Bose QuietComfort 35 (series II) Review

COMPLETE REVIEW

Bose has always been a major player on the audio equipment market. It is an American corporation based in Massachusetts and has more than 50 years of experience in the field. Bose has managed to build a strong reputation manufacturing a wide range of audio products, from home audio systems to professional ones, headphones, speakers and more.

The QuietComfort 35 is the first wireless model of headphones from the QC (QuietComfort) lineup. The first series was released in 2016 and then came the Series II, which are the ones we are going to review for you.

The QC35 II are an upgrade from the Series I, because they add another feature: Google Assistant support.

These are some of the best-selling headphones from Bose and in general and some of the best noise-cancelling headphones on the market.  

Main specifications:

• Dimensions (H x W x D): 7.1 x 6.7 x 3.2 in
• Weight: 0.52 lb.
• Over-ear/closed back
• USB cable: 12”
• Audio cable: 47.2”
• Battery life: 20 hours
• Dual-microphone system
• Noise cancellation technology

Bose gave a proper name to this model. The QC35 are among the most comfortable headphones you can find. They come in black or silvery gray and the earpieces are covered in metal. They have plush ear cushions and the headband is wrapped in Alcantara. The rest is plastic, but don’t let that make you think less of them: they are very comfortable and durable and they come with a carrying case. They are also foldable. The fact that they’re made of plastic may be deemed cheap by some, but plastic has its advantages too: one of them is the weight; these headphones are very light.

The QC35 are famous for the noise reduction function. These closed-back headphones isolate you from all the unwanted outside noise and other can’t hear the sound coming from your headphones either. Moreover, you are able to hear yourself in the headphones when you talk, so you won’t feel the need to shout.

The noise cancelling feature can be adjusted via their free app, which is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. From the app, you can set the function on low or full. This is another improvement, because on the first series you could only turn the noise cancelling on or off. There are other things you can do from the app, too, such as disable the voice prompts, enable the auto-off feature (you can set the timer to 5 minutes up to 3 hours), access the manual of the headphones and more.

In terms of sound, the Bose QC35 are very good, but not exceptional. The soundstage is average, you get an overall balanced sound, with some accents on the middle and bass side, but somehow they seem a bit flat, with not enough live presence.

The battery life in the QC35 Series II is similar to that in the previous model. It lasts up to 20 hours, even with the noise cancelling function on. If the battery is dead and you charge it for 15 minutes, you get 2.5 more hours of music. Of course you can always use the provided audio cable too. The sound quality is about the same though, wired or wireless.

As we’ve already mentioned it, one of the upgrades of the Series II is the Google Assistant support. You can either use the assigned button to enable Google Assistant or you can disable it if you don’t need it and assign the noise cancelling function to that button.

Overall, we find the new QC35 to be a high-quality audio device, extremely comfortable, durable and improved in terms of features. While it does come at a steep price, the difference between this model and the Series I is only $20 and frankly, for this insignificant amount, you might as well enjoy the upgrades.