Bose QuietComfort® Noise Cancelling Earbuds–True Wireless Earphones with Voice Control, Triple Black, World Class Bluetooth Noise Cancelling Earbuds with Charging Case

I bought these for a fairly decent discount in the Black Friday sale and they arrived on time, well packaged. I did have trouble getting the connection with my Android phone working initially but this, I discovered, was simply due to too many other items in the Bluetooth list that conflicted. I removed everything (mostly old, redundant stuff anyway) and after that it was seamlessly easy via the app, the rest plain sailing. I only needed to add one of the connections I removed back without any further conflict. I did not have the same issue with my laptop which fired up instantly. Switching between the two is a doddle via the app.Instructions are extremely basic on the paper leaflet supplied but the app walks you through it all comprehensively and painlessly. There is also an excellent full manual available to download from Bose with expanded information about everything you need to know. You just download the .PDF file.The basic flat (almost 'reference') sound is quite acceptable and of a very high quality but you can use the app to customise EQ settings for Bass, Mid Range, and Treble quite adequately according to preference. Audiophiles might expect more flexibility, but it is not necessary for most users. I am a pretty demanding Jazz musician and quite happy with the whole auditory experience.The buds are very good looking despite their size which actually improves the entire technology without needing to compromise due to insufficient housing space just to make them smaller. They are actually pretty cool to look at. I think so anyway. The fit sensation is of secure, worry free in-ear retention, yet hardly noticeable, even after long periods of use spanning several hours at a time. They sit on top of the ear canal, not in it, and the bud itself is very soft and flexible, just covering the canal almost sensation free. The attached retention 'hooks' made out of some kind of soft rubber-like substance (Neoprene I believe) are also soft and keep the buds firmly in place, quite securely for most active purposes.I like how the controls functionality is limited to just what is normally needed without over-complexity, simply creating more possible points of failure. Controls are quite adequate for managing music and phone requirements. I like the custom control which I have allocated to indicate battery level. If one control could have been usefully added, for me anyway, it would have been one track back and forward. But the custom control can be set to provide one of them. To be fair, one can always use one's phone app for that anyway, as I do. It's easy enough.Telephone calls are crystal clear both for the Bose owner and the listener being called. I checked that quickly, and the whole quality is better than anything I've yet experienced by a country mile. One person I called remarked that his experience of hearing me was as if I was in the same room.The very simple Quiet Mode and Aware Mode options, for me, are ample and as effective as I can imagine ever needing them to be, actually quite impressively. Quiet is extremely quiet.Well, there is a lot more that I could say about these banging Bose QC ear buds but my review would take forever and I need to crack on. These are the basics though, and I hope they are useful for you. These buds are very high-end and a sound investment in auditory happiness, with extremely high fidelity and richness of experience. That just about sais it for me. The price was great, too, in the BF sale. I am a happy chappy.

UPDATE: The latest updates have added EQ settings and fixes directly and in the Bose App so all my personal issues have been resolved. Finally have what I wanted and I absolutely love these buds. Simply brilliant at last, finally feels money well spent. 5 star to Bose for continually evolving the product unlike many others.ORIGINAL:Okay so I read up reviews and reviews and then some more before buying these and have to say my expectations weren’t really met. However it’s not simply a case of the headphones not being good as they are. The problem is that I use Amazon music HD which when used with Echo buds and the available EQ sound deeper than these. As there is no EQ in the Bose app or the Amazon app when using the Bose I cannot adjust sound to my preference. My sound preference is stuck in the 80’s with slightly elevated lows and highs. Switch to using Apple Music or Spotify and then you have EQ settings and they come alive for me. But I pay for Amazon music for the HD on other devices and don’t see why I should pay for two music services. I wouldn’t give up HD music over other providers using home system, the difference is substantial.Audio is very personal as we all have different ears and hearing but for me these just aren’t the finished product. They aren’t comfortable to wear in my ears at all no matter which size tip I use. Neither are echo buds, however swap out the Amazon tips with some sennheiser tips (£10) and perfect! Sound much better and fit perfectly, big result. With the Bose you can’t just change the tips as unique design.Then you add in noise cancellation which is why I bought both, there is no comparison here, Bose wins hands down, but the echo aren’t rubbish, the Bose are just outstanding. Then the Bose def have more soundstage but is it a wow, er no! Echo buds are more functional and have more available options for touch commands. But let’s be honest echo’s aren’t the best looking buds.My advice would be if you need noise cancelling for train or other then the Bose are definitely the one to have even with their shortfalls. However if you don’t have that need there are much cheaper and way more comfortable options, for a compromise of still good but not great noise cancelling but with better functionality, only slightly lower quality sound and half the price then echo buds with alternative tips is a winner.If high bass is your top priority, Amazon music with these is not the way to go. Amazon music with echo buds let’s you adjust bass in the echo’s through Alexa app to blow the Bose away. I would say the bass with Bose is comparable to my QC35, maybe bit better, again no EQ adjust with Amazon music or Bose app.So it’s not all about the headphones, the music provider you use is also key to getting the best out of what your looking for, the way you want it. Balancing the two should be simple for us consumers but it simply isn’t.