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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. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    6. PlayStation Compatibility
    7. Xbox Compatibility
    8. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless vs Sony WH-XB700 Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1

Updated Aug 07, 2021 12:24 AM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Apr 26, 2022 09:03 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Picture

Variants

  • SoundLink On-Ear (Black)
  • SoundLink On-Ear (White)
  • WH-XB700 (Black)
  • WH-XB700 (Navy)

Our Verdict

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless

Sony WH-XB700 Wireless

The Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless are better headphones than the Sony WH-XB700. They are one of the most comfortable on-ear headphones we’ve tested so far and their sound quality is better than the Sonys unless you are looking for a bass-heavy sound profile. They feel noticeably more durable and their battery performance is better thanks to lower charging time and a useful auto-off timer. On the other hand, the WH-XB700 have a decent app and support NFC. They also have better wireless range and support the aptX codec, which the SoundLink don’t.

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SoundLink On-Ear
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SoundLink On-Ear
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Main Differences for
Mixed Usage

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

7.1
No major differences between these headphones for mixed usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Design Picture 2
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Design Picture 2

Type  

On-ear
On-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show text

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.0

Comfort Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Comfort Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.35 lbs
0.43 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0.61 lbs
0.7 lbs
Show text

Controls 
 

7.2
6.8

Controls Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Controls Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

iOS
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Great
Decent

Feedback  

Good
Great

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

N/A
No

Talk-Through 
 

N/A
No

Additional Controls  

No
Voice Assistant
Show text

Breathability 
 

7.3
6.7

Breathability After Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Breathability After Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

3.4 °C
5.2 °C
Show text

Portability 
 

6.6
6.2

Portability Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Portability Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Portability Picture

 

4.72"
7.4" (18.8 cm)

 

4.92"
6.2" (15.7 cm)

 

2.36"
1.8" (4.6 cm)

Volume  

54.87 in³
83.00 in³ (1,360.12 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

N/A
No
Show text

Case 
 

7.0
0.0

Case Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Case Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Case Picture

Type  

Soft case
No case

 

5.91"
N/A

 

5.12"
N/A

 

2.56"
N/A

Volume  

77.34 in³
N/A
Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.5
6.5

Build Quality Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Build Quality Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Build Quality Picture
Show text

Stability 
 

7.0
7.0

Stability Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Stability Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Stability Picture
Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Angled Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Side Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Front Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Rear Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Top Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless In The Box Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless In The Box Picture
Show text
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

2.44 dB
6.02 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-0.09 dB
-1.42 dB

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

7.0
7.0

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 
 

0.62 dB
0.61 dB
Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

8.6
5.1

Bass  

See details on graph tool

Bass  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.04 dB
8.26 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

10 Hz
10 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

2.95 dB
10.46 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

1.98 dB
9.17 dB

High-Bass 
 

1.9 dB
8 dB
Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.0
8.3

Mid  

See details on graph tool

Mid  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.66 dB
2.28 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0.68 dB
2.21 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-2.56 dB
0.6 dB

High-Mid 
 

-3.56 dB
2.12 dB
Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.4
6.3

Treble  

See details on graph tool

Treble  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.97 dB
5.32 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-1.7 dB
0.65 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-1.63 dB
1.45 dB

High-Treble 
 

0.64 dB
0.04 dB
Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

8.1
7.0

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.1 dB
1.71 dB

Dips 
 

1.26 dB
2.46 dB

Imaging 
 

8.3
8.7

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.19
0.22

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

16.26
2.64

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.49
0.56

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.24
2.12
Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

4.7
5.0

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

2.88 dB
3.05 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

1.59 dB
1.71 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

8.23 dB
11.84 dB

Openness 
 

4.6
4.9

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

3.7
3.7
Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

4.4

Virtual Soundstage  

Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No

Speaker Modeling 
 

On/Off

Room Ambience 
 

Presets

Head Tracking 
 

No

Virtual Surround 
 

Yes

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.4
7.4

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.138
0.259

WHD @ 100 
 

0.089
0.218

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

Unknown

Power 
 

On

Connection 
 

Bluetooth 4.0

Codec 
 

aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

Default

ANC 
 

No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

5.2
4.5

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-13.45 dB
-12.2 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

-0.19 dB
0.59 dB

Mid 
 

-9.59 dB
-9.65 dB

Treble 
 

-31.3 dB
-28.41 dB
Show text

Leakage 
 

7.1
6.7

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

39.23 dB
41.08 dB
Show text
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

N/A
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Recording Quality 
 

6.2
6.4

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

297.71 Hz
190.27 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.48 dB
3.67 dB

HFE 
 

2,487.12 Hz
2,791.7 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

7.896
3.17

Gain 
 

40.08 dB
41.66 dB
Show text

Noise Handling 
 

6.6
7.8

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

18.06 dB
14.31 dB

Noise Gate 
 

No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

8.0

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

7.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text
Active Features

Battery 
 

8.4
7.4

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

21 hrs
25.4 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

21 hrs
25.4 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.43 hrs
3.4 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Auto-Off Timer
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port  

micro-USB
micro-USB
Show text

App Support 
 

0.0
7.0

App Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless App Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless App Picture

App Name  

N/A
Sony| Headphones Connect

iOS  

N/A
Yes

Android  

N/A
Yes

macOS  

N/A
No

Windows  

N/A
No

Equalizer 
 

N/A
Presets

ANC Control 
 

N/A
No

Mic Control  

N/A
No

Room Effects 
 

N/A
Yes

Playback Control 
 

N/A
Yes

Button Mapping  

N/A
Yes

Surround Sound  

N/A

Surround Support 
 

Yes
Show text
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

8.2
7.9

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.0
4.2

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
Yes

Line Of Sight Range 
 

94 ft
267.00 ft (81.38 m)

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

149 ms
188 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
173 ms

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

29 ms

Android Latency 
 

41 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

Wired 
 

9.5
9.5

Cable Picture  

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless Cable Picture
Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

4 ft
4.00 ft (1.22 m)

Connection 
 

1/8" TRS
1/8" TRS

Wired Latency 
 

0 ms

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC / PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PC / PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC / PS4 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

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

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

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

N/A
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

N/A
No

Line In 
 

N/A
No

Line Out 
 

N/A
No

Optical Input 
 

N/A
No

RCA Input 
 

N/A
No

Dock Charging 
 

N/A
No

Power Supply 
 

N/A
No Base/Dock
Show text

Check Price

Black
SoundLink On-Ear
Searching
Finding store
White
SoundLink On-Ear
Searching
Finding store

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless

Sony WH-XB700 Wireless

Comments

  1. Comparison

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless vs Sony WH-XB700 Wireless: Main Discussion

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