In a move, I just didn’t really see coming, I have conceded my top spot to Bose, both for the best combo and the most used and useful earbuds on the market today. I have found them so useful and effortless in my needs for the sound and features I used daily. They have the highest dynamic range, the widest soundstage and separation, and easily the best Bass in bluetooth today(with a little EQ). They deliver that needed battery life relief that I never have to worry about, which has grown more and more important to me.
The fact is that the Bose deliever on levels that they shouldn’t have the ability to. Levels that way more expensive earphones deliever on, but they do it at a mere cost of $179 vs. other $300-$400 products. This fact just kept playing a big role in my head. The comfort was another issue that played a role. So many earphones out there fit my ears, but I still feel them in my ears like the Az80. The Bose doesn’t push against the walls of my ears and doesn’t create air pressure headaches and other discomforts.
While this fact has been seen over and over again, listening to this track above was the one that finally made me call it for the Bose. The level of details ..spacing with separation and imaging the Bose delievered on was simply incredible. The timbre and tonality only took some EQ’g to come in right for my ears. Vocals sound emotional and real along with each instrument plucks or piano key press. And when you add the over 10-11 hours of battery along with the best ANC on the market with phone call ability and 1 of the best hear through abilities on the world…you just don’t have space to continue to deny it simply because it’s not getting it’s just amongst the hype online or as accepted and over overlooked by most doesn’t take away facts. And the fact is this $180 earphone and $270 Ultra headphone(I got it open box) is the best overall victory in a brand since the original Airpod Pros and Air max partnered for Apple for the first time.
Even what I have with the Bowers and Wilkins, while still amazing, and still the best overall sounding earphones in the world today falls shorts with every other category. Battery life(for earphones), ANC, hear thru, and its cost to performance ratio just don’t create the same best overall feel I get with the Bose. Yes they feel more high quality but when push comes to shove and you are out and about, and truly need product you can depend on for anc, hear thru, and battery life…I found myself very frustrated with the performance of the Bowers and Wilkins. I hated how pathetic the ANC worked on it and how frustrated I was with the battery life and how long it took to recharge the earphones back to 100% along with the pathetic 13 hours on the case. Then you place that against the cost, and you end up scratching your head. Sure, they are great for sitting around a quiet place in your room. But once you actually take them somewhere or need them to use the little features they did have…it was a letdown.
There is just something that can’t be expressed enough with the ability of the Bose. They might not be better than the Pi8’s sound, but they are right there and actually beat my top three sounding earphones in key areas of soundstage width, separation, and Bass at $179 and this is flat out embarrassing. And that’s before they destroy them in ANC and hear thru, battery life, and with one of the best comfort ever. I saw this prior and just didn’t really want to come to this conclusion. But I did mention that when I first got them, one could easily make the argument that they are better than the pi8s because of the total package it delivers on and now here we are.
Even with the Bose Quietcomfort Ultras, you have an headphone that most are finally coming to the conclusion that they are audiophile type quality in sound, and one of the single best ever in bluetooth sound and especially comfort. With them having the amazing ANC and hear- thru as well, it’s really easy to understand why this combo is my favorite now. It’s just been a shocker to me that I’ve come to this conclusion after experiencing such highs over the pi8s. But at the same time, it does show me that once again, sound OnLY..isn’t enough. You have to be good at more than that, especially at the cost asked by Bowers and Wilkins.
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