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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want wireless freedom with active noise cancelling and a 24-hour battery, choose Amazon Renewed Bose QuietComfort 45; if you need wired, open-back, serviceable audiophile sound that you can repair part by part, choose MEZE AUDIO 105.
• Amazon Renewed Bose QuietComfort 45, biggest strength: active noise cancelling with Quiet and Aware modes, Bluetooth 5.1 wireless, and a stated 24-hour battery life — built for travel and noisy rooms.
• Amazon Renewed Bose QuietComfort 45, biggest trade-off: it's a renewed unit with a 90-day limited warranty, it needs charging, and it has no wired headphone jack at all.
• MEZE AUDIO 105, biggest strength: a wired 50 mm open-back design with a warm, bass-leaning tuning, replaceable parts throughout, and nothing to charge.
• MEZE AUDIO 105, biggest trade-off: open-back means it leaks sound both ways, it has no noise cancelling, and it needs a source with a 3.5 mm output.
• Pick the Bose if you commute, fly, or work in a shared space and want one pair that does everything on its own.
• Pick the MEZE 105 if you listen at a desk or in a quiet room and want a long-term wired headphone you can keep alive for years.
The QuietComfort 45 is a closed, over-ear wireless headphone. Bose's approach here is to use small microphones to measure outside noise and cancel it with opposite signals, and that's the core of the pitch. You get two listening states: Quiet Mode for full noise cancelling, and Aware Mode, which pipes your surroundings back in so you can hear a announcement or a barista without pulling the headphones off. For anyone who moves between a loud train, a busy office and a quiet apartment, that toggle is the whole reason to own this model.
Sound is handled by Bose's TriPort acoustic architecture, which is aimed at depth and fullness, plus volume-optimized Active EQ that keeps the balance steady as you change volume. In practice that means bass doesn't fall away when you turn things down, and the mix doesn't turn harsh when you push it up. There's also adjustable EQ in the companion app for bass, mid and treble, with presets if you'd rather not fiddle. Bluetooth 5.1 covers roughly 30 feet of range, controls run through the app or physical buttons, and the stated battery life is 24 hours with a 24-hour charge time. The package includes the headphones, a protective case and a USB-C cable.
Who should buy it: frequent travelers, open-plan office workers, students in shared housing, and anyone who wants one headphone for phone calls, podcasts and music without thinking about cables. The 32-ohm impedance and dynamic drivers are tuned for everyday wireless playback, not for a desktop amp.
Who should skip it: if you want a wired connection, this model has no headphone jack — it's Bluetooth only. If you dislike charging another device, or if a renewed unit with a 90-day limited warranty makes you nervous, this isn't the one. Also skip it if you want open, airy staging; the closed design trades that away for isolation. And since it's an Amazon Renewed product, know what that means: it's a pre-owned or refurbished item that's been inspected and tested by Amazon-qualified suppliers to work and look like new, and it's covered by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee for replacement or refund if you're not satisfied.
The MEZE AUDIO 105 AER is a wired, open-back, over-ear headphone. Its 50 mm dynamic drivers run at 42 ohms with a stated sensitivity of 112 dB and a frequency range of 20 Hz to 30,000 Hz, which tells you this is an efficient headphone — it doesn't demand a monster amplifier to reach a comfortable volume. Meze describes the tuning as lush and refined, with a slight lift in the bass and sub-bass for a deeper, more resonant foundation. It's a warm, full-bodied presentation rather than a clinical one, and Meze positions it as adaptable across genres.
The physical design is where it earns its keep. Hardware is cast zinc alloy with a PVD coating, the headband is stamped manganese spring steel, the ear cups are PC-ABS, the pads are velour, and there's a soft PU leather headband. The self-adjusting headband spreads weight evenly, and the velour cushions are breathable, which matters over long sessions in a way leather pads rarely are. The oval ear cups sit over the ear, and the whole thing is built with fasteners rather than glue — ear cups, headband, cable and even the driver are replaceable, so the headphone can be serviced instead of discarded.
In the box: a hard EVA carrying pouch, a detachable 1.8 m thread Kevlar OFC cable, a 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm gold-plated jack adapter, and a cable pouch. The connection is a 3.5 mm jack, wired only. There's no noise cancelling of any kind, and volume control is touch-based on the cable.
Who should buy it: desk listeners, home-office workers in a quiet room, and anyone who treats headphones as a long-term object rather than a disposable gadget. If you own a decent DAC or a laptop with a clean headphone output, this is a natural fit.
Who should skip it: commuters and flyers, without question. Open-back headphones leak sound in both directions — your music escapes, and the world comes in. With no active noise cancelling, a plane cabin or a train carriage will bury the music. Skip it too if you want wireless, or if you can't tolerate a cable. And if you need isolation for tracking or recording, open-back is the wrong tool.
• Best for noise cancelling → Amazon Renewed Bose QuietComfort 45. It's the only one of the two with active noise cancelling, plus an Aware mode when you want to hear the room.
• Best for travel and commuting → Amazon Renewed Bose QuietComfort 45. Wireless, closed-back, 24-hour stated battery, and a protective case included.
• Best for pure sound quality on a quiet desk → MEZE AUDIO 105. Open-back staging, 50 mm drivers and a warm, bass-forward tuning are aimed squarely at critical listening.
• Best for long-term ownership → MEZE AUDIO 105. Replaceable drivers, ear cups, headband and cables, held together with fasteners instead of glue.
• Best for comfort over marathon sessions → MEZE AUDIO 105. Velour pads breathe and the self-adjusting headband spreads pressure evenly; that's a design advantage for hours-long listening.
• Best for wireless freedom → Amazon Renewed Bose QuietComfort 45. The MEZE has no Bluetooth and no battery — it's a 3.5 mm cable, full stop.
• Best for shared spaces and open offices → Amazon Renewed Bose QuietComfort 45. Closed-back plus ANC is the combination that keeps your music yours.
• Best for buyers who want to plug into a phone or laptop with zero setup → MEZE AUDIO 105. No pairing, no app, no charging — though a phone without a headphone jack will need an adapter.
In my opinion, the right pick comes down to where you listen, not which headphone is "better." If your listening happens on planes, trains, buses or in a noisy office, I'd buy the Amazon Renewed Bose QuietComfort 45 — the noise cancelling, wireless freedom and 24-hour battery solve problems the MEZE simply doesn't address. If your listening happens at a quiet desk and you want a headphone you can repair and keep for a decade, I'd buy the MEZE AUDIO 105. If I could only own one and my life involved any commuting at all, I'd take the Bose.
It's the same model, professionally inspected and tested by Amazon-qualified suppliers to work and look like new, and it's backed by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee for replacement or refund. The trade-off is a 90-day limited warranty rather than a longer one, so weigh that against what you save. Check the current price on Amazon before deciding.
No. It's a wired open-back headphone with a 3.5 mm jack and no noise cancelling. It also leaks sound both ways, so it's a poor match for commuting or shared spaces.
Both lean bass-friendly, but differently. The Bose uses volume-optimized Active EQ to keep bass steady at any volume, with adjustable EQ in the app. The MEZE emphasizes bass and sub-bass for a deeper, more resonant foundation. In my opinion the MEZE gives the richer, more textured low end; the Bose gives the more consistent one on the move.
Yes, if your phone has a 3.5 mm output. If it doesn't, you'll need an adapter — though the included 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm adapter is for full-size jacks, not phones. Its 42-ohm impedance and 112 dB sensitivity mean it plays loud enough from most portable sources.
By design, the MEZE AUDIO 105. Every major component — ear cups, headband, cable and driver — is replaceable, and it's assembled with fasteners rather than glue. The Bose is a sealed wireless product with a battery inside and a 90-day limited warranty on renewed units.
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