BOSE QC30 vs. Sony WI-1000X: Which one should you choose for the 2,000 yuan wireless noise-cancelling headphones?

As more and more mobile phones cancel the 3.5mm headphone jack, wireless headphones have become the standard for more and more mobile phone users.

Some people think that wireless headphones worth a few hundred yuan are also good for listening, while others spend more than 1,000 yuan to buy Apple AirPods or Beats X just for the logo. However, when it comes to spending more than 2,000 yuan on wireless headphones, consumers will naturally have higher requirements for the product.

In the wireless headset market priced above 2,000 yuan, BOSE QC30 and Sony WI-1000X are obviously the most representative products. They both adopt a neck-hanging design and use noise reduction function as the core selling point of the product.

So, who is the better choice?

Similar product forms, but different styles in details

As neck-hanging wireless headphones, BOSE QC30 and Sony WI-1000X have very similar product appearance features and wearing methods. There is also less room for product design, but the two brands still reflect their different styles in detail processing.

BOSE QC30 is still a practical product produced by BOSE. Its neckband is made of soft material to ensure comfort when worn for a long time. However, the overall appearance has no more highlights except the BOSE Logo at the corners and the shark fin design on the earbuds.

In comparison, although the Sony WI-1000X in our hands is also black, the combination of multiple different textures from the neckband to the earbuds gives this Sony headset a more premium feel and quality. This makes the Sony WI-1000X not look much more high-profile than the BOSE QC30 at first glance, but the details are more sophisticated and the workmanship is more precise. Sony's attainments in industrial design seem to always be one step ahead of its competitors.

BOSE QC30 wearing demonstration

In terms of wearing experience, the BOSE QC30 and Sony WI-1000X host both weigh about 60g, and the experience is not much different. However, in order to ensure that the shark fin design of the earbuds of BOSE QC30 is stable during intense exercise, it does not completely please the usage habits of ordinary users. At least for the girl in our photo, she thinks that Sony WI-1000X is much more convenient to wear.

Sony WI-1000X wearing demonstration

Both earphones are claimed to provide 10 hours of battery life when fully charged, but in terms of packaging contents, in addition to a carrying bag and replacement earbuds of different sizes, the Sony WI-1000X also comes with a special airplane conversion plug and a special headphone cable that allows the earphones to be wired via a 3.5mm interface, which is richer than the BOSE QC30.

Sony WI-1000X package contents at a glance

The noise reduction effect is equally matched, and the sound quality performance of Sony is better

Just as BOSE QC35 and Sony MDR-1000X represent the highest standards in noise reduction in the field of headphones, BOSE QC30 and Sony WI-1000X are also two of the most outstanding products in the industry in terms of noise reduction in the field of neck-hanging wireless headphones.

For BOSE QC30, a microphone is set up inside and outside the earphones to continuously measure the ambient noise. The system then generates an equal and opposite signal to eliminate the noise. Combined with the additional passive noise cancellation provided by the unique StayHear+ QC earplug structure, the overall noise reduction capability is at a very high level.

Sony WI-1000X has a more detailed understanding of noise reduction. With its unique DNC digital noise reduction software engine combined with dual noise sensors, in addition to being able to achieve the formation of high-precision reverse sound waves and noise offset similar to BOSE QC30, it also emphasizes that it can automatically select matching ambient sound or noise reduction solutions based on the user's usage status.

For example, Sony WI-1000X can optimize the noise reduction effect according to the different air pressures caused by different altitudes. When walking in the city, it can retain both music and ambient sound to ensure the user's travel safety. It can even adjust the ambient sound level and the direction from which the sound comes to avoid missing important voice reminders or focus on the sound you want to hear in a certain place in the environment.

Of course, what makes Sony WI-1000X more attractive than BOSE QC30 is its sound quality.

As we all know, whether it is the head-mounted QC35 or the neck-mounted QC30, BOSE's noise-canceling headphones always seem to be unable to balance the sound quality and noise-canceling capabilities to a satisfactory level. The overall sound quality level of BOSE QC30 is basically consistent with its official website introduction, that is, it provides consistent and balanced audio performance at any volume.

This obviously gives Sony an excellent opportunity to surpass others, and the Sony WI-1000X does use some black technology in terms of sound quality that other products do not have.

First of all, in terms of sound transmission, the LDAC transmission protocol supported by Sony WI-1000X can transmit about 3 times the amount of data of ordinary Bluetooth, reaching a maximum transmission speed of 990kbps, providing the conditions for enjoying Hi-Res Audio music wirelessly. With the addition of the DSEE HX digital sound enhancement engine, it can retain high-frequency signals and tail sounds that are often lost in audio compression processing as completely as possible, showing a more natural sound effect with a more spatial sense.

In addition, Sony WI-1000X also uses a dual-unit structure of dynamic iron inside the earbuds. The 9mm driver unit and dynamic iron unit are divided into two aspects: bass and treble. Combined with the S-Master HX full digital amplifier, it reduces noise and distortion in a wider bandwidth while also making the sound processing present a stable and smooth frequency response within the frequency range.

Overall, at the not-cheap price range of 2,000 yuan for wireless neck-hanging headphones, both BOSE QC30 and Sony WI-1000X can be regarded as products with satisfactory overall performance.

From BOSE's perspective, if you haven't forgotten the impressive noise reduction experience of the previous QC35 headphones, the QC30 with a different wearing method will not disappoint you.

As for Sony, just as the previous MDR-1000X has become the biggest competitor of BOSE QC35 in the market, the neck-hanging design of WI-1000X is undoubtedly still shouldering the mission of competing with BOSE, and from the aspects of appearance design, workmanship, noise reduction performance, sound quality, etc., it also has the advantages and strength to attract more attention from high-end users.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.