With how loud the modern world has become, having a solid pair of noise-canceling headphones can make life a lot more enjoyable, especially if you commute a lot. While there are a lot of options for you to pick from, only three or four are at the top of the pack, and before its place was taken by the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, it was the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. Luckily, because it’s been supplanted, you can still get industry-leading noise-cancelling for the discounted price of $229 instead of $399.
While the Bose 700 has been overtaken by the Bose QC Ultra, it was a big upgrade for its time, providing the same sort of Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) as some of the top competitors, like the Sony WH-1000XM4. While it won’t compete directly, after all, the XM4s are newer, it can get pretty close, and it even comes with the ability to pick the level of ANC if you’re sensitive to the pressure changes it makes when activated.
As for audio quality, the Bose 700 has a bright sound that does really well with details, so it would excel in more instrumental music, like Classical and Jazz. That doesn’t mean it can’t hit hard with things like rock or metal, but it doesn’t have as deep a bass as something like the XM4, which isn’t a deal-breaker. Overall, the audio fidelity is pleasant to listen to and on par with high-quality headphones.
There are also a couple of interesting features when it comes to phone calls, such as Side Tone, which lets you hear your voice through the headphones when talking to others. That helps with not yelling at others while ANC is on since it can be a bit disorienting not hearing your voice well. Luckily, others can hear your voice perfectly, and the Bose 700’s internal software helps remove background noise well, so it’s an excellent set of headphones to make calls with.
The Bose 700 is an excellent set of headphones overall and was an industry-leading headphone for some time, so it’s well worth picking up at the discounted price. If you’d still like something different, there are some great headphone deals you can take advantage of.
More holiday shopping deals from CNET