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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 vs Bose SoundSport Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20
Bose SoundSport Wireless

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Oct 05, 2022 05:48 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 15, 2024 02:37 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Picture

Variants

  • QuietComfort 20 (Android, Black)
  • QuietComfort 20 (Android, White)
  • QuietComfort 20 (iOS, Black)
  • QuietComfort 20 (iOS, White)
  • SoundSport Wireless (Aqua)
  • SoundSport Wireless (Black)
  • SoundSport Wireless (Citron)

Our Verdict

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20

Bose SoundSport Wireless

The Bose SoundSport Wireless have a similar design and overall score as the Bose QuietComfort 20 but have much different use cases. The SoundSport Wireless are a bit more practical for every day use and sports since there are no cables to hinder your movements. They also have a better-balanced sound quality that does not sound as bass-heavy/dark as the QC 20. The QC 20, on the other hand, are better travel and commuting headphones thanks to the strong noise cancellation that blocks a lot more noise than the semi-open of the SoundSport Wireless. They also have a longer battery life and no latency for watching videos since they are wired.

0

Check Price

Android, Black
QuietComfort 20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Aqua
SoundSport Wireless
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Android, White
QuietComfort 20
Amazon.com
Black
SoundSport Wireless
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
iOS, Black
QuietComfort 20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Citron
SoundSport Wireless
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
iOS, White
QuietComfort 20
Amazon.com
 

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

6.7
7.8

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.5
8.8

Passive Soundstage 
 

0.5
2.4

Mid Accuracy 
 

7.7
8.8

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Design Picture 2
Bose SoundSport Wireless Design Picture 2

Type  

Earbuds
Earbuds

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Semi-Open

Wireless  

No
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.5

Comfort Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Comfort Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.09 lbs
0.05 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0 lbs
0 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

7.7
6.0

Controls Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Controls Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

iOS
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Great
Okay

Feedback  

Decent
Subpar

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

On/Off
No

Talk-Through 
 

On/Off
No

Additional Controls  

No
No

Show text

Breathability 
 

8.9
9.0

Breathability After Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Breathability After Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

1.1 °C
1 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

8.3
8.6

Portability Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Portability Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Portability Picture

 

4.7" (11.9 cm)
2.4" (6.2 cm)

 

1.6" (4.1 cm)
3.1" (8.0 cm)

 

1.2" (3.0 cm)
0.9" (2.2 cm)

Volume  

8.80 in³ (144.21 cm³)
6.51 in³ (106.68 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

7.0
7.0

Case Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Case Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Case Picture

Type  

Soft case
Soft case

 

5.1" (13.0 cm)
3.5" (9.0 cm)

 

2.8" (7.1 cm)
3.5" (9.0 cm)

 

0.8" (2.0 cm)
1.4" (3.5 cm)

Volume  

11.20 in³ (183.53 cm³)
16.74 in³ (274.32 cm³)

Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.5
7.0

Build Quality Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Build Quality Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

7.5
7.5

Stability Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Stability Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Angled Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Side Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Front Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Rear Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Top Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 In The Box Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

0.27 dB
0.79 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-4.38 dB
-1.92 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

7.8
8.9

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.43 dB
0.23 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.5
8.8

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.65 dB
1.75 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

22.45 Hz
12.78 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

1.58 dB
0.69 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

4.02 dB
1.64 dB

High-Bass 
 

4.8 dB
2.61 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

7.7
8.8

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.03 dB
1.62 dB

Low-Mid 
 

3.16 dB
0.09 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-3.15 dB
-2.17 dB

High-Mid 
 

-0.02 dB
0.02 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.3
8.7

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.65 dB
1.95 dB

Low-Treble 
 

1.71 dB
0.5 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-1.73 dB
-1.67 dB

High-Treble 
 

-20.85 dB
-10.44 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

6.3
7.9

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

2.69 dB
1.43 dB

Dips 
 

1.51 dB
0.88 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

8.6
9.2

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.36
0.16

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

1.92
1.47

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.83
0.3

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.63
1.42

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

0.5
2.4

PRTF  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 PRTF
Bose SoundSport Wireless PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Distance 
 

N/A
N/A

Openness 
 

0.8
7.9

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

1.1
2.6

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Virtual Soundstage
Bose SoundSport Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App
No

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.5
8.3

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.179
0.159

WHD @ 100 
 

0.241
0.080

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware
Unknown

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Wired
Unknown

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ
No EQ

ANC 
 

On
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Silicone (small)
Silicone (small)

Microphone 
 

In-line
In-line

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

9.2
2.6

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-24.42 dB
-6.62 dB

Noise Cancelling  

Yes
No

Bass 
 

-23.88 dB
-0.1 dB

Mid 
 

-20.86 dB
-3.85 dB

Treble 
 

-28.06 dB
-16.14 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

9.1
7.8

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

26.86 dB
35.03 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

Yes
Yes

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Show text

Recording Quality 
 

7.5
5.8

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

515.36 Hz
285.09 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.46 dB
2.52 dB

HFE 
 

17,984.02 Hz
2,248 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.955
38.586

Gain 
 

20.19 dB
38.7 dB

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

6.7
7.1

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

12.18 dB
18.8 dB

Noise Gate 
 

No
Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

6.5
7.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

7.0
6.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

7.9
6.0

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

19 hrs
5.9 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

19 hrs
5.9 hrs

Charge Time 
 

1.8 hrs
1.5 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
Auto-Off Timer

Audio While Charging 
 

Yes
No

Passive Playback 
 

Yes
No

Charging Port  

micro-USB
micro-USB

Show text

App Support 
 

0.0
6.5

App Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 App Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless App Picture

App Name  

No App
Bose Connect

iOS  

No
Yes

Android  

No
Yes

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
No

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
Yes

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
No

Show text

Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
8.5

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
4.0

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
2 Devices

NFC Pairing 
 

No
Yes

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
99.00 ft (30.18 m)

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

N/A
249 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

N/A
79 ms

Android Latency 
 

N/A
136 ms

Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Wired 
 

9.0
0.0

Cable Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Cable Picture
Bose SoundSport Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

No
No

Length  

4.33 ft (1.32 m)
N/A

Connection 
 

1/8" TRRS
No Wired Option

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
N/A

Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

Show text

Check Price

Android, Black
QuietComfort 20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Aqua
SoundSport Wireless
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Android, White
QuietComfort 20
Amazon.com
Black
SoundSport Wireless
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
iOS, Black
QuietComfort 20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Citron
SoundSport Wireless
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
iOS, White
QuietComfort 20
Amazon.com
 

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20

Bose SoundSport Wireless

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Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 vs Bose SoundSport Wireless: Main Discussion

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