Don’t you wish you could turn off the world every now and then?
The last few weeks I’ve found out it’s actually possible… at a price.
Enter any airport around the world and you’ll see loads of people wearing either Bose’s QC15 or QC25 headphones — for a reason. Their omnipresence in planes is because of their best feature: Acoustice noise cancellation (ANC), an impressive use of technology protected by a lot of patents.
With Bose’s Quiet Comfort 35, they’re evolving their product line by cutting the cable.
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ANC makes sure that once you put on the QC35, the sound of your surroundings get turned down to a whisper. Once you put on some music, it’s completely gone. It’s nice when you’re working in a noisy office, but turns into something essential when you’re on a plane.
Flying is fun, but there’s a lot of noise involved.
It might be a baby seated three rows behind you or airplane motors next to your window seat. When I put the headphones on during a flight, it was just me and the music. Even when you get tired of listening to music, the ANC works to create a cone of silence in an otherwise very hectic environment.
All in all, the QC35 makes for a great travel companion.
Bose supplies a protective case that holds the headphones and has a pocket for the backup- and charging cable. Wrap them up, put them in their protective case and slip them in your hand luggage. No more noisy flights for you.
Sound
If you’re not a total audiophile, the QC35 sounds really good for high-end headphones.
It shines with all kinds of music and if you’re used to cheaper headphones, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the overall sound it produces.
Design and comfort
Simple and sleek, on the edge of being a bit formal.
The combination of metal and glassed-filled nylon feels premium, just like the padded headband. It’s light enough to be worn for hours without irritating, but heavy enough not to slip off your head. The entire product feels very sturdy and all movable parts seem like they’re not breaking anytime soon.
Noise cancellation
The noise cancelling feature works ridiculously good.
Bose owns a large amount of patents making them almost unbeatable in this space. Put them on, and your environment practically disappears — it’s simple like that.
Battery and connectivity
Everything works as it’s supposed to — connecting quickly and without trouble to any laptop or smartphone.
The usage of Bluetooth 4.1 means the battery takes a long time to drain. Bose says it’s possible to get up to 20 hours of wireless listening, or 40 hours with the supplied backup wire, and in my tests this accurately reflect the actual performance.
Should you buy them?
All good things come at a price — $350 to be exact.
That’s a lot of money, but it might be worth it if you’re looking for great all-round headphones with excellent noise cancellation.
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