Bose QC 35 Wireless Noise Cancelling headphones : Review

Ask any regular traveller who enjoys listening to their own music or in-flight entertainment with their own headphones and you’ll likely find that the Bose QC25’s are the first choice for most because quite frankly they are the best on the market. Well, until now. Bose has a new set that takes it all one step further.

I described the Bose QC 25’s as the “perfect headphones for travellers” and they most certainly were at the time and despite some strong new products from a range of companies they have remained so until now.

It was only a month ago that my own Father-in-Law asked which headphones to get his wife as a mother’s day gift.  He wanted noise cancelling and Bluetooth – the problem was, Bose didn’t have such a product – you had to choose one or the other.

Now, that product exists.  Bose best-in-class is now the Quiet Comfort 35’s (QC35).

These are very similar almost identical to look at as the QC25’s, but with one stark difference, you can remove the cable and go Bluetooth with Noise Cancelling active.

They are some of the most comfortable headphones you’ll wear, covering around and over the ear but not squashing the ear, and sitting gently yet firm on the head.

Left and Right are easily determined because inside the ear the material has a clear L and R printed on it, and the power switch for noise cancelling is on the right ear.

 

When not connected to a cable, the power switch enables both noise cancelling and Bluetooth.  With a cable connected the switch enables Noise Cancelling and automatically disables Bluetooth.  The connection in the left ear is like an on-off switch for Bluetooth

Sound quality is without question, and the active noise cancelling is simply outstanding.  Sitting here in my quiet room typing with them on, I can clap my hands and hear nothing – perhaps a faint sound.  On a plane, it is sensational.

I was interested though in the battery – given the dual technology on-board with Noise Cancelling and Bluetooth there is a likely high load on the battery.  Unlike the QC25’s the 35’s do not use standard AA batteries.  A MicroUSB connection is used to charge them.

On the 13 hour plane trip to the USA, I put them on a few hours in and started streaming music wirelessly from my phone.

Seven hours later the headphones reported a 70% battery.  That’s seven hours of noise cancelling and Bluetooth transmission.  Gotta be honest, that was staggering to me.  In all likelihood you could take a return long-haul flight and never need to charge these headphones.

It’s not possible to use Bluetooth and not have Noise Cancelling on  – not a big deal, but if you were trying to stretch the battery you don’t have that option.

Overall, I can’t imagine anyone wouldn’t be satisfied with the fit, finish, feel, quality and sound from the Bose Quiet Comfort 35’s.  They are in my view the best headphones you can buy for all round features and quality and would most certainly be the choice of any business traveller.

At $499 they are $100 more expensive than the 25’s – so it’s a real leap in every aspect – including price.

[schema type=”review” rev_name=”Bose Quiet Comfort 35 wireless noise cancelling headphones” rev_body=”Easily the best-in-class headphones, these should be the choice of any serious business traveller” author=”Trevor Long” pubdate=”2016-06-14″ user_review=”5″ min_review=”0″ max_review=”5″ ]