Bose QuietComfort 45 Bluetooth Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones - Triple Black

Why it's worth it

Bose's noise cancelling shaves off the low drone of highway travel — tire roar, engine hum, the constant wash of air. They're light, the clamping force is gentle, and 24 hours of battery covers a long day of passenger seat time.

Road noise isn't loud so much as relentless. Tires on coarse pavement produce a broad low rumble that grinds you down over four or five hours, and that's exactly the frequency range active noise cancelling handles best. Owners who fly and drive a lot consistently rank the QC45 at the top for how much of that background it removes without making your ears feel pressurized.

Comfort is the other half of the argument, and it's the half people underrate. These weigh about 15.7 ounces, use plush synthetic leather earcups, and Bose deliberately kept the clamping force light. Several long-term owners report wearing them 20 to 30 hours a week without the headache that stiffer headphones cause. On a twelve-hour driving day, that matters more than a marginal difference in bass response.

From our review of 10 car travel accessories, by Paul Evans, Technical Reviewer

What we like

• +Road noise isn't loud so much as relentless
• +Comfort is the other half of the argument, and it's the half people underrate
• +Aware Mode is the feature that makes them usable in a car with other people in it
• +These are for passengers, not drivers

What to know

• –The QC45 sits in an older generation of the lineup, and the trade-off shows in the feature list rather than the sound
• –They're also the most expensive thing in this guide by a wide margin, which is a lot to spend on something that only helps one…