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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Bose QuietComfort 45/QC45 Wireless vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Bose QuietComfort 45/QC45 Wireless
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Aug 29, 2024 08:10 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Feb 10, 2025 03:33 PM
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Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Variants
- QuietComfort 45/QC45 (Eclipse Grey)
- QuietComfort 45/QC45 (Midnight Blue)
- QuietComfort 45/QC45 (Triple Black)
- QuietComfort SE (Triple Black)
- QuietComfort 45/QC45 (White Smoke)
- 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
Bose QuietComfort 45/QC45 Wireless
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless have the edge over the Bose QuietComfort 45/QC45 Wireless. While both models look similar, there are a couple of changes. The Ultra are better built and have a different control scheme with a volume slider. They also have CustomTune technology, which automatically adjusts their sound, and noise cancelling performances based on your unique hearing characteristics and environment. They support Immersive Audio, too, which is an adjustable head-tracking feature that can create a more immersive sound. The QuietComfort Ultra Headphones have a greater codec selection, including aptX Adaptive. That said, the Ultra need to be powered on to be used via analog, while the QC45 support passive playback.
Main Differences for
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.7
8.1
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
6.6
9.7
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
9.5
8.9
Imaging
6.5
7.9
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
8.5
8.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.52 lbs
0.56 lbs
Clamping Force
0.7 lbs
0.8 lbs
Controls
8.1
7.6
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Decent
Feedback
Good
Good
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
Mute/Unmute
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
On/Off
On/Off
Talk-Through
On/Off
On/Off
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Breathability
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
Portability
6.6
6.4
Portability Picture
L
6.8" (17.2 cm)
7.5" (19.0 cm)
W
5.5" (13.9 cm)
5.9" (14.9 cm)
H
1.5" (3.8 cm)
1.5" (3.8 cm)
Volume
55.44 in³ (908.50 cm³)
65.65 in³ (1,075.78 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.0
8.0
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
8.3" (21.1 cm)
8.3" (21.1 cm)
W
5.7" (14.5 cm)
6.1" (15.4 cm)
H
2.2" (5.6 cm)
2.1" (5.4 cm)
Volume
105.16 in³ (1,723.20 cm³)
107.08 in³ (1,754.68 cm³)
Build Quality
7.5
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.0
7.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
400 Hz
950 Hz
Bass Amount
1.8 dB
2.5 dB
Treble Amount
-0.5 dB
-0.9 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
7.7
7.1
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.46 dB
0.59 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
9.5
8.9
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.2 dB
3.1 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
20 Hz
Low Bass
0.47 dB
3.49 dB
Mid Bass
2.45 dB
3.7 dB
High Bass
3.18 dB
-0.13 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
9.2
9.1
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
0.94 dB
1.03 dB
Low Mid
0.27 dB
0.45 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.94 dB
0.66 dB
High Mid
-0.31 dB
-1.05 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
6.6
9.7
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
3.63 dB
1.59 dB
Low Treble
1.25 dB
-0.52 dB
Mid Treble
-2.85 dB
-1.4 dB
High Treble
-1.46 dB
-6 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.5
8.1
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.43 dB
1.13 dB
Dips
1.84 dB
1.29 dB
Imaging
6.5
7.9
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.6
1.39
Weighted Phase Mismatch
26.97
3.5
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.5
0.18
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2.46
1.37
Passive Soundstage
4.8
4.1
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
3.62 dB
6.19 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
6.52 dB
6.67 dB
PRTF Distance
8.49 dB
9.17 dB
Openness
1.0
1.0
Acoustic Space Excitation
4.3
3.1
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
3.3
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
No
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
Adjustable
Virtual Surround
No
No
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.6
7.4
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.173
0.243
WHD @ 100
0.207
0.289
Test Settings
Firmware
1.0.3-2674+ee3f55e
1.6.7+g6ebabd2
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth 5.2
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
No EQ
No EQ
ANC
On
Quiet
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
9.0
9.5
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
Yes
Yes
Overall Attenuation
-23.90 dB
-27.00 dB
Bass
-19.96 dB
-20.79 dB
Mid
-22.53 dB
-29.81 dB
Treble
-30.21 dB
-31.42 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
9.1
9.5
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-21.39 dB
-22.12 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-20.89 dB
-21.71 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-22.37 dB
-24.15 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
ANC Wind Handling
ANC Wind Handling Graph
ANC Wind Noise
Leakage
6.3
7.3
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
43.53 dB
37.83 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
7.7
7.8
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
201.59 Hz
281 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.6 dB
2.3 dB
HFE
6,834.38 Hz
6,088.74 Hz
Weighted THD
0.373
0.055
Gain
34.01 dB
33.39 dB
Noise Handling
5.3
6.5
SpNR
36.73 dB
22.71 dB
Noise Gate
No
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
5.5
6.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
5.0
6.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
8.5
8.2
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
21.3 hrs
29 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
21.3 hrs
29 hrs
Charge Time
2 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
App Support
8.0
8.0
App Picture
App Name
Bose Music
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
No
Yes
Surround Support
No
No
Connectivity
Wired Connection
7.4
6.6
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
3.61 ft (1.10 m)
3.28 ft (1.00 m)
Connector
1/8" TRS
1/16" TRS
Latency - Analog
16.4 ms
35.0 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
8.2
7.5
Bluetooth Version
5.1
5.3
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
2 Devices
Quick Pair (Android)
No
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
272.31 ft (83.00 m)
334.65 ft (102.00 m)
Latency - SBC
182 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
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
AAC Support
Yes
Yes
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
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
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
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
Bose QuietComfort 45/QC45 Wireless
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless
Comments
Bose QuietComfort 45/QC45 Wireless vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless: Main Discussion
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