Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2024 vs Sony WF-1000XM5: which ANC earbuds are better?

Bose and Sony have been locking horns in the headphone world for decades, and with both brands launching at least one new model a year, it is a constantly evolving battle to see who's on top.

Bose's latest pair is the QuietComfort Earbuds, the 2024 refresh of the same-named model from 2020. They offer fantastic ANC, as we've come to expect from Bose, and a great fit alongside an entertaining sound – all for a more modest price than the company's flagship QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. It's little wonder they earned five stars in our review.

But as with any earbuds that arrive in the mid-to-premium wireless earbuds market, they come up against a fierce rival – the Sony WF-1000XM5 are our What Hi-Fi? Award winners at this level and have dispatched all newcomers since they launched in 2023. They have since come down in price, making them even better value than before, not to mention closer in price to the more affordable Bose.

So which pair is the better buy – Sony or Bose? Let's find out...

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2024 vs Sony WF-1000XM5: price

Considering this is Bose's mid-range model and Sony's top-ranging model, you would expect there to be a pretty large price discrepancy between them, but they're actually closer than you might think.

The Bose launched in September 2024 for £180 / $179 / AU$289 but have already had their price slashed to around £130 / $130 / AU$250.

The Sony XM5 have been around for over a year longer, since July 2023. They launched at £259 / $299 / AU$419 but at the time of writing can be picked up for £175 / $220 / AU$340. So the price difference between the two pairs is only around £45 / $90 / AU$90.

Still, the Bose are the cheaper pair in every region and therefore take this round.

** Winner: Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2024 **

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2024 vs Sony WF-1000XM5: design

Bose's 'buds are typically bulky, in keeping with the brand's big and brash style. They look quite like the higher-end QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds with their stems sawn off, making them more ovular, and are a mix of matte and glossy plastic, coming with three sizes each of Bose stability bands and ear tips to aid with fit.

These help keep them solidly in place while feeling less intrusive than the Sony WF-1000XM5. The QuietComfort Earbuds might be a bit bulky for some with smaller ears, but it all depends on personal preference.

The XM5 are much smaller than their predecessors, the ageing-but-brilliant XM4. But while much smaller than the Bose, they have a similar combination of matte and glossy plastic. Like the Bose, they're rated IPX4 water-resistant.

Out of the two pairs, our review experts found the Bose provided the better fit, mostly thanks to their stability bands. The XM5 rely on their polyurethane tips alone, and while they can provide a good seal, the material isn't that grippy. It can feel as though the slightest knock will see them flop out, so you have to twist them a little deeper inside your ear canal, making them feel more intrusive than the Bose.

** Winner: Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2024 **

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2024 vs Sony WF-1000XM5: features

The Bose come out top in terms of battery life, too – they offer eight-and-a-half hours from the buds themselves and a total of 29.5 hours including the charging case top-ups. That's more than the XM5, which manage eight and 24 hours respectively.

Both pairs boast Bluetooth 5.3, with support for the SBC and AAC codecs, though the Sonys go one better with the brand's own LDAC higher-res format. Bluetooth Multipoint allows both pairs to connect to two devices wirelessly and flit between them without having to re-pair – handy if you're listening to music on your mobile and a work call comes in on your laptop.

Both pairs of earbuds support wireless charging, too.

As you would expect, each pair is compatible with an app made by their parent company, although somewhat unexpectedly Bose has created a whole new app for the QuietComfort Earbuds. Rather than making them work with the standard Bose app (like the rest of its wireless headphones), Bose has developed an app called Bose QCE. Why? Because the new buds use new hardware and firmware not found in its other models. Intriguingly, Bose says there are no plans to allow its other headphones to use the same app.

It gives you all the usual features, like adjusting touch controls, multipoint settings, a five-band equaliser and sound presets, as well as a low latency mode for better lip-syncing. There's even the option to activate the shutter on your phone camera using the earbuds. Er... great?

Bose's Immersive Audio spatial tech is coming to the earbuds next year, which is pretty good for a pair of mid-level earbuds, though we can't say we are missing it much at the moment, considering how hit-and-miss we've found it on other Bose headphones.

Sony's DSEE Extreme processing is onboard the XM5 to fill in the gaps of detail in lower-quality music files. They also support 360 Reality Audio with dynamic head tracking for a more spatial listening experience when listening to such tracks on supported streaming services.

Adaptive Sound Control and Speak-to-Chat return with the XM5 too. These genuinely useful features have become part of the Sony furniture over the years and we've used them extensively. The former automatically adjusts how much ambient sound from your surroundings is allowed in depending on your situation, while the latter detects when you're speaking and lowers the volume while allowing in outside sound so that you can have a conversation without taking the earbuds out.

** Winner: Sony WF-1000XM5 **

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2024 vs Sony WF-1000XM5: ANC and call quality

Bose invented noise cancellation in headphones and has long been the technology's leader. Even as a mid-range effort, the QuietComfort Earbuds do a great job of eliminating outside noise.

Without Bose's CustomTune technology, they aren't as effective as the company's higher-end QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds which do have it, but they are still very good at blocking mid- and low-frequency sounds. The ANC is more simplistic than the Ultra in that it isn't adjustable – you can just set the mode to on, off or Aware mode (which allows in outside sounds so you can hear your surroundings when you need to without removing the buds).

Sony's XM5 use three mics on each earbud for noise cancellation, in conjunction with the integrated processor V2 and HD Noise Cancelling processor QN2e. They do the job well – the effect is subtler than Bose's more vacuum-like application, and less overbearing if you're keeping it activated for long sessions. Though admittedly it does allow a little more outside noise to slip through the net.

But in terms of call quality, the XM5 have the edge. Because they protrude less from your ears, they pick up less wind noise. Add the noise reduction engine with AI machine learning and a bone conductor sensor that detects when you are speaking, and you've got some of the clearest calls from any earbuds. They also give you the option of nodding to accept a call or shaking your head to reject it.

By comparison, calls on the Bose are fine, but not as clear, dynamic or rounded as on the XM5.

** Winner: Draw **

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2024 vs Sony WF-1000XM5: sound

Now we get to the business end of the comparison. The Bose and Sonys are both five-star pairs, meaning they both sound great. But their sound profiles are quite different.

The QuietComfort Earbuds have plenty of drive and musicality – they're powerful and punchy, with a weighty low end, expressive midrange and controlled highs. The bass is suitably rich and solid, but also retains a great level of detail, while even complex tracks like Radiohead’s 15 Step sound cohesive. They're not quite as spacious or detailed as Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, but then at this price, we wouldn't expect them to be.

The XM5 take a more neutral approach, with less bass weight and a greater emphasis on analysis. But they don't forget to have fun, with plenty of rhythmic drive in their arsenal. Their timing is spot on, and while they might have less low-end heft than the Bose, it's more beautifully controlled.

The XM5's soundscape is also more open, with a level of definition and texture that's previously unheard of from a pair of wireless earbuds.

It's a close-run thing between Bose's out-and-out, get-up-and-go approach or Sony's more measured, refined nature, but all things considered the Sonys are the more insightful and sophisticated-sounding pair.

** Winner: Sony WF-1000XM5 **

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2024 vs Sony WF-1000XM5: verdict

It's a close one. The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2024 are cheaper (though not by much), have the edge when it comes to noise-cancelling and battery life, and sport the stabler fit. Meanwhile, the XM5 are smaller and therefore perhaps more suitable for petite ears, have a more extensive feature set, better call quality and, to our ears, sound that little bit more satisfying.

If you can stretch your budget to them, we recommend the Sony XM5. But the mew Bose QC certainly have a lot going for them and will no doubt more than satisfy their owners.

MORE:

Read our full Sony WF-1000XM5 review

And our Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review

A Bose vs Bose smackdown: Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds

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