In all my years of testing wireless headphones, one thing I have never thought to myself is, “is Bose falling behind the competition?”
After all, this is a brand that has consistently mixed it with the best in the market and has been a benchmark for noise-cancelling headphones of all shapes and sizes.
And it’s not just because of its brilliant noise-cancelling that Bose consistently found itself among the class-leaders. Historically, its wireless headphones have produced some of the best sound quality too.
But in the past year or so, I’ve been testing Bose’s premium wireless earbuds and wireless headphones, comparing them with their main rivals; and the more time I’ve spent listening, the more I have found myself thinking that the cracks are starting to show.
Most recently, I’ve heard the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) against the Sony WF-1000XM6, and the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) against the Sennheiser HDB 630.
Both Bose pairs are still very comfortable, with good build quality, great noise-cancelling and decent features for the money. But there is a clear gap between them and the competition when it comes to overall sound quality.
The Bose offerings aren’t poor performers by any stretch, and when compared with their predecessors, you can certainly hear that the tech brand has managed to make small improvements in sound quality.
But when you compare the levels of detail, dynamics and clarity, they just can’t match what the class-leaders now offer.
And that lies at the heart of Bose’s current position. Rival brands have made significant advancements in sound quality in recent years.
Apple is now a serious contender in the headphones space – its AirPods Pro 3 earbuds being arguably its best wireless earbuds to date. And the AirPods Max show there is room for luxury wireless headphones at higher price points, offering exceptional build quality and sound quality for the money.
Technics has arrived on the premium scene and is now a contender, while Bowers & Wilkins has continued to push its headphones to new levels of performance. We have also seen Sennheiser do its own disrupting in the space with its new flagship, the HDB 630.
The market has evolved and improved when it comes to sound quality, and rivals now offer much more bang for your buck – they, it seems, have been making significant strides compared with Bose’s baby steps.
Have we reached a point where perhaps it's time for Bose to consider a serious overhaul of its tech and engineering? Possibly.
If its current trajectory continues, the noise from the competition could become too loud for even Bose’s talented noise-cancelling to handle.
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