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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Bose SoundLink 2 Wireless vs Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Bose SoundLink 2 Wireless
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Apr 26, 2022 08:57 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Oct 26, 2023 06:45 PM
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Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
Variants
- SoundLink Around-Ear II (Black)
- SoundLink Around-Ear II (White)
- ATH-M50xBT (Black)
Our Verdict
Bose SoundLink 2 Wireless
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT
The Bose SoundLink 2 Wireless are better headphones than the Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT. The Bose are one of the most comfortable headphones we’ve tested so far, and they have a more neutral sound signature. On the other hand, the Audio-Technica have better wireless range and are better-built than the Bose. They also have a great battery life but take much more time to charge fully. While the Bose support an earlier version of Bluetooth and therefore has worse wireless range, it can connect to two devices simultaneously, which the ATH-Audio-Technica can’t do, but they support Bluetooth 5.0.
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SoundLink Around-Ear II
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ATH-M50xBT
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SoundLink Around-Ear II
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ATH-M50xBT
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ATH-M50xBT
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ATH-M50xBT
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Finding storeMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
8.0
7.3
Mid Accuracy
9.0
7.0
Bass Accuracy
9.0
8.4
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
7.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.44 lbs
0.7 lbs
Clamping Force
0.68 lbs
0.8 lbs
Controls
6.5
6.5
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
iOS
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Great
Okay
Feedback
Mediocre
Good
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
No
No
Talk-Through
No
No
Additional Controls
No
Voice Assistant
Breathability
6.4
6.0
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
6.1 °C
7.1 °C
Portability
6.1
5.9
Portability Picture
L
8.1" (20.5 cm)
5.0" (12.6 cm)
W
6.3" (16.0 cm)
7.2" (18.4 cm)
H
1.8" (4.5 cm)
3.3" (8.5 cm)
Volume
90.10 in³ (1,476.47 cm³)
119.51 in³ (1,958.40 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
7.0
6.5
Case Picture
Type
Soft case
Pouch
L
8.5" (21.5 cm)
N/A
W
6.9" (17.5 cm)
N/A
H
2.4" (6.0 cm)
N/A
Volume
137.79 in³ (2,257.96 cm³)
N/A
Build Quality
7.0
7.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.0
6.5
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
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
0.05 dB
2.09 dB
Treble Amount
-1.78 dB
-0.29 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
6.6
6.6
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.73 dB
0.72 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
9.0
8.4
Std. Err.
1.4 dB
2.27 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
10 Hz
Low-Bass
1 dB
0.54 dB
Mid-Bass
0.67 dB
1.99 dB
High-Bass
2.3 dB
3.27 dB
Mid Accuracy
9.0
7.0
Std. Err.
1.36 dB
3.96 dB
Low-Mid
1.2 dB
-4.6 dB
Mid-Mid
0 dB
-4.18 dB
High-Mid
1.19 dB
0.01 dB
Treble Accuracy
8.0
7.4
Std. Err.
3.1 dB
3.83 dB
Low-Treble
1.72 dB
-0.49 dB
Mid-Treble
-2.63 dB
-3.3 dB
High-Treble
-5.79 dB
-5.07 dB
Peaks/Dips
8.1
6.8
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.15 dB
1.89 dB
Dips
1.09 dB
2.19 dB
Imaging
7.8
8.4
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.19
0.36
Weighted Phase Mismatch
8.65
5.54
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.58
0.72
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2.39
1.81
Passive Soundstage
5.5
5.6
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
4.17 dB
1.98 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
4.6 dB
3.84 dB
PRTF Distance
10.9 dB
8.37 dB
Openness
4.3
4.9
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.5
4.1
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
No
No
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
No
No
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.5
7.7
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.188
0.244
WHD @ 100
0.230
0.136
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Unknown
Power
On
On
Connection
Unknown
Bluetooth 4.0
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz
EQ
No EQ
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation
5.1
4.5
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-14.35 dB
-12.75 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
-0.1 dB
0.27 dB
Mid
-13.03 dB
-9.22 dB
Treble
-31.1 dB
-30.07 dB
Leakage
7.0
6.4
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
39.72 dB
43.02 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
Yes
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.6
6.7
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
306.43 Hz
20 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.58 dB
5.2 dB
HFE
3,417.19 Hz
3,466.89 Hz
Weighted THD
2.89
14.646
Gain
34 dB
23.55 dB
Noise Handling
7.6
7.3
SpNR
15.08 dB
11.5 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
8.0
7.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
7.0
7.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
8.3
7.9
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
20.3 hrs
37.6 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
20.3 hrs
37.6 hrs
Charge Time
2.6 hrs
5.3 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
No
Audio While Charging
No
Yes
Passive Playback
Yes
Yes
Charging Port
micro-USB
micro-USB
App Support
6.5
6.0
App Picture
App Name
Bose Connect
Audio-Technica Connect
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
Yes
macOS
No
No
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
No
No
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
Yes
Yes
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
No
No
Connectivity
Bluetooth
8.5
7.0
Bluetooth Version
4.0
5.0
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
No
NFC Pairing
Yes
No
Line Of Sight Range
96.00 ft (29.26 m)
209.32 ft (63.80 m)
PC Latency (SBC)
252 ms
180 ms
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
184 ms
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
N/A
iOS Latency
131 ms
131 ms
Android Latency
162 ms
29 ms
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
0.0
0.0
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
N/A
Wired
9.5
9.5
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
3.94 ft (1.20 m)
4.10 ft (1.25 m)
Connection
1/8" TRS
1/8" TRRS
Analog/USB Audio Latency
0 ms
0 ms
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
Audio + Microphone
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
Audio + Microphone
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
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SoundLink Around-Ear II
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ATH-M50xBT
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SoundLink Around-Ear II
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ATH-M50xBT
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ATH-M50xBT
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ATH-M50xBT
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ATH-M50xBT
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Bose SoundLink 2 Wireless
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT
Comments
Bose SoundLink 2 Wireless vs Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT: Main Discussion
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