Bose Noise cancelling Headphones 700
Epic additional noise cancelling for voice services
$399.95 From Bose, bose.com Features 10 noise–cancelling settings, up to 20 hours battery life
Bose’s previous over–ear noise cancelling cans defined a new premium market for Bluetooth wireless headphones with advanced active noise cancelling. These are the successors to the near-legendary QuietComfort 35. And while they’re not a particularly big leap forward, they have one hugely impressive trick that no other NC headphones on the market can match: noise–cancelling when making calls or using a voice service.
These headphones don’t just let you hear what other people are saying by removing background noise at your end, they make you easier to hear too. With people making more video calls and using more virtual assistants these days, Bose reckons this is the big selling point here.
Audio performance overall is really good — it has a slightly unearthly, pristine quality
that’s pleasing to the ear. Noise cancelling can be dialled from zero, with audio pass– through (“Conversation Mode”) all the way up to a cocoon–like 10. You can also choose your three favorite settings and toggle between them with the simple press of an ear-cup button.
Battery life is 20 hours — plug in a cable after that, although you can’t use the noise cancelling when wired. Controlling volume and track selection with taps and swipes on the left earcup isn’t our first choice, but it works fine. Buttons handle power, voice assistants, and NC levels.
THE BOTTOM LINE. For anyone who makes a lot of calls or uses voice assistants, the way these Bose headphones improve the perceived clarity of your voice, as well as removing noise from what you’re hearing, is really magical.