the reviews. I was desperate for a pair of noise cancelling headphones when I was trying to finish my college thesis in a house with 6 rowdy roommates. These were a lifesaver. I finally was able to focus. Additionally. It helped me not feel as overstimulated when I went to somewhere like the grocery store, or dulling traffic noises when I went on a walk. I would always be so surprised when I took the headphones off at how loud the ambient noise around me was, even though I didn’t pay any mind to it before. 

It’s not perfect, for example when riding the bus it would dull out most of the engine noises, but when we hit a bump I would hear some popping noises as it would be quite Loud and very close. Still much better than without the headphones. It was also really important to me to have comfort, since I have multiple ear piercings and the beats headphones I tried earlier would press into them which would be pretty painful. Even if I found a good position for it, it would still hurt my head after a few hours. 

With these, I don’t have that problem! They fit completely over my ears, so I never have to worry about my piercings, and the cushioning is very soft so I’ve worn these bad boys for hours and hours and never felt any discomfort! Unfortunately I lost my pair at a bar a few months ago, and I was bummed because they were great headphones, but so expensive. I finally decided to repurchase them after catching a flash sale because I do truly think these are worth the money. 

I’m not an audiophile, but i do really love the sound quality as well. I hear new things in songs I’ve always loved by listening to them with these. The cons of this product are the following: 1. I wish these headphones worked with the Findmy feature or at least had some other way of tracking their location when lost. I know other Bose products do, and I think that for $300+, it’s not unreasonable to ask for a locating feature so I don’t lose these (again). Especially since these headphones already have their own app. 

The other con is that these headphones are not water resistant. I don’t think it’s a huge deal breaker for me as I don’t plan on wearing them swimming, but sometimes I worry about walking in a light drizzle with them on. Nothing has actually happened so far when I have done this, (usually I can just put my hood up or something) but the booklet it comes with specifies that any water is something to avoid, so it does loom in the back of my mind. All In all though.”

User review 5：

User:Nathan Swan    Nation:United States

“I've been a Bose owner for about 5 years now, and I do love using their headphones. I will say, the noise cancelling is powerful, but there are only two options for these headphones. It's either max strength, or it's actively using the mics to pic up sound around you. "Quiet" and "Aware" modes, respectively. If you've ever walked outside in windy conditions with ANC headphones, you'll know that the mics will pick up a bit of the wind and relay them through the headphones. If you can turn off ANC, it completely removes this issue. You cannot turn ANC off on these, and it's frustrating. Walking my dog with these on can be annoying. Listening to music or an audiobook and there's a constant sound of wind being picked up by the mics.

I think they need to issue a software update with multiple levels of ANC strength and an option to completely turn off ANC. Also a downside, ANC being on all the time will drain the battery a bit faster than if it was off.

They sound good and are very comfortable, but Bose is a very established company. You'd think these would have improved features considering the QC 35's had more ANC modes including an "Off" option.”

User review 6：

User:MARZENA    Nation:United States

“I used to always buy cheap headphones and earbuds, only to have to buy another pair every few months. I decided to invest in a nicer set and I'm very happy I went with these. I compared these Bose headphones to Sony and other brands, but ended up buying these because they went on sale for $100 off. The use I get out of these is very much worth a couple hundred dollars. I use these headphones every day for the gym (weightlifting), listening to music, and for watching shows. They're very comfortable and I like that they have two modes: Quiet (noise-cancelling) and Aware (you can hear things around you more easily, I like this for walks outside). The souns quality is great, battery life is great, they look sleek, and I highly recommend :)”

User review 7：

User:AmberJo    Nation:United States

“I have been a loyal Bose customer for about 10 years. Now, I'll right off the rip say I'm not a techy nor sound guru. I'm about comfort and good sound. These are very user friendly and extremely comfortable. Love the protector case and accessories. I really enjoy the ability to control noise cancelation, two options.”

User review 8：

User:Enforcer    Nation:United States

“These sound good sitting at a desk or on a plane, but they don’t do a very good job with wind sound when walking or sitting outside. They also click if you push on them a little bit, which happens a lot with high back seats, such as on an airplane.

I think the click is due to the trapped air pressure inside the headphone while it Is pushed up against your face; it causes a plastic membrane inside to deflect and makes a click sound. It makes them sound cheap when it happens and I’m worried it will break them eventually.”

User review 9：

User:Mtnhomegirl    Nation:United States

“I really like these headphones, good sound quality and extremely noise cancelling! My only issue is I can’t walking around a lot w the noise cancelling feature turned on because it jostles and makes an unpleasant noise. This is better if you turn noise cancelling off. I wouldn’t run in them tho, best for people who want to use them mostly while stationary.”

User review 10：

User:Roger   Nation:United States

“TLDR:

- Overpriced

- Great mids and highs

- No lows

- Don't upgrade if you have working QC35

- Solid build

Decent headphones but it's hard to say they're worth the money.

The mids and highs are crisp. The bass is virtually non-existent. Any attempts to increase the bass muddles the mids and highs while not actually improving the bass.

I got these to replace my dying QC 35 headphones. I heard the QC 45 used the same audio setup with the audio passthrough feature being the only difference. Clearly that wasn't the case. There is a noticeable difference in the bass levels between the headphones. Messing with my phone EQ and the Bose app EQ did nothing to bridge the gap.

If you don't need audio passthrough and your headphones still work, don't upgrade. It's not worth it.

If you don't care about lackluster bass, the mids and high are as good as the bass is bad, so these headphones are not completely useless.

Sound aside, the headphones feel super comfortable on the head and the build quality seems good. If you have the QC 35, then the feel will be very familiar.”

According to the real review of users, Bose quietcomfort 45 headphones is a good product, which has been appreciated by many users. However, it still has some shortcomings, such as the limited usage scene and the earmuffs tend to be sultry. There are many headphones in the market, from which you can find headphones that are suitable for a variety of scenes, cost-effective and comfortable to wear, such as Wissonly Hi Runner bone conduction headphone.

Hi Runner is perfect for use while walking or exercise outdoors, which is suitable for daily life. Because Hi Runner adopts an open-ear design, and its special working principle, the sound quality is not as good as that of noise-reducing headphones. However, Wissonly Hi Runner's design is completely unappealing, which reduces the damage to the eardrum and protects the ear to the maximum extent, and it can keep the ear canal clean and hygienic. This is a healthy and hygienic earphone. Its open-ear design also allows you to easily hear the sound of cars and traffic lights in outdoor sports scenes such as running and walking, making you safer when using.

The Wissonly Hi Runner integral frame is made of adjustable aviation-grade titanium steel material, which can adapt to different sizes of head circumference and ensure stable wearing. The surface of headphones is made of high-tech hypoallergenic silicone material, chemical free which avoids allergies, the overall touch of the headphone is as silky as baby skin, avoiding long-term wearing will feel uncomfortable. And it is very lightweight, less than 30g，which will not make the ears feel tired when worn it for a long time.

Although the name of Wissonly Hi Runner is Hi Runner, it also has an IPX8 waterproof rating higher than the industry standard, which allows it to work normally during swimming and diving, which is a great advantage of it.It is also equipped with 32G built-in storage, which can store 5000 songs, and supports two working modes of Bluetooth and MP3. In the scene of underwater sports or without a mobile phone, you can completely use it as a Bluetooth MP3 player.

Its performance is very powerful, equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 chip, which makes the connection more stable.Its battery life is very strong, it can be used continuously for 10 hours, and it supports magnetic fast charging. It makes up for the disadvantage of Bluetooth headphone.

In addition, Wissonly has made great efforts in improving sound quality. They have subverted the traditional sound quality scheme and adopted a large wireframing vibration unit to improve the effective vibration area through structural optimization, so that the sound has a good performance in both treble and bass.

In terms of price, it only costs 99.99 US dollars, which has a high cost performance！