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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 Profile: Target Compliance
    5. Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
    6. Treble Profile: Target Compliance
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation - Full Range
    2. Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
    3. Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
    4. ANC Wind Handling
    5. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Wired Connection
    2. Bluetooth Connection
    3. Wireless Connection (Dongle)
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless

Tested using Methodology v1.8

Updated Feb 10, 2025 03:15 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.8

Updated Feb 10, 2025 03:33 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Picture

Variants

  • WH-1000XM5 (Black)
  • WH-1000XM5 (Midnight Blue)
  • WH-1000XM5 (Silver)
  • WH-1000XM5 (Smoky Pink)
  • QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Black)
  • QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Diamond 60th Edition)
  • QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Lunar Blue)
  • QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Sandstone)
  • QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (White Smoke)

Our Verdict

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless have the edge over the Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless. The Bose are more comfortable and better built. They also have a slight edge in noise isolation, but the difference is minor; both choices are still well-suited for noisy environments. The Bose also support aptX Adaptive for high-quality audio. Meanwhile, the Sony headphones support the LDAC codec, which is nice if you want to stream high-quality audio, and you can use them passively when wired. If you want to use the Bose wired, you'll have to turn them on.

5

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Black
WH-1000XM5
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Black
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
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Midnight Blue
WH-1000XM5
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Diamond 60th Edition
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
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Silver
WH-1000XM5
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Lunar Blue
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
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Smoky Pink
WH-1000XM5
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Sandstone
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
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White Smoke
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
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Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.7
8.1

Bass Profile: Target Compliance 
 

7.5
8.9

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance 
 

7.8
9.1

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Design Picture 2
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

7.0
8.5

Comfort Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Comfort Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.55 lbs
0.56 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0.8 lbs
0.8 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

7.6
7.6

Controls Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Controls Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Decent

Feedback  

Decent
Good

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

On/Off
On/Off

Talk-Through 
 

On/Off
On/Off

Additional Controls  

Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant

Show text

Breathability 
 

Breathability After Picture  

Avg.Temp.Difference  

Portability 
 

6.0
6.4

Portability Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Portability Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Portability Picture

 

8.1" (20.5 cm)
7.5" (19.0 cm)

 

6.9" (17.6 cm)
5.9" (14.9 cm)

 

1.8" (4.5 cm)
1.5" (3.8 cm)

Volume  

99.08 in³ (1,623.60 cm³)
65.65 in³ (1,075.78 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

8.0
8.0

Case Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Case Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Case Picture

Type  

Hard case
Hard case

 

9.3" (23.6 cm)
8.3" (21.1 cm)

 

8.0" (20.2 cm)
6.1" (15.4 cm)

 

2.3" (5.9 cm)
2.1" (5.4 cm)

Volume  

171.64 in³ (2,812.60 cm³)
107.08 in³ (1,754.68 cm³)

Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.5
8.0

Build Quality Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Build Quality Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

7.0
7.0

Stability Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Stability Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Angled Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Side Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Front Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Rear Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Top Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless In The Box Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Sound Profile  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Normalization Frequency 
 

1,350 Hz
950 Hz

Bass Amount 
 

5.3 dB
2.5 dB

Treble Amount 
 

0.2 dB
-0.9 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

8.0
7.1

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 
 

0.39 dB
0.59 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 Profile: Target Compliance 
 

7.5
8.9

Bass Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

5.4 dB
3.1 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

20 Hz
20 Hz

Low Bass 
 

4.71 dB
3.49 dB

Mid Bass 
 

5.33 dB
3.7 dB

High Bass 
 

6.32 dB
-0.13 dB

Show text

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance 
 

7.8
9.1

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

2.1 dB
1.03 dB

Low Mid 
 

2.79 dB
0.45 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-0.71 dB
0.66 dB

High Mid 
 

-0.4 dB
-1.05 dB

Show text

Treble Profile: Target Compliance 
 

9.8
9.7

Treble Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

1.43 dB
1.59 dB

Low Treble 
 

0.49 dB
-0.52 dB

Mid Treble 
 

-0.11 dB
-1.4 dB

High Treble 
 

-5.56 dB
-6 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

8.1
8.1

Peaks/Dips Graph 
 

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1 dB
1.13 dB

Dips 
 

1.66 dB
1.29 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

8.8
7.9

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 
 

0.23
1.39

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

3.61
3.5

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.5
0.18

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.56
1.37

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

4.1
4.1

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

3.68 dB
6.19 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

7.72 dB
6.67 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

6.74 dB
9.17 dB

Openness 
 

1.8
1.0

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

2.6
3.1

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

4.1
3.3

Virtual Soundstage  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Virtual Soundstage
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

On/Off
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

On/Off
On/Off

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
Adjustable

Virtual Surround 
 

360 Reality Audio
No

Show text

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.9
7.4

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.285
0.243

WHD @ 100 
 

0.099
0.289

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

1.1.1
1.6.7+g6ebabd2

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Bluetooth 5.2
Bluetooth 5.2

Codec 
 

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz

Test Instrument  

TP-Link BE9300 BT 5.4
Audio Precision APx517B

EQ 
 

Off
No EQ

ANC 
 

On
Quiet

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Integrated

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation - Full Range 
 

9.4
9.5

Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Noise Cancelling  

Yes
Yes

Overall Attenuation 
 

-25.81 dB
-27.00 dB

Bass 
 

-17.63 dB
-20.79 dB

Mid 
 

-28.25 dB
-29.81 dB

Treble 
 

-33.04 dB
-31.42 dB

Show text

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios 
 

9.1
9.5

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Airplane Noise Attenuation 
 

-21.43 dB
-22.12 dB

Airplane Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Office Noise Attenuation 
 

-19.38 dB
-21.71 dB

Office Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Street Noise Attenuation 
 

-24.28 dB
-24.15 dB

Street Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Show text

Noise Isolation - Voice Handling 
 

Female Voice 1 
 

Male Voice 1 
 

Female Voice 2 
 

Male Voice 2 
 

ANC Wind Handling 
 

ANC Wind Handling Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

ANC Wind Noise 
 

Show text

Leakage 
 

7.7
7.3

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

35.69 dB
37.83 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Recording Quality 
 

6.7
7.8

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

236.29 Hz
281 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

3.43 dB
2.3 dB

HFE 
 

7,240.77 Hz
6,088.74 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

N/A
0.055

Gain 
 

-13.92 dB
33.39 dB

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

8.3
6.5

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

7.61 dB
22.71 dB

Noise Gate 
 

Always On
No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

8.5
6.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

8.0
6.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

8.5
8.2

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

27 hrs
29 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

27 hrs
29 hrs

Charge Time 
 

3 hrs
2.3 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Auto-Off Timer
Auto-Off Timer and Standby Mode

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Yes
No

Charging Port  

USB-C
USB-C

Show text

App Support 
 

8.0
8.0

App Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless App Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless App Picture

App Name  

Sony Sound Connect
Bose Music

iOS  

Yes
Yes

Android  

Yes
Yes

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets

ANC Control 
 

On/Off
Presets

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
Yes

Playback Control 
 

Yes
Yes

Button Mapping  

Yes
Yes

Surround Support 
 

Yes
No

Show text

Connectivity

Wired Connection 
 

9.8
6.6

Cable Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Cable Picture
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable 
 

Yes
Yes

Length 
 

4.04 ft (1.23 m)
3.28 ft (1.00 m)

Connector 
 

1/8" TRS
1/16" TRS

Latency - Analog 
 

0.4 ms
35.0 ms

Latency - USB 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Connection  

Analog
Analog

Show text

Bluetooth Connection 
 

8.7
7.5

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.2
5.3

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
2 Devices

Quick Pair (Android) 
 

Yes
No

Quick Pair (iOS) 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

330.71 ft (100.80 m)
334.65 ft (102.00 m)

Latency - SBC 
 

241 ms
292 ms

Latency - aptX 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality) 
 

N/A
372 ms

Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency) 
 

N/A
85 ms

Latency - LDAC 
 

233 ms
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Codec  

SBC
aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)

AAC Support 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Wireless Connection (Dongle) 
 

0.0
0.0

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - Dongle 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

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

Check Price

Black
WH-1000XM5
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Black
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
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Midnight Blue
WH-1000XM5
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Diamond 60th Edition
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
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Silver
WH-1000XM5
Searching
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Lunar Blue
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
Searching
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Smoky Pink
WH-1000XM5
Searching
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Sandstone
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
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White Smoke
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
Searching
Finding store

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless

Comments

  1. Comparison

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless: Main Discussion

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    Okay thanks!!

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    Is there a way to see what settings you guys have used to reach the post calibration color accuracy?