Sony CH720N vs Bose QuietComfort

Budget pick

Sony WH-CH720N

Under $90: Light, long battery, better mic

Check price on AmazonTypical price: $72–$88

VS

Mid-range

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2023)

$169 on sale: Much stronger ANC, folds into a case

Check price on AmazonTypical price: $169–$249

Buy the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2023, 1st gen) if noise cancelling is why you’re shopping. Otherwise get the Sony WH-CH720N (2023). It costs about half as much, weighs less, runs longer on a charge and handles Bluetooth calls better.

On October 9, 2026 the CH720N sold new for $72 to $88 and the QuietComfort (2023) for $169, so the Sony CH720N vs Bose QuietComfort decision comes down to whether quiet is worth about $97 to you. For the CH720N on its own, read my full Sony WH-CH720N review.

Sony CH720N vs Bose QuietComfort: the quick answer

At October 2026 prices, this is the pair I’d pick for each kind of buyer.

• Flights, trains or a loud shared house: The QuietComfort (2023). It blocks far more low rumble than the CH720N.
• Commuting and office days on a budget: The CH720N. It weighs 192 g, it lasted 38 to 40 hours with ANC on in two lab tests, and Engadget found its ANC fine with constant noise.
• Lots of Bluetooth calls: The CH720N. Its mic is okay, and the QuietComfort (2023)’s is mediocre.
• Calls or games on a laptop, over a cable: The QuietComfort (2023), because its cable has an in-line mic.
• Glasses and long sessions: The QuietComfort (2023). Its gentle clamp stays comfortable over thick frames.
• Travel: The QuietComfort (2023). It folds into a hard case, and the CH720N does neither.
• Battery life: The CH720N, by about 13 hours on the same battery test.
• iPhone or Android: The CH720N. Both use SBC and AAC only, so the cheaper pair wins.

Specs side by side

Figures are maker claims unless the table marks them measured. Bose doesn’t publish its codecs and neither maker spells out folding, so those rows come from reviews. The two measured battery rows come from different labs, so the battery section below gives a same-lab pair. Bose’s quick-charge figures contradict each other (up to 4 hours from 15 minutes in its FAQ, 2.5 hours on its Amazon listing), so the table shows none.

Several pages that rank for this search get specs wrong. The versus.com comparison gives the QuietComfort (2023) one microphone, but Bose describes mics inside and outside each earcup. A YouTube comparison from Pro Product Comparison presents multipoint, wired playback with a dead battery and finer EQ as Bose advantages, yet the CH720N has all three. No Bose spec supports the 200 g low end of the weight range in Google’s AI summary either; Bose lists 0.52 lb, about 236 g.

Price and value in the US (October 2026)

Prices come from Sony US, bose.com, the B&H comparison page and Tom’s Guide on the $169 deal. Amazon prices are from the same day.

The gap is about $97 at Amazon, or $81 against Sony’s own price, well short of the “$170 gap” one ranking YouTube comparison quotes. Sony and Bose replaced both 2023 models in 2026, and both still sold new on October 9. B&H’s discontinued label is a retailer listing, not a Sony announcement, and Sony US still sold the CH720N in three colors that day.

On price alone the CH720N wins. The QuietComfort (2023) has to earn its extra $97 through noise cancelling, comfort and travel.

Winner: The CH720N. It costs about half as much and still covers commuting, calls and battery life well.

Noise cancelling

Noise cancelling is the main thing the extra money buys, and it isn’t close. The QuietComfort (2023) handles everything from aircraft rumble to chatter, and RTINGS rates its isolation amazing against passable for the CH720N. The Sony’s ANC struggles with lower-pitched noise such as the rumble of a train engine.

• QuietComfort (2023): It cut 10 to 30 dB below 1 kHz and 20 to 45 dB of very high-pitched noise in SoundGuys’ test. TechGearLab measured about 27 dB on average (23.3 dB low, 24.2 dB mid, 34.4 dB high), which still doesn’t fully remove loud airplane hum.
• CH720N: It cut airplane noise by 10.91 dB, office noise by 11.77 dB and street noise by 13 dB on RTINGS’ older test bench, a disappointing result. SoundGuys measured about 20 dB across most low frequencies, peaking near 28 dB at 80 Hz, so fit and test rig change the picture.

The rigs differ, so I won’t set those Sony numbers against TechGearLab’s Bose figures. Amazing against passable makes the case on its own.

The CH720N does little against voices, though Engadget found it fine with constant noise. Few owners have compared these exact two models. One owner A/B tested the CH720N against a Bose in December 2025, but the Bose was an older QC35. They found the two similar in a coffee shop, think the Bose does better on steady road hum, and still leaned toward the Sony for its sound and EQ.

The QuietComfort (2023) adds Wind Block, and one six-month owner says it makes windy bike rides usable (1:03). It has no full ANC-off mode, while the CH720N can switch ANC off for its 50-hour battery claim.

Only a handful of owners on either side report ANC glitches. Three CH720N owners describe constant hiss or sudden screeching, two of them with ANC on. On the Bose side, one owner heard static whenever sudden loud sounds hit the QuietComfort (2023)’s ANC, traced the hiss and cutouts to multipoint, and returned two pairs. The Headphone Show heard no ANC hiss on its review pair (7:16).

Winner: The QuietComfort (2023), by a wide margin.

Sound quality and EQ

Both pairs sound warm, with very emphasized bass. The treble is where they split, and the labs don’t agree on the Bose. RTINGS measured the CH720N’s treble as slightly emphasized and the QuietComfort (2023)’s as balanced.

Bose changed the tuning from the QC45. SoundGuys found strongly boosted sub-bass and a 6 to 8 kHz peak on the 2023 model, and the 3-band EQ isn’t granular enough to fix it (from 1:03 in the video below). The owner who praised Wind Block says a treble boost in the app brings it closer to the old QC45 sound (3:07).

The CH720N’s boost sits around 100 to 400 Hz and 5 to 10 kHz in SoundGuys’ measurements. Opinions on it split. Aaron of Loud and Wireless heard muffled mids next to Sony’s flagships (3:15), while What Hi-Fi gave it five stars for punchy, bass-forward sound that the EQ can tame.

The QuietComfort (2023) sounds better out of the box. SoundGuys’ MDAQS sound-quality model scored it 4.8 out of 5, against 3.3 for the CH720N. The CH720N gives you more control, with a five-band graphic EQ (6:46 in MCPHONEY’s video below) plus a separate bass slider. Bose gives you bass, mid and treble.

Ignore QC35 and QC45 impressions here, because Bose retuned the 2023 model. Brand-level verdicts don’t help either. What Hi-Fi’s brand guide says Sony usually edges Bose for sound in its reviews, but it doesn’t compare these two models.

Winner: The QuietComfort (2023) out of the box. If you like to tweak, the CH720N’s EQ gives you more to work with.

Comfort and fit for long sessions

The CH720N weighs 192 g (Sony) and the QuietComfort (2023) about 236 g (Bose), and RTINGS measured a light 0.8 lb of clamping force on the CH720N on its older test bench.

Weight doesn’t settle it. The QuietComfort (2023) has a low clamp and pads soft enough for long flights (7:46), and it stays comfortable over thick-framed glasses. TechGearLab’s panel rated it for 9 comfortable listening hours against a category average of 5.9. The gentle clamp also means it can fall off if you move your head fast.

Ear room. The QuietComfort (2023)’s cup opening measures 61 mm by 40 mm in TechGearLab’s test. No lab has published the CH720N’s, and reports on it split. One reviewer found the cups really big, though his ears occasionally sat close to the driver and he wanted a break after 1 to 1.5 hours (8:47). Another felt the cups press on his ears after 30 to 60 minutes (8:54), and a six-month owner sometimes feels an ear touch the speaker mesh. In the other direction, a former CH720N owner who had just bought the QuietComfort found its cups a little small after a couple of hours.

Heat. The CH720N’s pads heat up and turn sticky after about an hour, and they may press too hard on glasses. A first-week owner found their ears getting warm after 30 minutes, and the former owner above says the CH720N built up heat and moisture until their ears itched. MCPHONEY and Engadget still found it comfortable for hours.

Head size. Owners say the 2nd Gen’s headband runs smaller, which makes the 2023 model the safer Bose for a big head. Nobody has published head-size data for the QuietComfort (2023), and no reviewer or owner reports wearing either pair while lying on their side.

Winner: The QuietComfort (2023) for long sessions, glasses and ear room. Take the CH720N if low weight matters most.

Battery: claims vs measured

Sony claims 35 hours with ANC on and 50 with it off (Sony Help Guide). Bose claims up to 24 hours and gives no ANC-off figure, since the QuietComfort (2023) has no ANC-off mode.

Both beat their claims in testing. In SoundGuys’ standard test the CH720N lasted 40 h 11 min and the QuietComfort (2023) 27 h 14 min. RTINGS measured 38.4 hours on the CH720N on its older test bench and says the QuietComfort (2023) lasts over 26 hours.

Sony claims 3 minutes of charging gives about an hour of play and 10 minutes about 4.5 hours, and WhatGear saw about 20% after 3 minutes from empty (6:18). Bose’s quick-charge figures conflict, so I won’t quote one, and its full-charge time reads 2 hours on one Bose page and 2.5 on another. Bose’s owner’s guide also says the QuietComfort (2023) won’t play while it charges.

Winner: The CH720N, by about 13 hours on the same test.

Calls, gaming and wired listening

Calls

The QuietComfort (2023)’s mic is mediocre. Your voice comes through thin, and the mic handles background noise poorly. TechGearLab scores its calls 4.0 out of 10 and says voices sound like they come from a tunnel, and one owner found it unusable outside quiet rooms. Two YouTube reviewers had better luck. Smart Home Sounds, a UK retailer’s channel, got clear reports from callers in busier settings (4:44), and Ultratec found calls improved over his QC45 (5:22).

The CH720N’s mic is only okay, and that’s still enough to beat the Bose. Your voice sounds fairly natural, quite good for a built-in mic, though loud sounds can swamp it. MCPHONEY says callers can hear the traffic around you (7:18).

Laptop, gaming and wired listening

Neither suits wireless gaming. RTINGS measured 290 ms of Bluetooth latency on a PC for the CH720N on its older test bench, and the QuietComfort (2023)’s PC latency is high too, so use a cable. The QuietComfort (2023) pulls ahead there, because its cable has an in-line mic that sounds clearer than the built-in mics. The CH720N’s mic works only over Bluetooth.

The CH720N takes a standard 3.5 mm cable and plays with the power on or off. The QuietComfort (2023) has a 2.5 mm jack and plays with a dead battery, but without ANC or EQ, and it switches off Bluetooth and its earcup mics while the cable is in. Neither carries audio over USB-C.

Winner: The CH720N, because most calls happen over Bluetooth. Pick the QuietComfort (2023) if you need a mic on the cable.

iPhone, Android and app features

The CH720N runs Bluetooth 5.2 and the QuietComfort (2023) 5.1, and both connect to two devices at once. In 2023, owners complained about multipoint disconnects on early CH720N firmware, and one long-term reviewer says a firmware update through the app stopped his reconnect loop (3:41). On the Bose side, at least four separate owner reports tie crackle, cutouts or audio dropouts to multipoint, and several owners say switching it off helps. TechGearLab, in contrast, found it rock-solid.

Sony’s Sound Connect app adds 20 ambient levels, Adaptive Sound Control and 360 Reality Audio to its graphic EQ. The Bose app has the 3-band EQ, Aware Mode and two custom modes with adjustable ANC and Wind Block, but no spatial audio on the 2023 model (Bose). It also asks for data-sharing consent before you can use it.

Bose’s Aware Mode is the better transparency mode, and Smart Home Sounds calls it the best he’d tested (7:39). Sony’s ambient mode draws mixed notes. DHRME rates it highly but hears white noise in quiet rooms (6:45), and GYMCADDY found it lets sudden loud noises through (16:52). Neither pair has wear detection, and both use physical buttons.

Winner: The CH720N, for the finer EQ and extra app features. Pick the QuietComfort (2023) if a natural transparency mode matters to you.

Portability, durability and owner reports

The QuietComfort (2023) folds and comes with a hard zip case. The CH720N doesn’t fold, and its cups only swivel flat, with no case or pouch in the box (Sony’s package list). Neither pair has an IP rating, so neither belongs at the gym or in the rain.

CH720N owners give it 4.3 stars from 16,951 Amazon ratings and 4.6 from 1,943 at Best Buy (October 9, 2026). Amazon’s summary praises sound, weight, comfort, value and weekly charging, and rates noise cancellation, connectivity and durability mixed. The build is all plastic, and one reviewer worried the headband could snap if you stretch it (1:02). At least two owners describe broken hinges, with repair quotes above what the headphones cost. Owners also report multipoint drops on 2023 firmware and pads wearing out after 1 to 2 years, though one reviewer got more than a year of daily use with only small pad tears (1:37).

QuietComfort (2023) owners give it 4.5 stars from 22,149 Amazon ratings (October 9, 2026). Amazon’s summary praises sound, noise cancelling, long-wear comfort and battery, and rates value, connectivity and reliability mixed, with some units that stopped working. Owners keep reporting crackle and then cutouts, often with multipoint on. Most owners who answered an October 2026 question about whether it’s still worth buying say $169 is worth paying. The ear cushions twist off for replacement (Ultratec, 4:52).

Winner: The QuietComfort (2023). It folds into a case, rates higher on Amazon, and owners say switching off multipoint eases its main fault. A broken CH720N hinge can cost more to repair than a new pair.

Pros, cons and what I’d pay

Sony WH-CH720N

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2023)

Video reviews worth watching

The head-to-head videos that rank for this search either read out spec copy with errors or compare the CH720N with a different Bose model. These two reviews cover the exact models.

Video review

Video review

Newer models: WH-CH730N and QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen)

Both pairs have successors, and both successors cost more.

Sony WH-CH730N (on sale since September 2026, list $179.99, $148 at Sony US and Amazon on October 9). Sony claims 50 hours with ANC on and 75 off, a folding design, LE Audio and AI noise reduction for calls (Sony press release). It weighs 207 g and runs Bluetooth 6.0 with SBC and AAC, and its noise cancelling is still somewhat weak. I’d pay the extra $60 to $76 only for the fold and the battery, because no review so far shows it closing the ANC gap to the QuietComfort (2023).

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) (August 2026, list $359, $319 at Amazon on October 9, the same price as its first discount in late September). Bose lists Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C audio, TrueSpatial audio, an ANC-off setting, six microphones, 0.507 lb and up to 24 hours, or 18 with Immersive Audio on (Bose). It still supports only AAC and SBC, and it improves on the 2023 model’s isolation and mic noise handling. Even so, I’d buy the 2023 model at $169, and Tom’s Guide made the same call. At $319 to $359 the 2nd Gen belongs to a different budget, and the 2023 model is the one that competes with the CH720N.

Alternatives if neither fits

Prices in this section are from October 9, 2026.

Soundcore Space One ($84.99). For most people it’s slightly better than the CH720N, with longer battery, more EQ options and comparable isolation. The CH720N weighs less and has a much better mic.

Sony ULT WEAR ($129.95 to $148). Its noise isolation is excellent against plane rumble, traffic and chatter, and RTINGS measured 44 hours of battery. Owners report cracked hinges.

Soundcore Space One Pro ($139.99). Its isolation is excellent, and it lasted 36.1 hours in RTINGS’ battery test. See my XH1 vs Soundcore Space One Pro comparison.

Soundcore Space Q45 (renewed only, $99.99 to $129.99). It comes with a carrying case and is still the top pick on RTINGS’ budget noise cancelling list. My Soundcore Space Q45 review covers buying it renewed.

Baseus Inspire XH1 ($99.99). It has Bose-tuned sound, LDAC and a long battery claim, with average ANC. Read my Baseus Inspire XH1 vs Bose QuietComfort comparison or my Baseus Inspire XH1 review.

Sony WH-1000XM4 (used from $149.99, renewed from $159.99). Its isolation is outstanding, and my Baseus Inspire XH1 vs Sony XM4 comparison covers buying one used.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) ($369). It gets you Bose’s stronger ANC and a better mic for about $200 more. I compare it in XH1 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen).

Edifier W80 ($40 to $50). It’s the cheapest pair here, though no lab has measured it yet. See my Edifier W80 review.

For the full ranking by budget, see my best budget headphones picks.

Which should you buy?

My verdict

Written by Marius

Audio enthusiast. I've worn a lot of headphones, and I tell you which pair is worth your money and which one isn't.

I check every verdict against lab measurements and long-term owner feedback, and I update pages when prices or models change. How I judge headphones.