Bose vs Beats: The Great Noise Canceling Headphones Debate

If you’re looking for an alternative to the earbuds, there are two popular options that are available. But which one would be the best purchase for your buck without having a tiny plastic infrastructure in your ear? Almost everyone is interested in purchasing a good set of noise cancelling headphones with the added feature of listing to music. This article compares and contrasts two headphones popular on the market today: Bose vs Beats.

Bose Corporation is an independent, private company who specializes in audio equipment. They are known to have their products in car speaker systems, home speakers, and of course, headphones. These headphones are made for noise cancellation while also offering a music listening experience. The company developed noise cancellation headphones for Space Shuttle astronauts long before any other headphone companies had even considered it. Thus, a lot of quality and research goes behind their headphones. You even see a lot of people on airplanes utilizing these headphones for noise cancellation. These headphones are also marketed to the frequent traveler, with its lightweight structure that is foldable for easy packing.

But you do not spend several hundreds of dollars to buy a set of headphones for noise cancellation. You also want to have the option of listening to your music without the added soundtrack of traffic, people talking, or a very loud air conditioner in the background. Bose headphones offers such an option.

The structure of the headphones is very light in weight, especially if you are going to be active with these headphones on your head. However, when turning on the noise cancellation option, runners often complain of hearing disappointing noise of their own heartbeat and feet pounding the pavement. Although, it not recommended to use the noise cancellation feature while running in traffic or construction areas for safety concerns. Regardless if you are running or not, you can hear biological sounds such as your breathing or heartbeat when trying to listen to your music.

Bose has now come out with wireless version of the headphones operated by a battery. It offers up to 20 hours of battery life without the trouble of a wire. It is also compatible with your cell phone where you can conduct calls with its added microphone of Bluetooth technology.

On the downside of Bose, the construction of the headphones do seem a bit flimsy when they come out of the package and also when resting on the head. The audio quality does not seem fair for what you are paying. These headphones are not cheap. The headphones also feature to bright of a sound at higher frequencies. The mid tones are slightly muddy, and the bass will leave people who are looking for that low thump all too disappointed. Bose doesn’t offer an equalizer for their headphones which can cause frustration of not having the ability to tune your headphones.

You can learn more about Bose Noise Canceling Headphones here.

Beats Audio is a company owned by Apple, one of the best innovative companies in the world. Beats headphones was the answer to a less expensive pair of noise cancellation headphones and also to listen to your favorite music mix while also going wireless. Although Beats headphones also allows superior noise cancellation and has a foldable compact styling easy for storage, it does not offer the same amount of battery life as the Bose headphones with just a mire 12 hours when on wireless mode. Just like Bose, these headphones allow the user to make phone calls with its Bluetooth technology with the added microphone.

With the feature of answering mobile phone calls with your Beats headphones, there is also an added feature a cellular call answer/end button in the middle of the left ear cup – the one with the Beats Audio logo. Plus, it doubles as a one-button remote for music playback and you can control the music with a series of different taps for different functions including volume control. This is an improvement of the Bose headphone model where your finger has to look for a series of buttons to control these multiple features.

The sound quality of music for Beats headphones surpasses the Bose brand. There is a special feature on the Beats brand headphone that you can switch over when you want to listen to music. There is another mode for noise cancellation. And so, you can pick whichever mode that you want according to what activity you chose with the most popular of traveling or exercising. Remember the mention of the safety risk of Bose headphones with the noise cancellation added to the music soundtrack? Here again, Beats Audio gives you the option of the two, thus being the safer feature when it comes to running in that traffic or working out at the gym.

Beats headphones comes in a variety of colors, unlike Bose headphones which can be disappointing if you have that artistic flair, or if you want headphones in your favorite color and to also match your mobile phone. The structure of Beats headphones versus Bose headphones is almost identical and you can easily confuse the two on just first looks alone. One of the downsides of Beats headphones, just like the Bose brand, is that it is made of a plastic that can be seen as not so durable.

You can learn more about Beats headphones here.

Beats Audio seems to be a cheaper version of the Bose headphones, without sacrificing quality on a good pair of headphones. Though, often times, you do tend to get the best quality if you’re willing to spend some serious money. Beats headphones seems to offer the best option for your buck, offering a variety of features that Bose headphones seems to lack. With Beats Audio, you can purchase a pair of noise cancelling headphones with your choice of color while having the Bluetooth technology and wireless functionality that Bose headphones has to offer. However, Bose headphones offers the best of class in noise cancellation, while Beats Audio takes the lead in optimum music experience. It ultimately depends on the individual buyer and what that person would like to utilize the headphones for a type of activity.