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Quiet Comfort Earbuds
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Live Buds 3
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What we think

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The PerfectRec Earbuds or Headphones team Learn more
Updated April 10, 2024·

earbuds with slightly differing strengths. Choose the Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds for their excellent noise isolation, making them ideal for air travel and environments where you want to block out distractions; they also score highest for book/podcast listening. However, consider that they have a shorter battery life and lack wireless charging. On the other hand, the JBL Live Buds 3, with their LED touch display on the Smart Charging Case, offer a longer battery life, wireless charging, and better sweat and dust resistance, which makes them suitable for exercise. They also support a high-quality codec (LDAC), which may appeal to audiophiles with compatible devices. However, they are not the best choice for calls and meetings or for TV and video where sound latency might be an issue. 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 Earbuds
  • Best in class for podcasts and audiobooks
Advantages of the JBL Live Buds 3
  • Very good for exercise

Key differences

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Music

7.1
Quiet Comfort Earbuds
Live Buds 3
7.8
The JBL Live Buds 3 and Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds are both good for music, though the JBL Live Buds 3 is somewhat better.

Phone Calls

6.6
Quiet Comfort Earbuds
Live Buds 3
5.2
The Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds is only fair for phone calls, while the JBL Live Buds 3 is poor.

Podcasts and Audiobooks

9.5
Quiet Comfort Earbuds
Live Buds 3
5.9
The Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds is best in class for podcasts and audiobooks, while the JBL Live Buds 3 is poor.

Noise Reduction

9.1
Quiet Comfort Earbuds
Live Buds 3
8.3
The Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds is excellent for noise reduction, while the JBL Live Buds 3 is very good.

Battery

7.0 Hours
Quiet Comfort Earbuds
Live Buds 3
10.0 Hours
The Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds has 7 hours of battery life. The JBL Live Buds 3 has 10 hours of battery life.

Cost

$199
Quiet Comfort Earbuds
Live Buds 3
$216
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Product image

$100

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$200

$250

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The Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds has a price of $199 and the JBL Live Buds 3 costs $216.
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Key similarities

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Gaming

5.6
Quiet Comfort Earbuds
Live Buds 3
5.4
The Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds and JBL Live Buds 3 are both poor for gaming.

TV and Video

6.0
Quiet Comfort Earbuds
Live Buds 3
5.6
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds to be only fair for TV and video, while the JBL Live Buds 3 is poor.

Build Quality

8.9
Quiet Comfort Earbuds
Live Buds 3
8.5
The Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds and JBL Live Buds 3 both have very good build quality.

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How the Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds and the JBL Live Buds 3 compare to other earbuds and headphones

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Spec Comparison

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Bose Quiet Comfort EarbudsJBL Live Buds 3
Bose Quiet Comfort EarbudsJBL Live Buds 3

GENERAL

Price
$199
$216
Brand
BoseJBL
Release Date
October 1, 2020June 1, 2024
Form Factor
EarbudsEarbuds
Connectivity
WirelessWireless

SOUND

Music Score
7.1/107.9/10
Phone Calls Score
6.7/105.3/10
Gaming Score
5.6/105.4/10
TV and Video Score
6/105.7/10
Exercise Score
6.8/108.4/10

PERFORMANCE

Battery life
7 Hours10 Hours
Wireless charging
NoYes
Charging time
1.5 Hours2 Hours
Bluetooth version
5.15.3
Case Battery Life
1830

FEATURES

Active Noise Cancelling
YesYes
Noise Reduction Score
9.1/108.4/10
Virtual Surround
NoYes
Android App
YesYes
iOS App
YesYes
Mic Quality
5.4/107/10

BUILD AND DESIGN

Build Quality
8.9/108.5/10
Comfort score
8.6/107/10
Size
LargeLarge
Weight (headset or single earbud)
8.5 Grams8.8 Grams
Microphone style
IntegratedIntegrated

Shopping

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Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds

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Dig into reviews and images

Sound Guys

Lily Katz | March 2023
"The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds is a great do-it-all option for anyone, so long as you can afford it. This is a great alternative to the Apple AirPods Pro and Sony WF-1000XM4. You can choose the degree of noise canceling, and enjoy premium features like automatic ear-detection. These earbuds merit an IPX4 rating, making them a fine workout companion."

Get a great deal on the Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds or the JBL Live Buds 3

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 JBL

JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer. Owned by Harman International which is, itself, owned by Samsung Electronics. JBL markets a wide array of monitoring speakers, professional headphones and consumer market headphones and earbuds. It was founded in 1946 by James Bullough Lansing (whose initials give the company its name) and has become one of the most prolific audio companies ever. Their products were responsible for audio during the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

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Why trust us

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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.

By the numbers

108
Earbuds and headphones evaluated
11,340
Earbuds and headphones stats compiled
15
Proprietary Earbuds and headphones ratings developed
122,900
Recommendations made
18,435
Consumer hours saved

About the Earbuds or Headphones team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and Earbuds and Headphones Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Luis Torres

Earbuds and Headphones Expert
Luis is a Mexico-based headphones expert. He’s been making headphone recommendations for five years and has close to 100 pairs in his personal collection.

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