The Bose QuietComfort 25 are good commuting headphones thanks to their excellent noise canceling. They're lightweight and super comfortable for an over-ear design. They also deliver an above-average sound quality that should be good enough for most listeners. Unfortunately, they're a bit leaky and audible to the people around you, even at moderate volumes.
Our Verdict
These headphones have a decent all-around performance. The Bose QC25 are good everyday headphones with the added benefit of great noise canceling. This makes them a good option for most use cases but especially good for commuting and traveling. They're also reasonably good for office use but leak a bit at moderate-to-high volumes.
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Comfortable design.
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Above-average audio reproduction.
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Amazing noise isolation.
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Average build quality.
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Moderate sound leakage.
The Bose QuietComfort 25 are good for neutral listening. They're Comfortable for long listening sessions and deliver an above-average sound quality. Unfortunately, they have a poor soundstage due to their closed, noise canceling design.
The QuietComfort 25 are good for commuting in noisy environments. They have a good control scheme and the active noise canceling is excellent. They will significantly reduce the ambient noise of train or bus ride.
The Bose QC25 are average for sports use. They're comfortable and have a decent control scheme but they're a bit too unstable for intense workouts or for running. They also make your ears a little warm.
These headphones are above-average for office use. They will isolate you from the chatter of the office, but they leak a bit, which can be distracting.
These headphones are above-average for gaming. They're super comfortable and have a low latency wired connection. Unfortunately, they lack many of the features typical for gaming headsets like wireless capabilities and a good, customizable software. They also do not have the best mic for multiplayer gaming.
- 6.8 Mixed Usage
- 7.4 Neutral Sound
- 6.9 Commute/Travel
- 6.3 Sports/Fitness
- 7.1 Office
- 5.8 Wireless Gaming
- 7.4 Wired Gaming
- 7.0 Phone Calls
- Updated Feb 07, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Oct 02, 2017: The microphone has been tested with our new methodology, as explained here
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Mar 01, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Feb 26, 2016: Review published.
Compared To Other Headphones
The Bose Quiet Comfort 25 have excellent noise isolation and comfortable design that makes them one of the most recommended wired headphones for commuting and traveling. See our recommendations for the best over-ear headphones, the best noise cancelling headphones under $200, and the best noise-cancelling headphones.
The Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018 are a wireless upgrade to the Bose QuietComfort 25/QC25. The QC 35 II have better noise isolation than the QC 25 and feel slightly better-built. They're wireless and can be used wired as well, unlike the QC 25. On the other hand, the QC 25 have a longer battery life overall but use AA batteries. This may be a deal-breaker for some, but an advantage for others since you don't have to charge them.
The Bose QuietComfort 45/QC45 Wireless are better over-ears than the Bose QuietComfort 25/QC25. While both headphones have a very comfortable fit and are well-built, the QC45 are wireless headphones that block out more bass-range noise like bus and plane engines and have longer-lasting continuous battery life. However, some users may prefer the QC25's wired AAA battery design, as you can easily replace the battery when it can't hold a charge anymore.
The Bose QuietComfort 25/QC25 are better headphones than the Beats Solo3 Wireless. The Bose are noticeably more comfortable, have a better neutral-sounding audio reproduction, and have a great noise isolation performance, which is great for commuting. However, they are wired headphones, so if you prefer a wireless design, then the Beats may be better. They also have more battery life and are rechargeable, while you need to use AAA batteries for the Bose.
If you want a wired headset, then the Bose QuietComfort 25/QC25 are a better choice but if you prefer a wireless option for most of your use cases, then get the Parrot Zik 3/Zik 3.0 Wireless instead. The Parrot have a lot more features and also come with an audio cable to use wired. They have a sturdier more durable and premium looking design than the Bose. They also have a customizable sound since they are active headphones that come with a good app. The Bose, on the other hand, have a much more comfortable over-ear fit that you can wear for hours without fatigue. They also have a slightly better sound quality and an easier-to-use design for most users.
The Bose QuietComfort 25/QC25 are the wired and noise cancelling variant of the Bose SoundLink 2 Wireless. If you need a wired headset and noise cancellation for your busy commutes, the QC25 are a better choice. On the other hand, the SoundLink are wireless, which makes them a bit more practical for day to day use, but worse for watching videos and gaming since all Bluetooth headphones have a bit of latency. Other than that, they have a fairly similar design and sound quality.
The Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 are a better headset overall compared to the Bose QuietComfort 25/QC25 since they can be used wired and wireless. The Plantronics have a more versatile wireless design, so they have a greater range than the Bose and are a bit more practical for day-to-day casual use. The Plantronics also have a more exciting bass-heavy sound and a better battery performance than the Bose overall. The Bose, on the other hand, have a much better noise cancelation performance that makes them a better choice to use in loud, noisy environments. They also have a slightly better sound profile that's more balanced while still packing a fair bit of bass.
If you want a wired headset for commuting, then the Bose QuietComfort 25/QC25 are better than the Sony WH-CH700N Wireless. The Bose have a much stronger noise cancellation for noisy environments. They're also more comfortable and have zero-latency since they are wired. However, the Sony have a greater range, and their wireless design makes them a bit more convenient to use with your phone on a daily basis.
Test Results
The Bose QC25 have a slick, and simple design. The thin, padded headband is covered in a fabric that matches the overall color scheme of the black, dark grey and blue accents. The ear cups are large, well-padded and have the silver Bose Logo branded on both sides. They look good without being too flashy which will work for most.
The Bose QuietComfort 25 are very comfortable headphones. They have decently large and spacious ear cups that should fit well on most ears. They're also well padded and lightweight so you can wear them for hours and not feel any fatigue. However, when noise-canceling is activated, you may feel an uncomfortable pressure in your ears. The effect is less noticeable when music is playing though.
The Bose QC 25 have a simple control scheme that lacks a little feedback compared to the QuietComfort 20's inline remote. On the upside, they provide the essentials: track skipping, call/music, and volume controls. The buttons are constantly spaced out and easy to locate by touch alone but lack a bit of feedback when pressed.
The Bose QC25 are moderately breathable but will make your ears a little warm after 1 hours of continuous listening. This is about average for most closed over-ear, but unfortunately, this also means they won't be ideal headphones for sports.
The Bose QC25 are mid-sized over-ear headphones. They're decently portable and fold up into a more compact format to take less space in a bag. Sadly, they will still be too big to carry around on your person and will not comfortably fit into any pockets.
The Bose QuietComfort 25 Wireless come with a sturdy, hard case that will protect the headphones from scratches, falls, and mild water damage. It also doesn't add much bulk and easily stores all the provided headphone accessories.
The build quality of these headphones is fairly good. They feel a little cheap and plasticky, and prone to wear in certain areas, but this is nothing to be concerned about. Unfortunately, the notches on the headband don't offer much feedback when adjusting.
Note: After a few months of light use, the padding fabric of our unit has deteriorated and partially torn.
The Bose QuietComfort 25 are decently stable headphones. They stay in place during casual listening sessions and have a detachable audio cable that won't pull the headphones off your head if it gets hooked on something. However, these headphones do not apply enough pressure around the ears and will slip off while running or doing high-intensity physical exercises. Shaking your head from side to side will make the ear cups sway because of the lack of tension, which is slightly disappointing.
- Bose QuietComfort 25 headphones
- Audio cable
- Airline adapter
- Carrying case
- AAA battery
The Bose QC25 has good frequency response consistency. In the bass range, the QuietComfort 25 was extremely consistent in delivering their bass across our 5 human test subjects, even if they were wearing glasses or having hair covering their ears. This is mostly likely due to the feedback mechanism of their active noise cancelling system. In the treble range, they also perform quite consistently, only showing 5dB of variance across most of the treble range.
The Bose QC25 have an excellent bass response. Their low frequency extension is at 10Hz, which is excellent. It means they won't have any problems producing low rumbling sounds. Low-bass, which is responsible for the thump in bass and kick instruments, is reproduced within 0.3dB of our target. Mid-bass, which is responsible for delivering the punch of kick drums, is also quite well-balanced and virtually flat. However, high-bass, is overemphasized by about 1.5dB, which adds a very small amount of clutter and muddiness to the bass range.
The Bose QuietComfort 25 has an excellent mid-range performance. Low-mid and mid-mid are virtually flat, resulting in a well-balanced reproduction of voice fundamentals and lower harmonics. The average 2dB overemphasis in high-mid emphasizes the upper harmonics of vocals/leads and brings them to the front of the mix a bit.
The Bose QC25 has a good treble reproduction. The overall treble response is rather inconsistent, but quite neutral overall. The 5dB dip centered around 5KHz, will have a negative effect on detail and presence of vocals and lead instruments, but because of the narrow bandwidth of the dip, the effect will be quite subtle.
The Bose QC25 has one of the best ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) systems we have measured so far. With ANC set to On, these headphones provide constant isolation from -20dB at 30Hz to -30dB at 2.5KHz. This means they will attenuate low and mid frequency noises such as the rumble of an airplane engine, the sound of cars passing by, or speech to a great degree. With ANC Off, the low-end and mid-range isolation goes away for the most part, but the performance from 3KHz and up, which can be helpful in reducing high frequency noise like the sound of a fan, will remain virtually the same.
The Bose QC25 has a sub-par leakage performance, which makes them less than ideal for office use. The leakage on the headphones becomes significant starting at around 400Hz and will continue up to 4KHz. The overall level of the leakage is also relatively loud. This means that if you listen to music at moderately loud volumes, people a few feet away from you could possibly be distracted by what you are listening to.
The microphone of the Bose QC25 has a good recording quality. With low-frequency extension at 370Hz, speech captured with this headphone will lack bass and will sound noticeably thin. But, low-frequency extension is not a factor in speech comprehensibility and won't have a negative effect on speech intelligibility. However, the dip at 3KHz could have a small negative effect on understanding the recorded speech. The high frequency extension of 20KHz, means sound captured with this microphone will be open and airy, which is good.
The Bose QC25's microphone has mediocre noise handling capabilities. It achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of only 13dB, meaning this microphone is not very good at separating speech from ambient noise.
Update 29/05/2019: We've updated the review since we incorrectly listed that the headphones use two AAA batteries while they only use one.
The Bose QC25 use one AAA battery to deliver 32.8 hours of continuous play time. This makes them good headphones to use on long flights or road trips as you won't need to change the battery as throughout the day. Luckily, they can be used without the battery, but lose a bit of audio quality when the battery is dead. They also don't have any battery-saving features like an auto-off timer.The Bose QC25 have no compatible app on mobile phones or PC.
The QC25 does not have any Bluetooth capabilities. For more Bluetooth headphone options check out our best wireless recommendations here.
The Quiet Comfort 25 have a wired connection with negligible latency (see our recommendations for the best wired headphones).
The Bose QC 25 have a 1/8 TRRS analog audio cable that does not have microphone compatibility with consoles.
The Bose QuietComfort 25 headphones do not have a base station or dock. If you want a noise canceling headphone with a dock, then try the Turtle Beach Elite 800.