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I have employee discount on the Bose headphones and I can buy QC35 for less than 190$. Will mass drop prices still be better? (New to massdrop)
I'm wearing the Bose QC35s right now and they work so well, I can't hear all the whiney Sony fanboys telling me how bad mine sound compared to theirs!
I have the Bose QuiteComfort 35s and have tried the Sony WH-1000XmII a few times. These are the top two choices here. Given the choice again I would go for the Sonys. But I will give you a bit of a break down.
For reference though, I am one of those rare audiophiles who actually like Bose for a lot of uses. My home entertainment system is made of of mostly Bose speakers, (4 satellite speakers from a Bose lifestyle 12 system, and two 301 series iv paired with a Klipsh RC-25 center channel and a Polk PSW 10 subwoofer) despite the fact that they are not really designed to be used outside of their proprietary systems. I have owned the QC 2s for like 15 years and the QC 20s are my daily driver for in ear headphones.
THE MAIN BREAKDOWN In terms of the noise canceling and audio quality which are the primary two features on these, they are actually REALLY quite comparable. Like, really almost identical. The Sony has a slight edge in terms of audio quality, and the Bose has a slight edge in terms of noise canceling. You probably wont notice the difference enough in either regard enough to be worth choosing one or the other. I would call it a non issue.
Where these really differ is in features.
BOSE PROS 1. You can connect Bluetooth to two devices at once. This is a REALLY nice feature, especially if you use it like I do. I keep my phone constantly connected to the headphones and use the app to select whatever other device I want to use. It will automatically favor phone calls over everything else. So I can be watching something on my tablet or playing a game and when a phone call comes in it will automatically pause my movie and switch to my cellphone seamlessly.
SONY PROS 1. The first one here is the deal breaker and the reason I would chose the Sonys. It's more of a serious problem Bose. The Sonys feature APTX Bluetooth audio compression which is both better for sound quality and for sound consistency than the older A2DP the Bose uses. Now this wouldn't that be a big deal to me the Bose sounds fine most of the time. But some days, especially if I am in an area with a lot of signals in the air, the Bose renders itself virtually unusable. THE BOSE WILL STUTTER AND DROP SOUND. I mean so bad that you will miss everything. WHAT IS THE POINT OF EXPENSIVE WIRELESS HEADPHONES IF YOU CANT HEAR THE SIGNAL? You will notice on the Bose forums there are pages and pages of complaints about this, and Bose seems mostly uninterested in helping. It doesn't happen all the time, but it happens often enough to make you feel like they are complete garbage sometimes. 2. The Sony's have some really nice gesture features. One that is particularly useful is that you can place your hand over one side and it will turn off noise canceling and lower the volume significantly. This is really cool if someone is trying to talk with you. On the whole I feel like this pro more or less is on par with the two device feature Bose has. 3. The Bose do not allow their microphone to be used for anything other than phone calls and talking to your phones assistant for some reason. They can not be used as gaming headphones for this reason. The Sonys can.
If you guys want a good wireless noise canceling experience, I'd suggest going with the Sonys. Until Bose fixes their Bluetooth connection it's really not even worth $200.
So what's the next step? (I'm new to Massdrop)
arch1000
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hope the massdrop ppl notice
I’d add AKG N60NC. Maybe not up there with noise canceling features, but I’d say audio quality is better than most of these.
good poll idea... I just went thru this process a month or so ago when I purchased NC headphones for traveling and the gym.
What I found after listening to the Bose, Sony, B&W, JBL and Senn PXC550 (not in the poll):
1. Sony WH-1000x mkii- NC was best in class, slightly better than the Bose. Sound quality was very, very good. These were the only cans that I didn't hear a noticeable drop in SQ with different levels of NC. I like the feature that you can turn off NC by putting your hand over the right ear cup... helpful for quick conversations (ie., flight attendant) . Very comfortable for extended wearing. Aesthetic is ok, very plastic appearance 2. B&W PX - Sound quality was best in class, but only with lower levels of NC (or no NC). With increasing NC I found the sound quality diminished. The NC itself is ok, not to Sony or Bose levels. The cans turn off when you take them off, but they need to work on this as shifting them on my head would cause them to drop sometimes. I would turn this feature off. I found the headband uncomfortable and I would not want to wear for extended periods. IMO these are the best looking by a mile, but I wish they folded up for travel... I think they are a little bulky for storage. If I was looking for the best sound with minimal NC (eg., office use), then I could be persuaded to spend the $50 premium for these over the Sony (but would end up adding cushion to the headband). 3a. Bose QC35II- NC was close to Sony levels but I found the sound quality to be a noticeable step down from the Sony and an even bigger step down than the B&W. The google assistant was interesting (and since I use Android, useful), but was not something I was going to base a decision on. The aesthetic is similar to the Sony... IOW, looked ok, but very plastic. Overall, I put these and the Senn as a tie. The Bose NC is better, but the Senn has better SQ. 3b. Senn PXC 550 - I like the Senn sound... I have an HD600, HD6xx and PC37X gaming headset, so going in to this exercise I expected Senn to be my favorite. They weren't. Nothing bad about them, I just thought the top 2 did things a little better (ie., Sony SQ similar but with better NC; B&W SQ was better, but Senn had better NC). I like the fact that these automagically turn off/on when folding them up. Aesthetic is very sharp... successful businessman type look. FWIW, I think the $399 list is a little high... $349 (same as Bose & Sony) is a fair price. I wanted to listen to the Senn Momentum 2.0 Wireless, but couldn't find them. 5. JBL Everest 750NC - (note the 700 in the poll is last years model) I didn't expect much out of these and tossed them on my head just for the hell of it. They were surprisingly decent... a little bass heavy, but a good value on sale (I would not pay the $299 list price). They sound different with NC on vs NC off with the highs taking a hit with NC. Very comfortable for extended listening. If you're the type of person that likes Beats, then take a listen... these are similar sound signature but better and can be had for much less. I considered picking up a pair of these for my teenage daughter for Christmas (I've seen these as low as $199).
If I rank based on NC it would be Sony>Bose>Senn>B&W. If I rank based on SQ it would be B&W>Sony~Senn>Bose.
I ended up buying the Sony on a Black Friday sale over thanksgiving weekend for $50 less than the Bose and $100 less than the B&W. Pretty sweet.
dasman
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I must agree with your opinion about Sony. Brilliant sound with great noise cancellation, both better than Bose QC35.
dasman
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What I’ve heard is consistent with this. It makes my personal preference the B&W.
I see the Zeos effect has taken over on this one.
Definitely lacking Plantronics Backbeat pro 2