Bose QuietComfort 888507-0600

The ANC on the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds is flat-out the best you can get right now, sitting in the 97th percentile. But the music performance is a letdown, landing in the bottom 28th percentile—so you're trading silence for sound quality. Battery life, comfort, and connectivity are all fantastic, but audiophiles need not apply.

The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds nail the 'Quiet' part. Their active noise cancellation is among the best we've ever measured, landing in the 97th percentile of all true wireless earbuds in our database. Combine that with a super comfortable fit and multipoint Bluetooth 5.3, and you've got a travel companion that's hard to beat for blocking out the world. On paper, the 8.5-hour earbud battery and Qi wireless charging case just sweeten the deal. But the moment you hit play, the cracks appear. Our music score for these earbuds sits at just 55.4 out of 100, dragging the overall rating down to 83.7. The sound is a noticeable trade-off—if you're here for the tunes, you'll likely be disappointed.

With adaptive ANC that quiets everything from airplane hums to office chatter, these earbuds are the real deal for noise haters. We've tested plenty of competitors, and these regularly outperform the Sony WF-1000XM5 and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 at blocking mid-frequency din. Connectivity is also a strong point—Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint works flawlessly, keeping you tied to two devices at once. Battery life is solid, too: our benchmarks place it in the top 18% for longevity, giving you nearly 30 hours with the case. Where things go south is music playback. The sound signature is muddy and lacks detail, landing in the bottom third of all earbuds we've tested. For podcasts or audiobooks, it's acceptable—but for music, the crispy highs and deep lows just aren't there. The 5-band EQ in the Bose QCE app helps a little, but it can't fix the average driver performance.

Pricing for these earbuds is all over the map—we're seeing a spread of $16,781 across vendors. That's... wild. If you can snag them near the $119 mark, the ANC and comfort alone make them a screaming deal. But at the other end of that spectrum, you're paying more than some high-end over-ears for sound that doesn't keep up. The sweet spot for value is definitely on the lower side, and we'd recommend shopping around aggressively before pulling the trigger.

Up against rivals, the Bose carve out a very specific niche. The Sony WF-1000XM5 and Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro both offer far better music performance and more features like spatial audio, but they can't match the QuietComfort's noise cancellation. The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 sound leagues ahead, but again, ANC isn't as strong. And if you're eyeing the EarFun Air Pro 4+, you'll save cash and get surprisingly good ANC, though comfort and build quality take a hit. Our take: these Bose are the top pick for ANC and comfort right now, but you sacrifice audio quality to get there.

Anyone who listens to music critically should pass. The sound quality, with a score of just 55.4 out of 100, is thoroughly mediocre and gets trounced by competitors like the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 or even the cheaper EarFun Air Pro 4+. If you're looking for rich, detailed audio, these aren't your earbuds.

If you're a frequent flyer or work in a noisy office and value peace and quiet above all else, grab these without hesitation. The ANC and comfort are genuinely world-class. But if music is your main driver, look elsewhere—the sound just doesn't cut it, and there are cheaper options that sing much sweeter. This is a one-trick pony, but it does that trick better than anything else.