Bose QuietComfort 35 II Review

The Bose QuietComfort 35 II is one of the best noise cancelling headphones we tested. Though dethroned from their long reign at the top of the field, we would still recommend these headphones without reservation.

Performance Comparison

Sound Quality

The Bose QuietComfort 35 II sits near the top of our sound quality leaderboard. These headphones exemplified the crystal clear sound that you would expect from high-end audio equipment in our testing. They also produced impressively deep and resonant bass, which gave the sound a well-rounded and full quality. Everything from bass-heavy electronic music too complicated jazz riffs to mellow acoustic numbers sounds great in these headphones.

Yes, there are some newer models on the market that narrowly best these headphones when it comes to sound quality, but we highly doubt anyone will be disappointed by the sound offered by the QuietComfort 35 II

Noise Isolation

The QuietComfort 35 II was one of the better models we tested for noise isolation. With the active noise cancellation turned on, the QuietComfort 35 II eliminates almost all ambient noise when you're listening to music. Even when listening to quiet things like podcasts, ambient noise is barely noticeable. If you're not listening to anything, some things may make their way into your ears, like voices and loud footsteps, but they will be very muffled. If you're using the QuietComfort 35 II solely for sound cancellation and not for music listening (e.g., drowning out the crowd noise while you enjoy a museum), we think you'll be satisfied.

Here again, a few newer models on the market from Bose and Sony offer slightly more adept active noise cancellation. Still, the differences are minor and likely not noticeable outside of direct side-by-side comparisons.

Comfort

Bose doesn't change its physical design between headphones too much, so if you've ever tried on a pair of Bose headphones and found them comfy, we think you'll have similar sentiments about the QuietComfort 35 II. It has widely spaced, fluffy padding that accepts any sized ears and provides a cozy fit. The leather is synthetic.

User Friendliness

The QuietComfort 35 II was easy to pair with both Android and iOS devices in our testing. In fact, it can pair with multiple devices at one time, allowing you to switch between all the paired devices with a push of a button. So you can be watching a movie on your tablet and then push a button on the headphones to switch over to your phone when you feel it vibrating in your pocket. This added feature was one thing that earned it one of the highest scores in this metric.

The QuietComfort 35 II features simple onboard headphone controls, with multi-function buttons that can play and pause music and adjust the volume. Double and triple tapping the middle button can move tracks forward or back. Holding that same button-down summons Siri for iOS users. There is also a new dedicated Google Assistant button that can summon Google voice commands. These are nice features to have, but their usefulness depends on how much you use Siri or Google Assistant in the first place. There is also an app that lets you fine-tune audio and noise cancellation settings. We found the app quite intuitive to use, but generally, we found the default settings to be better than any tinkering we did.

Portability

The QuietComfort 35 II has hinged earpieces that allow them to fold up into a slim, included carrying case. The headphones themselves weigh 10.9 ounces.

Should You Buy the QuietComfort 35 II?

While expensive, the QuietComfort 35 II's price is fairly average for top-tier noise cancelling headphones. If you're willing to pay a premium for top-notch quality, these headphones offer reasonable value but certainly aren't a bargain. The Bose QuietComfort 35 II are high-performing, noise-canceling headphones that offer pretty much everything you could want from a personal, wireless music device. If you're willing to sacrifice a bit of sound quality and bells and whistles, there are slightly better values available, but if you want top-notch performance, these headphones are a great choice.

What Other Wireless Headphones Should You Consider?

While these are a nice set of headphones, we are left to wonder if you have the money to spend; why wouldn't you get the absolute best in the bunch with the highest test results in the group? The Sony WH-1000XM4 is the most impressive in the group and sports the same price tag. With impressive sound quality and noise cancellation, as well as comfort and more, it is hard to see why someone would choose the QuietComfort 35 over the Sony unless it is a personal comfort-based decision.