Bose QuietComfort 35 II Review: Not Best From Bose But Smarter to Buy
You may have learned that Bose has come up with new fancy headphones (Bose Active Noise Cancelling 700), but the Bose QuietComfort 35 II still makes it worth for most of the people and their money. The elegance is iconic and the Bose noise cancelation system cannot be matched to shut down an aircraft’s ambient noise. It’s just $50 less than the Bose Active Noise Cancelling 700.
If you’re spending a lot of time taking phone calls to Alexa or Google Assistant for your over-earning noise-canceling headphones or barking orders, you can try out the 700-they have been designed to serve your needs better than any other headphone. Yet I think you’ll find that QC 35 II as the smarter call if you want to block out as much noise you can during your frequent trips, be it a day’s journey or regular flight.
It’s fair to ask why I’m still loving the QC 35 II as I’m the fan of the Sony W H-1000XM3. After all, I said many times that the Sony headphones sound better. But as far as the Bose is concerned, it doesn’t matter what you hear or what you don’t. The QC 35 II is an outstanding noise canceler and is a good bonus for very long wearing sessions. I find they are more relaxed too.
Unboxing
When you unbox the QC 35 II, you know that your money has been spent on the best product. These are high quality headphones — among the finest headphones you can find. The case is for safety purposes, and the beautifully cradled headphones reveal their leather earcups and micro-fiber when you snap them up. Lift them out, and they will be comfortable to wear their lightweight signals.
The QC 35 II features two different color cables: one in a headphone jacket (if you could find another one) and one in black, silver and rose gold USB charging cord. Gone is the connector for a two-pronged carrier–I think we’ve grown beyond that.
Features
The Bose QuietComfort 35 II uses dual-microphone configuration to track and cancel noises. There are three noise cancelation levels depending on how much you want to suppress, but I have never used anything but full cancelation. Typically, I want to block as much noise as possible when I’m listening to music.
You don’t have to use it but I like to use the Bose Connect app with headphones. It let me give name to my headphones, among other features. Every time I see’ Thunder light’ as name of my headphones in my Bluetooth app, I have chuckle. That was by the way the name suggested by Bose.
It also helps in pairing and to monitor the remaining percentage of the battery, control your music and turn on and off voices.
You can click the QC 35 II with control buttons. This may sound like a no brainer, but we have seen control buttons disappear for gesture control as touch-sensitive tech has become a thing. The buttons are clutch for those of us who don’t like to play gestures. The QC 35 II allows sound management, play / pause, progress tracking or restoring–the usual thing–but Alexa and Google Assistant are called by the button that put the 2 in QC 35 II.
We mentioned earlier the headphone cable, right? This allows the listening to music as battery-free only if you run out of juice by removing the Bluetooth connection. About 20 hours for the wireless and about 40 hours for the headphone cable battery life can be expected depending on the volume. Louder means reduced lifespan of the battery.
Performance
I logged on the QC 35 II alone for over 100 hours and 24 of them were for the Sony WH-1000XM3 in competition. I may confidently say that I prefer the QC 35 II over airplane noise cancelation after rigorous testing. Although the Sony tends to be more robust in other areas (office, road etc.) to cancel noise, the QC 35 II acumen in this field can be enjoyed by people who want a set of headphones as these for air travel.
Audio quality is excellent enough to listen to music or film. The cancelation of noise in a noisy environment allows non-audiophiles to be satisfied with the sound, with a strong presence in the midrange and a tremendous zest. There are definitely more well-balanced and accurate headphones where noise cancellation doesn’t matter yet, apart from the above-mentioned Sony speakers, you will have the difficulty of finding a few headphones that can make your hearing even happier when battling 737 motors at 30 000 feet. In silent settings-and for a lower price too – for example, the Sennheiser PXC 500 is vibrant, balanced and detailed, but some of the richness and details lost in the absence of a less efficient noise cancelation.
Note that I’m used to, but sometimes I make telephone calls with the QC 35 II and it works very well. I will put these at the top of them… Surely better than the Sony WH-1000XM3 that does not work in windy and chaotic situation. And here’s a great bonus: the QC 35 II can connect with many computers simultaneously.
Comfort is part of its performance, and, as I said, Bose has cornered the market. With the well-supported insulation and light weight, the QC 35 II cannot be taken off and you look good at the end of your trip on an airplane from LA to NYC.
Warrant
BOSE provides the QC 35 II standard 1-year guarantee, but depending on the product or region, this can fluctuate.
Final Verdict
The Bose QuietComfort QC 35 II is an excellent alternative for the frequent flyer, office workers, and almost anyone else who enjoys efficient noise cancelation. We also strongly recommend this pair of outstanding noise cancelation headphones, even with a revised edition of voice optimization on the way.
Is there a better choice?
Bose released a new headset, the Bose Noise Headset Cancelling 700. This is much better and offers great call quality, but it costs $400. If you can buy it at a discount or listen mainly to music, the QC 35II remains a good selection.
Choose the WH-1000XM3 for the audiophile who wants the best possible sound in loud environments. It offers better sound quality overall and costs about $300.
Should you buy it?
Yes, sure. This is an excellent set of headphones with exceptional noise cancelation and sound quality.
