I picked up the the Bose NC700s to compare against the Sony WH-1000XM4s right now and first impressions so far:
- Call quality is definitely leagues ahead of the XM4s. They are as good as the AirPods Pro. Call quality on the XM4s are trash and crackle. Wtf this ain’t 2005
- Sound quality overall on the NC700 is clearer. Bass is weak. The XM4s are noticeably louder and have more depth but sometimes muddied the sound with the overwhelming bass but at least there’s an equalizer to work with.
- At first NC700 isn’t as comfortable as I thought it would be against the XM4. Earcups are better but that headband clamps harder than the XM4. after using it for an hour and a half I noticed no ear pain as I did with the Sony. XM4 hurts my ears after 30 minutes 🙉
- ANC slightly better in the NC700 but the difference isn’t significant. They are both very good.
- looks like Bose is taking their sweet ass time with the equalizer. Wtf is going on and how could they not have such a simple thing included on their app at the beginning for headphones at this price.
- Did the workaround to install 1.5.1 and have the equalizer. Definitely improved by increasing bass but still doesn’t match the XM4s but it’s gotten a little closer. Bose needs to get on it to officially release a better version of this firmware. It’s been working great so far.
- Multipoint pairing on the Bose NC700 has been working flawlessly for me. The XM4 was been wonky and glitchy AF. Simultaneous device toggle doesn’t work if Wifi on my iPhone is turned on. Sometimes it works ok, other times I have to re-pair the devices all over again. Hoping Sony fixes their software soon. Again, no issues with the Bose NC700.
Going to try these out for a week. Might just return both and see what Apple will announce or release later this month.