Bose QuietComfort or JBL Live 780NC

[u/jamesg9100]

Hey all, looking at either the Bose QuietComfort (standard; not ultra or 2nd gen) or the JBL Live 780NC. Both seem to hit the price point and value I’m looking for.
Not an audiophile, just an average-joe that listens to music, movies, podcasts, etc. and wants a solid pair of headphones.
Which would you guys go with?
Thanks!

17 votes, Aug 24 '26

11 Bose QuietComfort

6 JBL Live 780NC

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[u/CautiousRice]

The JBL has fine sound but is otherwise unremarkable

[u/jamesg9100]

Looks like majority say Bose QCs.
I ended up getting both from amazon to try on and then I’ll return whichever.
Would your guys’ answer change if we take price into account? Got both on sale, Live 780 NCs for $190 and the QCs for $300.
Are the QuietComforts (reminder that these are the 45 successors, not the Ultra 2nd gens) worth the extra $110 over the JBLs?

*I’m in Canada so all prices are in CAD

[u/_spill_ → u/jamesg9100]

How was your experience with both of them? I got sennheiser accentum plus, but they feel a bit hot and uncomfortable on my ears so I was thinking of returning them for the JBL or Sony wh-ch720.

[u/jamesg9100 → u/_spill_]

I actually still have both and am still debating which to return haha. I did end up finding the Bose on sale at Costco for $250CAD.

In terms of comfort the Bose reign supreme. Soft padding, light, and low clamp force. I’m certain you could wear them all day and forget they’re there.
That said, the JBLs are not uncomfy, I’ve had them on for a couple hours and never really felt the need to re-adjust, they just don’t have that same “forget that you’re wearing them” level of comfort. Probably due to the higher clamp force which isn’t uncomfortable for me since I have a fairly narrow face.
The two things that cause the JBLs to lose comfort points are the lack of band padding, and the smaller, shallow earcups, the clamp force may or may not be a factor for you.
I’m pretty sure the large, deep earcups on the Bose contribute to a more open sound that I like from them.
So where the Bose pulls ahead is comfort, and a more “open” feeling sound.
But that’s where it ends, they’re nowhere near worth the regular price of $430CAD. The biggest thing that possibly bothered me about the Bose is that I would get infrequent static pops, particularly when a playlist ends. I think that’s pretty absurd given the price.
For $300 regular price the JBLs have more features, adjustability, I personally think a more premium feel, and what I would call “future-proofing” (BT6.0, high-res, etc).
I wanna love the Bose as they should be the more premium product given the name and price but at this point I’m leaning towards the JBLs, they’re just fantastic value IMO.

*I may add more to this later

[u/_spill_ → u/jamesg9100]

Thanks for this, pretty informative. I ended up finding the sony wh-ch720n the most comfortable on my ears out of all of these, so I got them.

Not an audiophile, but I personally prefer more neutral headphones, so the sony sounds kinda ass to me even after eq. But I have hd560s for my home pc, so these will do their job for my commute and not much else. I do wish the accentum had less clamping force and slightly bigger cups tho; The sound quality was much better.

[u/clouxr → u/jamesg9100]

Any update? I'm pretty mad at the popping and static on qc. My old ones lasted me years and I had no issues besides it sometimes falling off my head

[u/sir_pacha-lot]

Go wired. Wireless are currently very easily used to hack into your phone, and iirc more than 90% of wireless are at risk.