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What we think
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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Bose Quiet Comfort 45 offers superior comfort, noise isolation, and overall sound quality, making them ideal for long listening sessions, especially in noisy environments like air travel. They have active noise cancelling and a longer battery life, but do not support low latency, which is critical for gaming or TV. The SteelSeries TUSQ, while being more budget-friendly, offers good mic quality and is designed for gaming with better soundstage and gaming scores. They are earbuds without wireless capability, making them better suited for stationary use or activities where a cable isn't a hindrance. They lack active noise cancelling and are not as comfortable or as effective at noise isolation as the Bose. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Bose Quiet Comfort 45
- Very good for phone calls
- Best in class for air travel
- Excellent for podcasts and audiobooks
Advantages of the Steelseries TUSQ
- Good for music
- Very good for gaming
- Good for TV and video
Key differences
Music
6.4
7.6
The Steelseries TUSQ is good for music, while the Bose Quiet Comfort 45 is only fair.
Gaming
5.5
8.5
The Steelseries TUSQ is very good for gaming, while the Bose Quiet Comfort 45 is poor.
Phone Calls
8.0
5.2
The Bose Quiet Comfort 45 is very good for phone calls, while the Steelseries TUSQ is poor.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
9.3
4.7
The Bose Quiet Comfort 45 is excellent for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Steelseries TUSQ is poor.
TV and Video
5.8
7.3
The Steelseries TUSQ is good for TV and video, while the Bose Quiet Comfort 45 is poor.
Noise Reduction
10.0
6.0
The Bose Quiet Comfort 45 is best in class for noise reduction, while the Steelseries TUSQ is only fair.
Battery
22.5 Hours
N/A
The Bose Quiet Comfort 45 has 22.5 hours of battery life. The Steelseries TUSQ does not have a battery.
Cost
$260
$55
$50
$100
$150
$200
$250
$300
$350
$400
The Bose Quiet Comfort 45 has a price of $260 and the Steelseries TUSQ costs $55.
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Key similarities
Build Quality
8.5
8.0
The Bose Quiet Comfort 45 and Steelseries TUSQ both have very good build quality.
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How the Bose Quiet Comfort 45 and the Steelseries TUSQ compare to other earbuds and headphones
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Bose Quiet Comfort 45 | Steelseries TUSQ |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$260 | $55 | ||
Brand | |||
Brand | Bose | Steelseries | |
Release Date | |||
Release Date | September 1, 2021 | August 1, 2021 | |
Form Factor | |||
Form Factor | Headphones | Earbuds | |
Connectivity | |||
Connectivity | Wired + Wireless | Wired | |
SOUND | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Music Score | |||
Music Score | 6.5/10 | 7.7/10 | |
Phone Calls Score | |||
Phone Calls Score | 8/10 | 5.3/10 | |
Gaming Score | |||
Gaming Score | 5.6/10 | 8.6/10 | |
TV and Video Score | |||
TV and Video Score | 5.8/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Exercise Score | |||
Exercise Score | 6.4/10 | 4.2/10 | |
PERFORMANCE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery life | |||
Battery life | 22.5 Hours | N/A | |
Wireless charging | |||
Wireless charging | No | N/A | |
Charging time | |||
Charging time | 3 Hours | N/A | |
Bluetooth version | |||
Bluetooth version | 5.1 | N/A | |
FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Active Noise Cancelling | |||
Active Noise Cancelling | Yes | No | |
Noise Reduction Score | |||
Noise Reduction Score | 10/10 | 6/10 | |
Virtual Surround | |||
Virtual Surround | No | N/A | |
Android App | |||
Android App | Yes | N/A | |
iOS App | |||
iOS App | Yes | N/A | |
Mic Quality | |||
Mic Quality | 7/10 | 8.5/10 | |
BUILD AND DESIGN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality | |||
Build Quality | 8.5/10 | 8/10 | |
Comfort score | |||
Comfort score | 10/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Size | |||
Size | N/A | Large | |
Weight (headset or single earbud) | |||
Weight (headset or single earbud) | 235.8 Grams | 11 Grams | |
Microphone style | |||
Microphone style | Integrated | Boom | |
Shopping
Bose Quiet Comfort 45
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Dig into reviews and images
What HiFi?
What HiFi? | November 2022
"If you want a set of wireless over-ear headphones you can put on, deploy noise-cancelling on your commute or at your desk and largely extinguish the outside world for up to 24 hours, the Bose QC 45 has the edge over most of the competition at the price."
Steelseries TUSQ
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Dig into reviews and images
Can Buy or Not
Aloysius Low | March 2021
"The SteelSeries Arctis Tusq is a great headset for those on a more modest budget. You can use it for gaming or music, and I daresay it's also great for Zoom meetings when you don't want to be wearing on-ear or over-ear headphones."
Get a great deal on the Bose Quiet Comfort 45 or the Steelseries TUSQ
About Bose
Bose is an American audio equipment manufacturer based out of Framingham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1964 by Amar Bose with the goal of creating a speaker system that could accurately recreate the sound of a concert hall, Bose has become one of the most prominent players in the modern consumer audio market due to the premium feel of their products and their wide brand recognition.
About Steelseries
Steelseries is a Danish gaming products manufacturer founded in 2001 and owned by GN Store Nord. Beside a large variety of gaming peripherals like mice, keyboards, and mousemats, Steelseries markets the Arctis line of gaming headsets which feature integrated boom microphones and RGB lighting. Steelseries has partnered with several game publishers and studios for limited editions of their products like a line of Cyberpunk 2077 themed headsets in 2020.
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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.
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