The Bose quietcomfort Earbuds’ latest version of their products are out, and there is a lot of talk about them. I, myself, have written an article (prematurely)about them not really being for me because of the over focus of bass and lack of proper venting. But in that article, I at least gave them credit for their approach to consumer sound. Well, since then, I have adjusted the EQ in so many different ways to get what I think is the best version of sound I feel makes these something I don’t want to take out of my ears now.
I started this morning with this configuration at around 9:30am, it’s 2:00pm now and I’ve been on phone calls , listening to music, asmr, movies, and not for one second have I places these back into the case and even at times forgot I had them in over my Pi8’s because it had been that fun of a sound that I didnt care what the source was, I was just in the moment and that says more about them than anything else I can reveal. In fact, this can be said of any earphones that subjectively you feel about personally I guess. So, never feel pressured about going out to buy the latest if you truly are happy. I’ve made that mistake way too many times. On top of that, I didn’t have to ever wonder what my battery life was at, in fear of it running out. According to the app …it says I have 6 more hours of music and 4 hours of phone calls left still, and this is after basically 4 hours is usage.
This is the type of stuff that makes things complicated in a sense when it comes to earphones. It’s also the reason some of us have so many of them. Nothing can be the master of all things. I can’t truly use the Bose to replace my Pi8s when I’m in the mood for absolute accurate reproduction and immersion. But at the same time, I can’t just count on the pi8 for the “best” dynamics and the “most” fun sound, nor the “best” ANC levels or battery life like is seen with the Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds.
And I think that’s where things get a little muddy. I’m not going to lie, these Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds has caused me to doubt a lot things said before and may have to get a nickname and be placed within my top 3 earphones of 2024, the way their predecessors should have if not for the software issues and connection problems that don’t seem to plague this model like it did those older models. It’s like it has the best of all the world’s. It has all the power of the Denon perl Pro’s, battery life close to my Cambridge audio per charge, and yet gives ANC that nobody competes with, almost catches up with airpods for hear-thru, has very good imaging and timbre now with EQ adjustment, has the very best bass and amazing mids and timbre of the pi8’s and still manages to be very comfortable now without the extra pressure build up.
I haven’t put them down once today since I found this EQ. Now, the timbre is actually wonderful. Now the bass, while still strong, isn’t drowning now and increasing pressure in my head, it remains super fun, and the treble details are in line with the best I have while finally revealing great mids…at $180 mind you. This has left me scratching my head. Basically, to put it simple… these things make you want to get up and dance. All my other earphones, I want to kick back and listen or lay down and there is a need for those but there are also a need to just want to dance and bang your head and that’s what these do but now with accurate timbre and better balance along with a great battery life, stability, the absolute best ANC, and price tag of $180.
🔑 ‘S to victory
The EQ adjustment took all of the superpowers of tonaily and timbre from the victory side of the Pi8s and mixed in harder bass(if you seek this), better battry life and 10x better charging times(Bose case charged my buds to 100% in less than 12 minutes after a 2 hour session) the best ANC, and better Hear thru, possble even better mids, and a better app with a $180 price tag.
The Bowers and Wilkins Pi8 just delivers more real, still better balance, and best vocal representation and overall soundstaging and better separation. But I can not say this difference is worth the $400 over the $180 for the majority of the people out there.
Now the questions then will come soon..
1. Does this make the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds now your best “overall” earphone?
2.. If so… do I return the Pi8s, Denon, and Cambridge audio since the Bose has elements of all them?
3. What does the $400 Pi8 truly do better over the $180 Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds that’s worth $220 difference?
Honest Answers:
- No, I wouldn’t classify them as the “best” more than I would classify them as the Funest. But also wouldn’t classify them Pi8 as the overall best either. It would just be the best sounding, and my number 1 reached for earphones for my life for sound.
- Nope, no returns coming for the Pi8, Denon, or Cambridge Audio. All of them are outstanding earphones that I wish to keep. But I would say the Bose is still being debated by me for keeping despite all those glowing things above for one simple thing… Phone call quality is horrible.
- Quite simply, there are only three things that Pi8 does better than the Bose. One is still fit and size of the case and buds in my ears. Never had a better deep fitting earphone ever. Second is just the realism of sound and instrument separation, which is flat out effortless on the Pi8, and it’s the only earphone that completely immerse me in the music immediately without me trying to focus on the event. And lastly the phone call quality is a lot better than the Bose.
My Hot take: The bottom line after all this is that the Pi8 is still too pricey and the only people that should buy it should be the ones that are audiophile people who just want the absolute best in sound even if it’s by a small amount. Other than that, the Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds have way more going for it than the Bowers and Wilkins Pi8’s, and I’m not ashamed to say that. At $400, it should be the other way around.
Tech-N-Things 