Sony XM5 vs Bose 700: What’s the Better Buy?

Whether gaming, watching a movie, or listening to your favorite music, you’d want an immersive audio experience. However, background noises could substantially undermine your entertainment. Luckily, there is no shortage of noise-canceling headphones, which use noise control technology to reduce unwanted ambient sounds.

The Sony XM5 and Bose 700 are noise-canceling headphones with impeccable quality. With both headphones equipped with the latest noise-canceling technology, you may be wondering which of the two brands to purchase.

While Sony has been building its brand for years, associating its name with quality headphones, the Bose 700 has qualities anyone shopping for noise-canceling headphones would want.

This article reviews the Sony XM5 vs. Bose 700 headphones, including their performance, smart features, and noise-canceling technology. Let’s get to it!

Sony XM5 vs. Bose 700: Side-by-Side Comparison

Sony XM5 vs. Bose 700: What’s the Difference?

If you’re looking for new noise-canceling headphones, you probably desire a pair whose price matches their quality. While there is a slight price difference between the Sony XM5 and the Bose 700, the noise-canceling headphones have considerable differences that set them apart. Let’s review the Sony XM5 vs. Bose 700 from a technical viewpoint.

Design

Before considering other specs in any device, including headphones, we first look at their design. Design determines your headphone’s aesthetics and greatly enhances comfort and functionality. It is an essential aspect to consider when purchasing noise-canceling headphones.

In this regard, the Sony XM5 have a sleek design that is easy on the eye and tailored for comfort. The headphones weigh around 0.8 lbs and are relatively light, making them highly portable. The design significantly differs from standard Sony headphones, with a slimmer and sleeker body outline.

The Sony XM5 headphones have swayable cups, ample ear padding, and a smooth headband extension. Coupled with a clamping force of 0.8 lbs that allows the headphones to rest comfortably on your ears, the Sony XM5 are among the most comfortable headphones you can buy. The only downside is that they are no longer foldable, immensely hindering their portability.

Best Overall

Sony WH-1000XM5 (Silver)

$398.00

• Battery: 30 hours
• Features an automatic noise optimizer (AI noise cancelling)
• Includes Sony's V1 Processor for great sound
• Features soft leather ear-cups

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10/02/2023 06:58 pm GMT

The Bose 700 headphones have an equally impressive design. However, they weigh 0.58 lbs, making them slightly heavier than the Sony XM5. They also have larger cups that engulf your ears in thin hollow padding.

Like the Sony XM5, the Bose 700’s cups can swivel but not fold into the headphones, making it difficult to pack them into your luggage without a case. Nonetheless, the Bose 700 headphones have thinner bodies with subtle curves, boosting their aesthetics.

They also have a more potent clamping force at 1 lb, which ensures a firm grip when you wear them. Consequently, the Bose 700 will hardly fall off during vigorous activities, making them great for working out.

Overall, the Bose 700 have a better design than the Sony XM5. The headphones are incredibly appealing when you look at them, and they ensure maximum comfort when wearing them.

Charge Time and Battery Life

Always compare the headphones’ battery life before deciding on your preferred option. Many people use their headphones for at least several hours every day. Thus, you want headphones that can serve you for a few days before needing charging.

With that in mind, one of Sony’s XM5’s best features is their battery life. The headphones have a charging time of three hours, which provides up to 30 hours of use on a full charge. Like most modern charging systems, they use a USB-C port charger.

An impressive fact about the Sony XM5’s battery is that you can increase its life by around 10 hours by not activating the noise cancellation feature, totaling 40 hours of usage. The headphones also have a battery-saving feature that automatically turns the device off when it stays dormant.

Suppose you forget to charge the device and are in a hurry; you can plug them into the charger for three minutes, which gives you up to three hours of battery life.

In contrast, the Bose 700’s battery life is not as impressive. Although the headphones share similar features with the Sony XM5, such as a USB-C charging port and a power-saving feature, they have a battery life of around 20 hours.

This is after a 2-hour charge, which gives you a full bar. The Bose 700’s fast charging is also underwhelming. You must charge the headphones for at least 15 minutes to get about two hours of playtime. Ultimately, the Sony XM5 are far superior to Bose 700 when accounting for playtime and fast charging.

Smart Features and Controls

Enjoying quality on your noise-canceling headphones is not all about sound. A device with easy-to-use controls and smart features is vital to enhance your experience. The Sony XM5’s controls are almost akin to the company’s XM4’s, with a few improvements.

Overall, the headphones’ controls are easy to use and highly receptive to commands. The right ear cup has a touch-sensitive controller that you can use to pause and play music, skip to the next or previous track, or adjust the volume with a simple tap or swipe.

Conversely, the left ear cup has buttons that complement the touch-sensitive controller. The headphones also have various smart features, including a voice control prompt for commands and access to Google Assistant, which you can customize through the Connect app on your phone.

Best Design

Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700

$299.00

• 11 levels of active noise cancelation
• Built-in beamforming microphone that adapts to noisy and windy environments
• Lightweight stainless steel headband and tilted earcups
• Up to 20 hours of wireless battery life on a single charge

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10/03/2023 05:39 am GMT

The Bose 700 have similar configurations but are more centered on touch controls. However, the control is small-sized, making it difficult to use. Nonetheless, the headphones give you greater control over the noise-canceling feature.

You can quickly turn it off with a button and hear ambient noise without taking the headphones off. The Bose 700 also has Spotify Tap playback, allowing you to resume your Spotify session by tapping and holding the right ear cup.

There is no clear-cut winner between Sony XM5 and Bose 700 regarding smart features. However, the XM5 slightly edge out Bose 700 as the headphones have better touch-sensitive controls.

Sound Quality

The Sony XM5 and Bose 700 headphones have great audio quality but differ slightly in the sound they produce. The Sony XM5 is heavier on its bass sound profile and has a thump, rumble, and boom, making it suitable for music genres like hip-hop.

While the XM5’s sound quality resembles their predecessor’s, the Sony XM4, it’s smoother in the mid and treble range. Nonetheless, the extra bass drowns and clutters some sounds, which may not be ideal as it undermines the overall sound quality. You can adjust this and customize the sound to your liking through the Headphones Connect app.

Conversely, the Bose 700 headphones have a more balanced sound profile, resulting in a slightly bass-heavy and warm sound. While they have some extra boom in their sound, they also have a balanced mid-range that results in clear, distinct vocals.

This makes the Bose 700 a better pick when listening to podcasts or watching videos and movies. Like the Sony XM5, you can customize your sound on the Bose Music app connected. All in all, the Bose 700 headphones slightly edge out the XM5 when comparing their sound quality. 

Noise Cancellation

The main point of purchasing noise-canceling headphones is filtering background noise for an immersive audio experience. As expected of Sony-manufactured headphones, the XM5 have an impressive noise cancellation quality.

It has an automatic adaptive ANC system that isolates ambient noises based on your surroundings. The downside is that you cannot switch off the feature; thus, there are complaints that the noise cancellation changes with slight head movements, which is quite annoying. Similarly, the Sony XM5 headphones have trouble isolating the bus and engine noises. 

The Bose 700 do way better when it comes to noise cancellation. They have an ANC feature that blocks all background noises. There is no way to turn off the ANC feature; you can adjust the ANC effect on your Bose Music app.

The headphones also have a Conversation Mode that pauses audio and reduces noise-canceling when interacting with people. The Bose 700 win this category for having superior noise-canceling technology.

Microphone and Noise Handling

The Sony XM5 and Bose 700 have integrated microphones to input audio and communicate when on calls. Given they are noise-canceling headphones, they are expected to filter out the background noise and facilitate smooth audio recording when using the microphone.

True to this, the Sony XM5’s microphone has decent noise-handling capabilities. The microphone separates your voice from the surrounding noise, ensuring your voice is clear and audible.

However, the feature could do better when it comes to loud sounds. The Bose 700 do way better in this department. The microphone filters out the background and ensures clear, seamless audio. This puts the headphones way ahead of the Sony XM5.

Sony XM5 vs. Bose 700: 5 Must-Know Facts

1. The Sony XM5 have a battery life of 27 hours on a full charge.
2. The Sony XM5 and the Bose 700 have a microphone feature that filters out surrounding noise to optimize audio quality.
3. Both headphones use USB-C cables to charge.
4. The Sony XM5 headphones have a connectivity range of around 32 feet, while the Bose 700’s range is approximately 30 feet.
5. The Sony XM5 have better fast charging than Bose 700, providing up to three playtime hours when charged for three mins.

Sony XM5 vs. Bose 700: Which Option Is Better?

Given the Sony XM5 and Bose 700’s different specs and features, you may be wondering which headphones have better noise cancellation. You wouldn’t want to make a disappointing purchase. While both pairs of headphones have impressive features, the Bose 700 offer better value for money.

The headphones are more affordable, have superior noise-canceling features, and a more balanced sound profile than the Sony XM5. With a sleek design tailored for comfort, you will surely enjoy using the Bose 700 headphones.

However, our preference for the Bose 700 doesn’t mean the Sony XM5 are a bad pick. Although the Bose 700 edge the headphones out in most features, they have decent specs and a long battery life. Ultimately, your taste, preference, and budget will determine your pick.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Dean Drobot/Shutterstock.com.