QuietComfort Earbuds (Original)

I've struggled time and again to find earbuds I could wear comfortably, and the one single model that wouldn't constantly slip out without hooks (Final ZE 3000) now went out of production to be succeeded by an all too average shape. And hooked designs aren't much better either - the only hooks that didn't irritate my ears in short order were those of the original Bose QuietComfort (can't stand the sound of the newer ones) and the adjustable slider hooks of older Sennheiser Adidas wired sports buds. I've gone through just about every big brand and highly reviewed offering including those praised for their comfort by now, so what else is there still out there for me to try and replace my final pair of Finals with that offers either an exceptional natural fit or hooks on par with Bose's for a soft but secure fit? -€200 budget, up to ~€350 if they're decently IP-rated and can be expected to last several years. -Should be available in Europe. -5-6h of battery is good enough. -ANC doesn't matter. -Not having an invasive app is a pre, mandatory app permissions are a dealbreaker. -Strong preference for neutral-leaning sound that suits all music genres, though a little bass isn't a dealbreaker - in terms of general sound signatures it's Sennheiser that most reliably hits the mark for me. I'd just be rocking a Momentum 3 if not for their dreadfully insufficient little hooks.

As someone with similar struggles - soft in-ear hooks. There's the occasional unicorn design that just works, but your best bet is something that fits securely not just into your ear canal. Unfortunately most of that category is sports gear that's both very bassy and uncomfortable to outright painful for longer sessions, but something like the Sony Linkbuds, basic Beats Fit Pro or previous gen of Bose QuietComfort might pop up just within your budget if you keep an eye on sales and discounts.

Anker Soundcore Sleep A30 - this item with anc, specifically made for to sleep in Sony WF-C710N - small nd very light, depending on your ear and pillow, how you are lying down; it has anc and long battery to boot. tweak the eq for best sound output though. Bose quietcomfort ultra 2nd gen, released recently - the best noise cancelling,  and like made for the sole purpose of excellence in noise cancelling. these are somewhat bulky, very comfortable to wear as the name title suggests, but sleeping in them, if you lie down on only your back maybe .... i dunno Their 1st gen version earbuds are v good. One reviewer was saying like, these earbuds are pure witchcraft for noise cancelling. some users wear it without the stability fin tips; whatever works for you - make sure you get a good fit for top-tier anc u hv to hv sth playing, while noise cancelling on; you 100 percent won't notice your environmental sounds.

Not necessarily. There is a lot of unsatisfied people who can afford the APP3 but are returning them. The sound of APP3 is not as good as Apple has been claiming to be (they were hyping them up). I returned the APP3 after a few days and got Sennheiser IE 400 Pro instead. Couldn't be happier. The APP3 definitely cannot stand up to good-quality headphones / earphones. Apple have lost their magic touch. See for example here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/airpods/comments/1nocgtl/comment/nfrlom1/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/airpods/comments/1nocgtl/comment/nfrlom1/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)

Sennheiser IE 400 Pro only have passive noise reduction (no ANC). According to the specification they reduce ambient sounds by about 26dB. Normally I don't need strong ANC so it's a moot point. If there is indeed a rare need for ANC (for example exercising on a noisy treadmill or a squeaky stepper) then my trusty old Bose QuietComfort 1st Generation earbuds still do the job perfectly well.

Do not recommend the Bose quietcomforts. Had the first gen, failed under warranty (wouldn’t hold a charge), received quietcomfort 2 as replacement from Bose (after arguing with customer service) and maybe 18 months later the right earbud snapped in half when removing from my ear. I used to like Bose products a lot, but the quality on these multi hundred dollar earbuds was subpar in my experience.

I have absolutely loved my Bose QC earbuds first gen (had 5-ish years), but tried the Airpods Pro 3 at Apple just after they came out. The Airpods knocked everything else I’ve ever tried out of the water in terms of noise cancelling, and the sound quality was on par with the Bose. Just be aware if you travel by plane frequently, there are known issues with the noise cancelling at altitude- the kind which would be a dealbreaker for a lot of people

I don't understand how I've not seen more people saying this, but their firmware is garbage, so garbage in fact that it makes them entirely unusable. I am on my 6th pair, yes, 6th, because they keep continuously crashing, refusing to connect, and crashing some more, having extremely loud noise in one earbud all of a sudden, all kinds of random bs. I could write a 4 part essay, just listing every firmware / software issue these things got. I have never in my life gotten so angry from owning a product as with these literal pieces of manufactured e-waste, to the point I actually want to punch the firmware developer in the face. And a important note, this is the 4th device from Bose which has had these sorts of issues. Bose clearly does not give 2 shits about their firmware. I've had 4 pair of sleep buds, 4 pair of first gen Bose quiet comfort earbuds, they all broke through firmware issues. I have their headphones, literally need to factory reset them every single time I disconnect from my pc. And my 6th pair of quiet comfort ultra earbuds is again randomly crashing. And what makes me most angry of all is that if these pieces of garbage had proper functioning firmware, they would literally be the best earbuds on the market imo. I really want these things to get outclassed by any other company, so I can finally throw these out of a windows, drive over them with my car, smash them to pieces with a massive hammer, and set them on fire. But no, not a single other alternative I tried comes even close to the anc performance and comfort of these. I've tried plenty other ones, and they are just so much worse, I kept coming back to the Bose quiet comfort ultra's out of sheer desperation, just hoping they will have finally fixed the firmware, just to find out they probably just added 6 more bugs. These earbuds are like a toxic love hate relationship, there are moments where it's good, real good, better than anything else, and nothing comes even close, but the bad just is so bad, it's not worth it. Anyways, that was my 4am ramble. tldr, they are really good, but also the worst product on the planet, don't buy them

Numbers 2 and 3 are too buggy and I don’t recommend buying them. Number 2 is also too old to buy into now. Number 1 was released late last year and will have about the same ANC as number 3, which has the best but they’re too buggy to use and are otherwise terrible earbuds because of those bugs and other issues they’re known for.

I agree. I have my QC Ultra headphones and love them. Great ANC, the 3-band EQ is more than enough for me, and they have all day comfort. Even after testing out Sony’s WH-1000XM6, I don’t feel the need to switch to those like I did back with the QC45. Their Bluetooth speakers are even great and pack a punch above their size. The Soundlink Flex 2 has more bass and gets almost as loud as the JBL Charge 6 that’s almost twice as big. I’d even argue that the Ultra Open earbuds are nice. My original pair didn’t have any issues and I picked up a pair of their Lisa colab ones, they’ve still been solid. But in-ear wireless earbuds have been terrible. I remember the old Soundsport wireless with the wire between them, they were awful. The true wireless version of those were also bad as were the QC30. I wanted to like the QC earbuds 1, but hated them and couldn’t use each pair I went through. Same with the QC earbuds II. I haven’t even tried the newer QC earbuds. I have a pair of the QC Ultras, it’s my 5th or 6th pair and they’re still buggy. But I’m waiting until the second gen to exchange them, again, with Bose. I’ve had my QC Ultra headphones for almost 2 years now and haven’t had a single issue, they were a launch pair. But the QC earbuds and other wireless in-ear earbuds? Terrible. I’ve never been a fan of their soundbars, not when Samsung’s bars cost much less and sonically perform similarly or, for Bose’s prices for a complete surround, you can just get Sony’s expensive surround speakers that are stupid easy to setup and have a phenomenal Atmos experience.

They need media playing. Find a 10 hour silent video on YouTube and play that. The regular QC earbuds have hardware from Bose but firmware and software from Skullcandy. Their app is 100% a rebrand of Skullcandy’s IQ app. I’m not sure why Bose went this route. Probably because they have issues developing their own app and firmware. Skullcandy releasing the Method 360 ANC was probably part of the agreement, those are essentially re-skinned QC earbuds II with a 30% reduction in ANC.

That’s idiotic, especially since they don’t have head tracking Spatial Audio. Return them and get a different pair from potentially a different brand. The QC earbuds aren’t the best anyway, even for their lower price.