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Products
Bose QuietComfort 45/QC45 Wireless
Apple AirPods Max
Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Apr 23, 2025 09:03 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Jun 18, 2025 01:07 PM
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Amazon.com
TypeOver-Ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass AmountEmphasized (3 dB)
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Treble AmountSlightly Emphasized (1 dB)
MicYes
Sound SignatureWarm
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass AmountSlightly Emphasized (1 dB)
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Treble AmountUnderemphasized (-4 dB)
MicYes
Sound SignatureWarm
Our Verdict
Bose QuietComfort 45/QC45 Wireless
Apple AirPods Max
The Bose QuietComfort 45/QC45 are slightly more versatile headphones than the Apple AirPods Max. The Bose are lighter and more comfortable. Their integrated mic offers significantly better overall performance, and these headphones support multi-device pairing or 3.5 mm wired. However, the Apple feel better built and have a virtual soundstage feature. They also have the edge in noise cancelling, although both headphones still do a fantastic job in this regard.
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)
- AirPods Max (USB-C) (Blue)
- AirPods Max (Lightning) (Green)
- AirPods Max (USB-C) (Midnight)
- AirPods Max (USB-C) (Orange)
- AirPods Max (Lightning) (Pink)
- AirPods Max (USB-C) (Purple)
- AirPods Max (Lightning) (Silver)
- AirPods Max (Lightning) (Sky Blue)
- AirPods Max (Lightning) (Space Gray)
- AirPods Max (USB-C) (Starlight)
Check Price
Eclipse Grey
QuietComfort 45/QC45
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AirPods Max (USB-C)
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QuietComfort 45/QC45
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AirPods Max (Lightning)
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QuietComfort 45/QC45
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AirPods Max (USB-C)
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QuietComfort SE
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AirPods Max (USB-C)
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QuietComfort 45/QC45
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AirPods Max (Lightning)
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AirPods Max (USB-C)
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AirPods Max (Lightning)
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AirPods Max (Lightning)
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AirPods Max (Lightning)
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AirPods Max (USB-C)
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Finding storeMain Differences forSports And Fitness
Sports And Fitness
Threshold
Sports And Fitness
7.5
6.9
Comfort
8.5
7.0
Stability
7.0
6.5
Full Comparison
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
400 Hz
400 Hz
Bass Amount
Emphasized (3 dB)
Slightly Emphasized (1 dB)
Treble Amount
Slightly Emphasized (1 dB)
Underemphasized (-4 dB)
Sound Signature
Warm
Warm
Frequency Response Consistency
7.6
8.1
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.97 dB
0.83 dB
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
9.5
9.6
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.2 dB
1.5 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
20 Hz
Low Bass
0.47 dB
1.72 dB
Mid Bass
2.45 dB
1.15 dB
High Bass
3.18 dB
1.49 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
9.5
9.1
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
0.94 dB
1.3 dB
Low Mid
0.27 dB
0.49 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.94 dB
0.2 dB
High Mid
-0.31 dB
-1.34 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
7.6
6.1
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
3.63 dB
5.14 dB
Low Treble
1.25 dB
-4.28 dB
Mid Treble
-2.85 dB
-4.58 dB
High Treble
-1.46 dB
-3.65 dB
Stereo Mismatch
6.7
9.1
Frequency Response Mismatch
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.7 dB
0.10 dB
Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch
1.8 dB
0.67 dB
Weighted Phase Mismatch
2.2°
0.6°
Cumulative Spectral Decay
CSD
PRTF
5.6
4.4
PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)
3.62 dB
4.28 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
6.52 dB
6.81 dB
PRTF Distance
8.49 dB
5.22 dB
Harmonic Distortion
6.3
9.5
Harmonics Levels
THD Ratio
WHD @ 94 dB SPL
0.22%
0.06%
WHD @ 104 dB SPL
1.99%
0.10%
Electrical Aspects
Impedance
Sensitivity @1kHz-1V
114.4 dB SPL
N/A
Bluetooth Max SPL
105.0 dB
103.2 dB
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
2.9
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
No
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
On/Off
Virtual Surround
No
Spatial Audio
Test Settings
Firmware
1.0.3-2674+ee3f55e
6A326
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
TP-Link BE9300 BT 5.4
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
No EQ
Adaptive EQ
ANC
On
On
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-Ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
8.5
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.52 lbs
0.85 lbs
Clamping Force
0.7 lbs
1.2 lbs
Controls
8.1
7.9
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
iOS
Ease Of Use
Good
Great
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
Portability
6.6
6.0
Portability Picture
L
6.8" (17.2 cm)
7.8" (19.8 cm)
W
5.5" (13.9 cm)
7.5" (19.1 cm)
H
1.5" (3.8 cm)
1.7" (4.3 cm)
Volume
55.44 in³ (908.50 cm³)
99.00 in³ (1,622.31 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.0
6.0
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Soft case
L
8.3" (21.1 cm)
7.9" (20.1 cm)
W
5.7" (14.5 cm)
8.5" (21.6 cm)
H
2.2" (5.6 cm)
1.7" (4.3 cm)
Volume
105.16 in³ (1,723.20 cm³)
114.00 in³ (1,868.12 cm³)
Build Quality
7.5
8.0
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
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
9.0
9.4
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
Yes
Yes
Overall Attenuation
-23.90 dB
-26.06 dB
Bass
-19.96 dB
-19.54 dB
Mid
-22.53 dB
-30.62 dB
Treble
-30.21 dB
-28.95 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
9.1
9.0
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-21.39 dB
-21.85 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-20.89 dB
-19.98 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-22.37 dB
-21.92 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
7.7
6.6
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
201.59 Hz
273 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.6 dB
2.77 dB
HFE
6,834.38 Hz
3,466.89 Hz
Weighted THD
0.373
3.025
Gain
34.01 dB
15.85 dB
Noise Handling
5.3
5.0
SpNR
36.73 dB
9.61 dB
Noise Gate
No
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
5.5
5.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
5.0
5.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
8.5
8.3
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
21.3 hrs
21.6 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
21.3 hrs
21.6 hrs
Charge Time
2 hrs
1.5 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
Standby mode
Audio While Charging
No
Yes
Passive Playback
Yes
No
Charging Port
USB-C
Lightning
App Support
8.0
6.0
App Picture
App Name
Bose Music
iOS Interface
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
No
macOS
No
Yes
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
No
ANC Control
On/Off
On/Off
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
Yes
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
No
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
7.4
9.3
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
3.61 ft (1.10 m)
N/A
Connector
1/8" TRS
Lightning
Latency - Analog
16.4 ms
1.7 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
8.2
7.9
Bluetooth Version
5.1
5.0+H1 chip
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
No
Quick Pair (Android)
No
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
Yes
Line Of Sight Range
272.31 ft (83.00 m)
328.00 ft (99.97 m)
Latency - SBC
182 ms
185 ms
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
SBC
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
No
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
No
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
No
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
Check Price
Eclipse Grey
QuietComfort 45/QC45
Searching
Finding storeBlue
AirPods Max (USB-C)
Searching
Finding storeMidnight Blue
QuietComfort 45/QC45
Searching
Finding storeGreen
AirPods Max (Lightning)
Searching
Finding storeTriple Black
QuietComfort 45/QC45
Searching
Finding storeMidnight
AirPods Max (USB-C)
Searching
Finding storeTriple Black
QuietComfort SE
Searching
Finding storeOrange
AirPods Max (USB-C)
Searching
Finding storeWhite Smoke
QuietComfort 45/QC45
Searching
Finding storePink
AirPods Max (Lightning)
Searching
Finding storePurple
AirPods Max (USB-C)
Searching
Finding storeSilver
AirPods Max (Lightning)
Searching
Finding storeSky Blue
AirPods Max (Lightning)
Searching
Finding storeSpace Gray
AirPods Max (Lightning)
Searching
Finding storeStarlight
AirPods Max (USB-C)
Searching
Finding store
Bose QuietComfort 45/QC45 Wireless
Apple AirPods Max
Comments
Apple AirPods Max vs Bose QuietComfort 45/QC45 Wireless: Main Discussion
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