Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 review

Bose took active noise cancelling (ANC) and made it mainstream but eventually, the market caught up. Sony has released consecutive ANC hard-hitters, with better features, better noise cancelling, and better sound quality than the old Bose QuietComfort35 II. Well, it seems like Bose was listening, because the Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 is a complete redesign of its iconic product (and yes, that’s actually the name). The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 have a new design, improved sound quality, a touch-sensitive gesture pad for playback controls, and even USB-C charging, but should you get one of the best Bose headphones around?

We spent two weeks with the Bose NCH 700 and have kept up with its updates to find out if this is the headset for you.

Editor’s note: this Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 review was updated on March 24, 2022, to address the Sony WH-1000XM5 as an alternative.

What are the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 like to use?

In short: these headphones are a delight to use. There are a few issues but overall the Bose Noise Cancelling headphones 700 is a great and powerful headset. The NCH 700 is lightweight, easy to use, well-built, and gorgeous. The Bose QC 45 and the Sony WH-1000XM5 are newer and outperform the NCH 700 in various ways, but if you want a gorgeous package with great sound and ANC, you’ll fall in love with this expensive pair of Bluetooth headphones.

The ear cups rotate a full 90 degrees so you can rest the headphones around your neck, but Bose swapped out the notched adjustment mechanism (still found on the QC 45) for one that lets you slide the headphones into place instead. There are no folding hinges, so you should use the included hardshell case when traveling. Unlike previous Bose headsets, the NCH 700 is made of more than just plastic. The headband has a metal construction that will make it much harder to accidentally break. But this is where the praise for the redesign ends because the Bose 700 headphones aren’t nearly as comfortable as the older QC 35 II.

The main reason for this step backward is the change in materials used for the padding. While the ear pads still use comfortable padding, they’re stiffer than the QC35 II cushions. This is great when it comes to isolating outside noise, but wearing the NCH 700 at my local cafe for a few hours results in my ears getting pretty hot. It gets to the point that I’m sweating when I remove the headphones. On top of that, the padding on the top of the headband has been changed as well.

The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, however, is now rocking a soft rubberized plastic similar to the one found on the Beats Studio3 headphones. Thankfully, the padding here is way more comfortable than Beats‘, but I have the same problem where the plastic occasionally pulls my hair. Again, it’s still comfortable but that level of comfort that’s always present with the Bose QC35 II and even the QC25 before it is missing here.

How do you control the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700?

The minimal design is reflected all over the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. There are a total of three buttons on the headphones and two of them don’t have any icons or labels, which I don’t mind since you can’t see labels when you’re wearing them anyway.  Only the power/Bluetooth pairing button on the right ear cup has a small Bluetooth logo so you can tell it apart from the other two when turning them on. You won’t find any playback buttons here as they’ve been replaced with a touch-sensitive gesture pad on the right ear cup similar to that of the Sony WH-1000XM4.

Bose also made it so that pausing the music takes two taps on the touchpad, which is great. One of my biggest annoyances with touchpads is when the headphones accidentally register a touch and pause the music when you don’t want it to. By making the pause/play function a double-tap, it ensures that the music won’t pause unless you want it to.

Should you get the Bose Music app for the NCH 700?

To get the most out of the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 you should download the Bose Music app (iOS/Android). It’ll walk you through the setup process and is surprisingly simple to use which is rare with headphone apps. If you’re on Android, you’ll get a little drop-down card to quickly pair with and hook up the Google Assistant all in a few screens. Once connected, you can do everything from adjusting the level of active noise cancellation (1-11) to renaming the headphones if you want.

One thing I really like is the ability to switch between devices in the app. As long as you can create an account with Bose, you can then switch between saved devices if the headphones are having trouble figuring out which one you want to listen to. If you’re listening to music on your phone and want to instead start watching a video on your iPad, you can select the iPad in the app. It’s been seamless and beats going through the settings of your devices every time. In the app, you can also choose which Assistant you want to activate when you click the custom button. You can choose between the Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or Siri if you’re on iOS.

What Bluetooth codecs does the Bose NCH 700 support?

Besides the SBC codec that all Bluetooth devices default down to, the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 only has AAC. AAC is great for iPhone owners as it allows for high-quality, consistent audio streaming but its performance isn’t as consistent across Android hardware. Connection strength has been positive, though, thanks to Bluetooth 5.0. You can always use the 2.5mm aux input for wired listening.

How long does the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 battery last?

When it comes to battery life, Bose remains on the conservative end of very good. While products like the Sony WH-XB910N can push upwards of 37 hours in our battery tests, Bose claims only 20 hours and we measured 21 hours, 25 minutes under these same standardized conditions. This was with active noise cancellation on the maximum setting too, so you might be able to squeeze some more if you lower the ANC.

In the app, you can also set a timer to have the headphones automatically turn off after a pre-designated amount of time. So if you take advantage of that too, you should be able to go a long time before you need to throw this back on the USB-C charging cable.

How long does the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 battery last?

The Bose NCH 700 has very good noise cancelling that is at the top of the pack, however, it can’t compete with newer headsets from Sony and, well, even itself. That said, it’s impressive just how much the NCH 700 does to affect frequencies from 20-300Hz as this is typically pretty hard to nail. This range of frequencies will sound anywhere from one-half to one-sixth as loud as they’d sound without the Noise Cancelling Headphones 700.

Passive isolation is also quite good here and will take care of incidental, unpredictable sounds like the clang of your roommate washing dishes or chatterboxes next to you at the cafe. Be sure to stay on top of software updates, because you’ll need the newest version to get the most out of your ANC with these headphones.

What do the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 sound like?

Now we can talk sound quality because even though the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 don’t have any high-quality streaming codecs—they still sound really good. It should be pointed out, however, that you can adjust the frequency emphasis in the Bose Music app through a somewhat crude equalizer. This will allow you to tailor things to your liking beyond what our measurements show you, so don’t let the following discussion of sound deter you if you like everything else about these headphones; chances are near 100% you can fix it with a little homework.

I found the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 to be a little more pleasant than the Bose QC35 II before them because even though they have a very similar frequency response (see graphs below) which follows our ideal house curve pretty closely.

You can hear this nicely in the bassline throughout the song Sedona by Houndmouth which rumbles softly behind the vocals instead of overtaking them. Because of this, vocals in the mids sound great and are never eclipsed by what’s going on in the low end. The vocals in Mightnight Blues by UMI sounds great, and the highs are also handled nicely which you can hear from the bells playing behind her which never get harsh.

In comparison, the Bose QuietComfort 45, on the other hand, has some high-end overemphasis. This means that the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 will sound better in most situations, as it won’t make cymbals and other sibilant sounds too painful or annoying. This may end up being addressed in a software update, so check back for an update down the road if you’re still trying to compare these headphones.

Can you EQ the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700?

Yes, but really: no. I know that’s not a good answer, but the truth of the matter is that while Bose has an EQ of sorts in the Bose Music app, it’s more or less only good for very ham-fisted adjustments, and not as granular as they’d need to be in order for best results. There’s only a bass, mids, and treble slider, with no indication of where the line is drawn.

This is especially frustrating because in order to get the headphones to reach certain profiles, you absolutely cannot move the emphasis in this way that wouldn’t cause an unpleasant swing in certain ranges.

Our best suggestion is to use your music or operating system to equalize your headphones, as those apps will give you much better control over your results. The above chart is for software EQing only, and the vertical pink lines are the bounds of what most software EQs allow you to adjust.

Can you use the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 for phone calls?

The Bose microphone does a good job with the main parts of voices, but anyone with a deep voice will be slightly cut off as frequencies less than 200Hz won’t be nearly as loud.

Yes, the microphones here have clearly been given plenty of TLC by the engineers at Bose and they pick up voices nicely as well. The low-frequency attenuation is purposeful and reduces rumbles and noise.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 microphone demo (Ideal):

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 microphone demo (Street):

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 microphone demo (Wind):

Should you get the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700?

If you only care about owning the headphones that have the best active noise cancellation, then you should just get the Sony WH-1000XM4 because technically, they are better. The Sony headset also has better codec support for high-quality streaming and are slightly more portable considering it has hinges and can fold. That said, at least to me, the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 is clearly the more desirable product.

The new design is stunning and makes everything else seem ancient in comparison. This is an upgrade in almost every way thanks to the finely controlled noise cancelling, the ability to seamlessly switch between devices, USB-C charging, and the touch-sensitive control pad. Th0e NCH 700 even sounds better than the QC 35 II. It’s the spec and design upgrade that Bose needed, and moving forward the 700s aren’t leaving my head.

What are some less expensive options?

While the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are great, there’s no denying that it costs a lot of money. If you’re not looking to spend that much, give Sony a shot. Both the WH-XB900N and WH-CH710N headphones offer solid noise cancelling, great sound, and better battery life at around $200 USD which is significantly cheaper. Of course, you won’t have the same beautiful design or build quality but you will have a good chunk of change still in your pocket.

Frequently asked questions about the Noise Cancelling 700 Headphones from Bose