Bose QuietComfort 2023 - Flawed Design
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- Опубліковано 27 лип 2024
- Resolve takes a look at the Bose QuietComfort 2023. In this video, he identifies a problem with this wireless noise cancelling headphone's acoustic design, as well as goes over what Bose have done well and where they can still improve.
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00:00 - Intro
00:44 - The issue
02:14 - Sound quality
07:08 - The rest of it
11:08 - Conclusion - Розваги
Just a note - these measurement results are based on 20+ seatings for each side across two different rigs. While positional variation is also extreme with this one above 1khz, the channel balance issue remains consistent for that variation. I may post those results on the forum.
DId you measure these with ANC on?
@@poturbg8698 yes
I’m really not an audiophile, but what does this channel imbalance sounds like when listening to to music? I have a pair and what I feel is that the stage is slightly moved to the left, that sometimes treble notes feel louder on the left channel.
@@stephanechampyeah same issue here. Did you find a solution ?
I have the same issue on my QC Ultra headphones. Never experienced such problem with Sony headphones. Seems like a common problem with Bose.
That sucks. Hopefully they can fix this issue. Bose has enough of a reputation that most consumers would trust they are buying a good headphone. Having that kind of imbalance isnt acceptable
The Qc45 had the same channel imbalance, the Ultra does as well. So I don't see them fixing it.
Rtings on QC45: "Our unit's left and right drivers are somewhat out of sync in the mid to treble range, which makes the upper harmonics of voices overly bright in the right ear." So there's that.
Hey, I have the same problem with a couple headphones and earphones from different manufacturers.
After a hell of a lot of testing and researching, I found this problem usually happens when the headphones and BT receiver have bad compatibility with each other,
Sometimes changing codecs fix this, but the results are inconsistent.
IMO companies have to start disclosing what codects ACTUALLY work, instead of listing options just because they connect.
Wow that's a bit embarrassing. Thanks for shining a light on this issue.
Thank you headphones for another video!❤ keep it up and soon you’ll reach 100k 🙌
Just got these! They are great!
I have the Bose QC 45 Noise Canceling Headphones, and I was able to dial out the stupid v-shaped sound signature they have out of the box with that simple Bose EQ software. They sound almost as good as my Anker Soundcore's do after adjusting their response in Anker's more robust Soundcore EQ app. It was a GREAT RELIEF when I discovered that Bose EQ software, months after I'd purchased the headphones.
When mixing sometimes we EQ the right and left channels differently to make a sound “wider”.. its not the most common way to do it but it works. Similarly, tuning the left and right earcups differently will make this headphone have more soundstage. Is it possible they did this purposefully to make the headphone sound wider? … im not saying they are.. just thinking
This is a great critique. Thanks!!!
Thanks for your honest review.
Consumers *are* dumb. If manufacturers just present a PEQ interface, users would randomly mess with it, make it worse, and leave negative reviews.
Good UI design could fix this. Present both the dumbed down options and the advanced options, and show a pop-up text everytime the advanced options are opened that makes it blindingly obvious that you won't get good results without knowing what you're doing. The option to disable the automatic pop-up should be hidden at the bottom of the settings menu.
Given how close the two samples are, my guess is they match the drivers, but external to the enclosures. Then, the L/R enclosure impose thier own acoustic signature. The L/R enclosures are likely different based on where the battery and electronics are.
Should be possible to remove this with a FW update, like you said. DSP FTW!
Great review thanks 👍 have you tried the 1more sonoflow $80 and I think it's worth it and does EQ with app.
Would love to see your take on the Bose Ultra headphones. Sound seems way better than my old QC 700s but the “immersive sound” is… questionable? (especially since I’ve now gotten into Hi-Fi headphones that have semi-decent soundstage)
I think Bose knows their audience. I think having a very simple app serves their demographic, and tbh, I imagine most people with these headphones won't even download the app at all. For my copy, I didn't sense a channel imbalance, and I suspect....maybe most people who pick these up won't either. I'm not a Bose fanboy or anything - think these headphones sound "fine". They're comfortable and decent; they're not the cans you want to put on the heads of others so you can see their reaction ;)
EDIT: But as always, super informative video :)
Absolutely.. Bose.. the normie consumer product. Folk that buy these as their premier portable listening interface, probably listen to 96kbps mp3 and think EQ is something to do with the quality of eggs. As you say, I doubt they'd notice a channel imbalance. They're probably too engrossed in playing fruit ninja or buying rainbow pants for their daughter they named Jonathan. As for the rest of us that would buy these simply as a method of escaping Jonathan's screams on a plane.. such an obvious channel imbalance is unacceptable xx
@@proffessasvidscalm down there. I feel attacked
@@proffessasvids what is a non normie choice then
I've purchased and returned 5 pairs of Bose headphones over the last year, all of them with this issue (louder right earcup), both the Ultra and the Base model. It's clear at this point that this is an utterly ridiculous intentional feature and not a fault.
For EQ adjustment, Shure has the best with a 4-band (2 shelf, 2 center-freqency) parametric. It makes the Aonic 50 pretty decent. Oh, and how about a LIVESTREAM? =)
Last X-mas I bought a pair of QC 45LE. The price was so good and I didn’t notice such issue with the unit. So is the problem with only 2023 QC?
It's interesting you note this on the QC, but I haven't seen anything on the extremely popular Sony XM5. I've had three pairs of XM5's and all of them had a center image that was blurry and shifted well to the left. The comfort and ANC was good enough to just keep them for airplane travel, at least until I picked up the QC a couple weeks ago. Those sound way more balanced and the center image sounds pretty solid to me, but I haven't measured. I did get a pair of HD600's that had mismatched drivers this summer but the replacement pair sounded perfect to me. I wish I had a rig to measure and validate!
right now i am looking at both of these...QC45 are 299 ( Canadian ) 218 ( US ) and the new QC are 379 ( Canadian ) 276 ( US ).......which would you recommend as i am without anything currently......great review by the way....thx....cheers from Canada
Which over ear models would you recommend for both gaming and music. I need wireless closed back headphones and can spend around the $300-$400 mark? I don't care much for ANC.
I had the same problem on the momentum 4. It was so easy to hear that i wonder how they could get away with it.
Hi! Can you please review the Bose quietcomfort ultra, over ear? These are the flagship of Bose. I am interested on your take on those. Best regards!
Any chance we might get a bose quietcomfort ultra headphone review too.
Please review the qc ultra as well
I'm loving my Bose QC so far! They're great!
I think Bose has one of the best sound profiles I ever heard and it's weird how the "audiophiles" always hate Bose lol
😂
Looks like a software issue that can be fixed with an update. Which IMO is worse than unit variance because then it should have 100% shown up in their testing and the fact that the engineers at Bose can neither hear nor measure this imbalance is embarrassing.
Thanks Resolve. Any plans to review the Bose QC Ultra?
Yeah, it just wasn't available in Canada at the time
@@TheHEADPHONEShowWith the idea of a channel imbalance planted in my brain, I listened to the QC Ultra version with my own tin ears and didn’t hear one. Hopefully this means the Ultras are safe or maybe my ears are just shot. 🙂
Is the AKG N700NC M2 is still properly available? Disappeared from a lor of shops like a year ago. Those are good admittedly.
I just got mine for like 50 and it's honestly awesome.
Sounds like they may have sent you the same unit back lol
Now i’m tempted to go to a store and try it just to see if i can notice it or i’ll just keep trusting in you.😂
The rtings unit does not have the same balance issue.. soundguys do not post both channels... this is really odd.. I have not seen this issue with Bose headphones before.. they always have some sort of tuning issue :) but not a channel imbalance...
Pls review the qc ultra headphones
any recommendations on headphones which are as wide as the QuietComfort 35? Every other pair of headphones that I have tried is super uncomfortable to me, and I mean EVERY other headphone :/
Any pair of headphone under $1000 would be a good recommendation for me.
Channel imbalance probably caused by electronics behind the drivers.
Probably, the Sony xm4 or something has the same problem when ran from the 3.5mm instead of bluetooth
Likely this.
Hopefully this is something they can fix with a firmware update.
QC Ultra review next?
You should review Momentum 4, seems to be one of the best sounding options in this price range
Odder still to compare these to the Accentums and not the Momentums.
Mine had driver imbalance too and not a small one.
My unit also struggled with multipoint. Playing music on a laptop (Windows or Linux) with a smartphone (Android) connected at the same time -- it was leading to random audio cracks, which immediately disappear when I disconnect QCs from the smartphone. I didn't try to delete Bose app (chances it could be the culprit), just returned QCs back. P.S. QC Ultras worked flawlessly on the same setup.
I have nc700 and multipoint works as 💩💩💩💩 (yup, pile for each letter) as well. Basically unusable and what is more irritating is it cannot be disabled.
That's gotta be a DSP bug.
Should be fixed with an update, but this should've been caught by QC.
I'd have thought, that channel imbalance would affect noise cancellation performance, but apparently it didn't. That's interesting.
I had the qc45 which had a defect and Bose replaced it since it was under warranty with the qc. I don’t know if it’s just in my head but the qc anc isn’t as good as my qc45 were(when they were working properly). I was in the car and the road noise was noticably louder especially the low end noise . Disappointed. 😐
My take on audio manufacturers like Bose don't aim at our demographic. They are aiming at the people who just want something that is OK and don't want to think about it much.
Another new wireless can, the Dali io-12, seems to be a Focal Bathys slayer; maybe you'll discover a new favorite.
I’m really not an audiophile, but what does this channel imbalance sounds like when listening to to music? I have a pair and what I feel is that the stage is slightly moved to the left, that sometimes treble notes feel louder on the left channel.
That's exactly what it sounds like.
I hear the vocals much louder on the right
Is this fixed yet?
Wait I had the same issue with my NC700s that I purchased close to release date back in 2019
I got the Ultras and haven’t noticed this kinda thing. I really hope it doesn’t come up or at least that I don’t notice it.
Will there be a review on the new ultra?
Better not to be. They hate Bose.
With my quietcomforts I noticed a scratchy sound when I'm scrolling through UA-cam with music playing or not playing, I've never had headphones do that.
ANC is good
Fit is good
Music sound is good
But are they worth $350?
Have you tried to disable multi-point connection?
for these type of bluetooth headphones they can literally just EQ each side to each other to get rid of channel imbalance. There must be something wrong with there setup that matches there left and right drivers
No background hiss on the ANC, are you kidding me?? Mine has a relatively loud constant white noise that makes me wish I could just disable ANC
Bose or any ANC headphones maker should bring back the user replaceable battery like what it was in qc25(mine is 8 years old now).
Yes, I agree.. I have the QC25s and I like the replaceable battery.. I paid $40:for them. I own an outstanding Bluetooth Headphone Amp that I use with everything. I never want to use a Bose bluetooth connection or any other bluetooth connection because the sound quality drops compared to a wired connection. But my Headphone amp is actually better sound than wired, because of the sound processing. It's also tiny and clips to the headband with a short wire.
QC meaning was just changed from Quality control to Quiet comfort
So sad to hear. I love my quietcomfort 35 ii. Been rocking them daily for +6 years and the battery is still excellent.
That seems way more bass boosted than the old Bose QC 45s.
it could ba named as just "advanced EQ" box, and that's all. With the same simple equalizer as it's now. This way everyone will be happy.
did you check that they didn't give you the same one back
Is that balance issue fixed?
No, I've had five different pairs of Bose headphones, both the Ultra and the Basic, over the last year, and every single pair had a louder right earcup. It's clear at this point that this is an intentional decision, not an "issue."
@@ff8fanatic strange 😳
Are these Bose QC SE?
No. These are the "new" QC not the older SE.
Odd. Try a different device?? Seems the signal may not be properly passed along. I haven't seen this complaint before.
That's got to be a volume difference in the driver Cup... possibly down to more circuitry stuffed into on side than the other. I wonder if the side that is down.. contains the most displaced volume? Xx
So i understand that these have detail retrieval on par with Edition XS.
I think they kept doing worse since Bose QC 35 II which was a masterpiece for it's price.
Yay! Raw graphs. I’m on a raw graph diet
Shame!
Free systemwide EQ software exists for most platforms that will always have better features than a companion app. I don't see why mediocre customization in a companion app is a problem.
channell imbalance? they should have called base audivina
This is exactly the same issue as with the QC45 and they never fixed it even though they claim they did. Sony and many other use the horrible touch panel that I constantly touch by accident every time I correct them or take them on or of or even when they are laying on the table. On the Sony you can disable the panel but not the terrible beeping noise. So maybe in 10 years or so a decent pair of noise canceling headphones with come along. But for now they are all complete trash
The QC45 has the same channel matching problem?
@@nitind Yes that is my experience even with the newest firmware update. I fear all Bose Quiet Comfort models has this issue but that is just an assumption
Just bought a Bathys for $555 new. Just saying😂
Almost 500 CAD$ for this... Whoopsie daisy!
Hey, Resolve! With all the less enthusiast picks you've reviewed lately, I feel like you're skipping out on the big boys, you've gotta do Beats and Skullcandy branded phones sometime soon.
No highs on one ear, no mids in the other, must be Bose
There totally a hiss, what are you taling about
I find this odd that this guy gave such a negative review. I find the new quiet comfort are far superior to the 45’s. The 45 have garbage sound compared to the quiet comfort. Go to a store that has both and try them out, you will know immediately what I mean
quite uncomfort
seen the Bose ultra’s cheap & nasty plastic !
Nope, it's not.
The headphone show should create an EQ app for Android. It shouldn't be that hard.
Wavelet and Poweramp already exists.
Poweramp Equalizer exist
@@Joelsfilmer I tried to get them to work with UA-cam but they don't make any difference.
They are also sound like garbage. They sound worse than the QC45 and much worse than the Bose QC Ultra.
On my phone the qc 45 sounded garbage and these sounded fine. Headphones are weird...
@@serrael-182100% my experience too. Got the QC45 and QC SE for testing and those sounded way worse like terrible "narrow". Whereas these are fine!
Sony WH-1000XM5 - thank me later