QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones II

I have had the liberty of owning both headphones. The Bose QC35 Series 2 and the brand new Sony WH-1000XM3. I have used both for walking, aeroplane travel, travel on the underground in London and and general stuff like walking and around the house. The Sony’s - Greatly improves over the series 2 version of the headphones. They are a right fitting headphone, very loud and impressive base. You can fiddle with the base, treble and noise cancellation until your hearts content as it’s all adjustable via the app. The best thing about these is the noise cancellation. It is the market leader and has overtaken the Bose in this area. They are comfortable and made to high standards. You can even adjust the noise cancellation at different altitudes such as in the aeroplane and this works well. I actually fell asleep with them on recently which was a first as I hate flying. Wearing them and walking I did feel a bit weird for some reason. I think it was the noise cancelling software, perhaps it’s a little too good? The Bose’s - They feel lighter, easier to live with, more roomy than the Sony’s and not as tight a fit which I think makes the more comfortable. The noise cancellation is excellent and you can set them to high, low and off levels. The noise cancellation works very well, however not quite as good as the Sony’s, which you can fiddle with until your hearts content with the app. The sound quality is brilliant, you do get more mid level sound with the Bose, though the Sony’s were definitely louder with more richer base. I wish you could adjust the base and treble but you can’t or at least I can’t find out how you do it. You can adjust these setting with the Sony’s in the app. The winner for me was the Bose. When I began looking for noise cancelling headphones I first began looking for the ‘best cancelling’ on the market but there are many other factors you need to consider when making a buying decision. For me that issue was comfort and ensuring they are ‘fit for the purpose of the wearer. If like me you could end up wearing headphones for 2-6+hrs per day I would choose the Bose over the Sony’s in a heartbeat. They are lighter, your ears don’t get hot or sweaty when wearing them and they have more room. Yes the noise cancellation is very slightly substandard to the Sony’s when side by side testing (though still pretty amazing) and they aren’t as loud, but they are the best for all day wearers. If I only wanted to use my headphones for an hour or two per day, the Sony’s would win hands down (although I found them a little tight for my big head). I advise you to try both pairs, but consider the anount of time you’ll wear them for each day as comfort is really important when you have to live with these headphones. Consider the weight you like to have on your head, comfort around your ears such as the fit and tightness. Comfort becomes more important than being able to fiddle with sounds such as base and noise cancellation when you don’t actually like the things in your head. So please buy the most comfortable and then everything else will fall into ace and you’ll love your decision between these two amazing brands. Last point. If you go into a busy airport and watch the commuters in London you’ll quickly notice most people are wearing one brand in particular. You can guess which it is.

I've never spent anywhere near even £100 before, on headphones, but I'm excitement fussy about the frequency range/response, clarity, upper end sharpness, mid and bass resolution, build quality, ease of use, build quality/strength, comfort.... And then there's the use scenarios. If I'm going out into an environment where one needs to hear what's going on the surroundings, then I usually don't want too much noise isolation, and that usually allows better air circulation. If on the other hand, I'm looking for the maximum pleasure, and want to be in my zone with whatever my media is, then noise isolation is more important. Usually at home, a medium isolation is enough to get by, so some over ear cups and good frequency range and response keeps me happy. This can be achieved very well with mid range JVC, Sony, Panasonic stuff. No need to spend over £50. I don't waste money on big brands names that won't even tell me their frequency response range on the box (that's takes it instantly out of my evaluation, because I consider that as hiding the quality of audio, and if it really isn't as important as they will be claiming when you ask them about it, then why hide it?). These headphones give you VERY GOOD noise isolation and actually have active noise cancellation, and the latter feature will nearly always take away from the lively crispness of the high end of the frequency range. Bose has a speciality which puts them leaps and bounds ahead of pretty much any of the competition; and that is the effectiveness of the noise cancellation technology (ability to cancel out sounds outside of the headphones), and the ability to do that and still keep the audio's high frequency crispness very much intact. For true the true audiophile, there will still be a slightly noticeable change, but this will be much less than pretty much anyone else. I'm lead to believe the closest competition to these headphones will give fractionally better high end frequency response, but the cancellation effect is nowhere near Bose's. If you're spending this sort of money and need that noise cancellation, there is nothing else that comes close, and that's undisputable. All of the above factors are very well qualified in these headphones. Specific to this model (QC35 ii), is the wireless Bluetooth features, and they are very impressive too. The sound quality, is as expected, excellent, using the latest protocols and achieving great sound quality, but the media controls on the right ear are easy to navigate with the headset on; something I've often found difficult on most wireless headphones. The left ear has a special assistant button, which was unexpectedly amazing. I honestly thought it was going to be a bit of a gimmick, but it integrates with the app that runs on your phone and gives a very slick version of your Google Assistant (on my Android devices). The Bose assistant, sort of sits between the headphones and phone in a transparent way that makes the whole experience a joy. I don't know if you've used Assistant features before, but they work better with the way the Bose stuff works, and of course, because the audio quality of these headphones is amazing, and outside noise is cancelled out, so you can clearly hear the responses from the assistant. It was all very unexpected, and actually is a very worthwhile feature for the device. A last note, the portability. These fold up fairly flat and there's a provided travel case with a protective shell design. They will keep safe in there. I recommend holding on to the little wedge inserts in the case, as I think they will help avoid rubbing between the ear cups, which might spoil the finish on the headphones over a long period of time. Despite the premium cost of these, I'm very happy with the purchase. An impressive gadget that delivers on its promises.

If you are wondering whether you should buy these in 2021 then, the answer is YES!! I've been using these for nearly 3 years and thought it was time to "upgrade". I purchased the Airpods Max (yes I'm an idiot) and they were plagued with problems. They sounded better than this but were nowhere near as comfortable and lightweight as the Bose. I was getting like a 12-15 hours battery life out of the Airpods Max, they were so unreliable and would randomly drain battery overnight + condensation build-up on the drivers after about 2 hours use + buggy firmware, meant they were unbearable to use. So I returned them and got a refund. But I still wanted to "upgrade" so I purchased the next best consumer ANC headphone, the sony WH1000M4. Again, they sounded better than the bose. But personally, they weren't as comfortable as the Bose for me although they are lightweight. I also found many of its features to be gimmicky and didn't really use them. And although the Sony's did sound better intially, I didn't like the sound signature. It was way too bass heavy, although I liked it at first, it just become jarring to listen to music for a long time. The Bose also has a better build quality than the Sony's and it stores a little bit smaller. Basically, I never realised how amazing the Bose actually is. It has nice sound signature that means I can listen to music for hours on end, it's comfortable to wear for hours on end, it's build well and still has incredible ANC, even 3 years later, the Sony's might be marginally better. I also found the Sony's multi-device function more of a pain to use than the Bose's and not always as accurate or reliable. My only complaint with the Bose would be that I wish the bluetooth range was better, as soon as I leave the room and go next door, the connection stutters, it needs a line of sight ideally. Some kind of an ambient mode would also be nice when you're in a public environment, as even with ANC turned off, most of the sound is still very well isolated. The battery life is also excellent. So unless you will use all the features of the Sony to its full potential, these are still an incredible value pair of headphone, espcially for the price you can get these for now, nearly half of the Sony's at time if you look for it.

Quite good quality, better than i expected. d(^____^) very comfy & very ergonomic design, shaped well to accommodate the earlobe. I saved up and got them, as i saw a recommendation on "Wrong Planet" forums. So i thought "i could use them as a disability aid". The american voice is a bit loud & irritating xD so i put the inbuilt voice to Japanese. Bonus is its helping me remember & learn. I can now understand it when it says its at 100, 90, or whatever percent battert XP i might play around wi' the other languages at some point. The noise cancellation at high, just sounds like the buzzing of a quiet room, or gentle rain or water. It doesny cut out voices completely, so you can still hear some things. It dampens the world, rather than fully cancelling everything. But, it feels safer that way. You can still hear the mostly dangerous noises(cars XP the hoover), its just that your ears won't feel pierced & as if they're trying to bleed XD the best part is it does fully cancel out those low level truly irritating sounds XP like nitpickers muttering away. When you remove them, you really notice the difference, the whole world feels even louder than before xD If you can afford to save up though, they are amazing. Soft & squishy & no pinchy at all. Only issue is the fabric parts will smell like hair fast, and you can't really wash them to take it out. And wipes no really work either. And i doubt they're waterproof. Oh, and sometimes there's a strange mechanical buzz screech. Yet it seems to calm when putting them on & off. It occurs more after long hours wear, or when browsing ma phone. They also disconnect if its doing an update for the headphones on the app. They also won't bluetooth connect to a PS4(only a device supporting the Bose app, i suspect) xD you have to use the supplied cable in the controller instead. On a final note(s): the case is perfect. Since the headphones are so squishy, they need proper protection. They should always go back in the box after use. I would never ever recommend sleeping in them either, thats not in their design. I wouldny lean on them or put pressure on the ear bits either.

These headphones are worth every penny. The materials, the look, the feel, the sound are impeccable, but what's most important for me: noise cancellation is great - if you download the Bose Connect app you can even choose to have NO noise cancellation, LOW level or HIGH level of noise cancellation. (I had the chance to try on the Bose 700 some time ago and if you're looking for a total noise cancellation effect, those are the ones to go.) Another reason why I'm so enthusiastic about these headphones is my horrible experience with my first pair of headphones (Beats). Do not fall victim of pushy salespersons like I unfortunately did. Three years ago I found myself wandering around the airport, trying to kill time because of my flight was delayed. I thought that could be the perfect moment to purchase a pair of headphones at a good price. I had already did some research and from the online reviews, the Bose headphones had the best noise cancelling system hands down. Even though I expressed my interest on the Bose and my concerns about wind noises during calls to the salesman, he kept on praising Beats. Unfortunately I listened and thought "why not?", after all the price was quite lower. DO NOT make my same mistake: the price was lower and after my experience I can say they were still overpriced. Calls were a pain with the lightest breeze or the lightest "clothe stroking", the play button stopped working properly after one and a half year, after three years I couldn't hear sound from my right ear (faulty contact) and the cover of the ear cushion are all "unglued" so the foam is exposed, plus they are too tight on the ears. I love how comfortable these Bose are and I'm sure they will last for a very long time.

I own the QC25 as well as these. The QC25 is as simple as pop in a battery, flip the noise cancelling switch and away you go. Exactly what I want from a pair of headphones. With the QC35ii I first have to download an app, create an account, give the app location permissions and opt out of a load of Bose marketing nonsense BEFORE the noise cancelling will work. It does not appear to just work out of the box, I had to set it up via the app. The headphones will do nothing until you've registered through the app. This is a massive waste of time and totally unnecessary - these are headphones for goodness sake. The app is buggy and confusing, began updating automatically and then when i had to restart it, told me it was updating on another device (it wasn't) and became all glitchy. Terrible start and immediately put me on the back foot compared to the QC25s. This is like having an internet connected iron - totally pointless. The USB charging cable supplied is too short so you cannot charge and use them at the same time, although I imagine you can buy a 3rd party cable that is longer. The box also did not contain the customary airline flight adaptor that I have been used to finding in previous models. Considering this is used so heavily by business travellers I would think it was a no brainer to include this. Bose sell them on their website but I complained and they are sending me one for free. I suggest you do the same. The wired headphone cable that is supplied also feels very flimsy and is very thin without the low profile 90 degree bend that the previous headphone cable from the QC25s had. In all regards so far the QC25s are a better headphone experience. HOWEVER... The sound quality is incredible. It's definitely a step up from the 25s and the NC is better for sure. They are also equally as comfortable as the 25s which is a huge deal as the 25s are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. Due to this, aside from the PITA setup and terrible app (which I won't be using at all from this point on), I think they'll make a good replacement for the QC25s. In an ideal world, Bose would simply copy the design and functionality of the 25s and simply improve the audio quality. There is absolutely no need for all the hoop jumping you are forced to go through to get them to work. These would be a nightmare for someone who is not tech savvy. You only need to briefly skim the reviews on the play store to see that their app is universally hated by everyone. I hope Bose takes note of these issues and improves them but judging from the amount of time the app has been live for, I wouldn't hold out much hope.

Amazing, sound quality is a different level, very comfortable definitely a five star

Possibly the best product I've ever bought. Have used it almost every day for nearly eight years. Battery still good and has taken a fair amount of abuse without so much as a scratch.