Bose noise cancelling headphones

[WestyCarl]

craigjm said:

The noise cancelling may be superb but you pay a huge price in the sound quality stakes. Fine if you like bass heavy music music but treble control is awful and the neckband is horrible. The battery is a step back from 16 hours to ten and they don't work when the battery is dead unlike the old model.

Not sure about sound as I mostly listen to podcasts, however the battery life is well over 12hrs (still 40% left after a 12hr flight). If the battery is dead they will still work with a wire but have no noise cancelling.

[craigjm]

I was never very impressed with the qc20 and when I tried the new model it just feels like a step back to be wireless but it's not truly wireless it's a compromise that falls between both stools. When my 20s died I didn't bother

[Cotty]

dterry said:

At £309 for the QC35 you'd be better off with Amazon, Mine were £258 and available next day on Prime

Maybe they put the price up https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bose-QuietComfort-Bluetoo...

[Cotty]

WestyCarl said:

I got the QC35's. For noise cancelling they are superb.
Go for the wireless (I previously had wired), so much easier / nicer being able to leave the phone in your pocket / bag.

I want to use them to watch a TV show on the train so would have my ipod out anyway to see the screen.

[Trikster]

Just returned my QC35s - great noise cancelling and sound quality, but lots of 'clicking' when using bluetooth - seems to be a common problem, really sensitive to the position of the headphones in relation to the source

Seem to be a few folks on here getting on with them though, perhaps i should try again....

[Craikeybaby]

Are Bose still the go to for noise cancelling? Or have other caught up?

Ideally I want some wired noise cancelling earphones to connect to my iPhone 7, but I see Bose have gone down the neck buds route for their new in ear model and I'm not a fan.

[craigjm]

Craikeybaby said:

Are Bose still the go to for noise cancelling? Or have other caught up?

Ideally I want some wired noise cancelling earphones to connect to my iPhone 7, but I see Bose have gone down the neck buds route for their new in ear model and I'm not a fan.

direct connection to your iphone 7 without adapter will be a seriously limiting factor at the moment.

[Craikeybaby]

Yes, I thought earphone manufacturers would be jumping to be able to lose the battery/processing box from the cable. The Pioneer Rayz Plus look like they could be a good option.

[craigjm]

Would be interesting to see how the Pioneers perform. They are very cheap compared to Bose but give you better integration with the device. Not available in the UK yet though.

[AndStilliRise]

Why can they not use the same technology on the plane itself, from what i understand they use a microphone to sense the ambient noise and then play a canceling waveform (very smart).

[Durzel]

I've got the QC20i's, are the QC30s a worthwhile upgrade? I heard (though I can't remember where) that the noise cancellation wasn't as good?

[Cotty]

Seems a good price £198 for Bose QC25's
http://www.rgbdirect.co.uk/ProductDetails.asp?SKUN... 25 Black

[Lucas Ayde]

Craikeybaby said:

Are Bose still the go to for noise cancelling? Or have other caught up?

Ideally I want some wired noise cancelling earphones to connect to my iPhone 7, but I see Bose have gone down the neck buds route for their new in ear model and I'm not a fan.

I bought a set of Sennheiser MM-550X 'Over the Ear' headphones a while back (on a special offer) and they are absolutely great.

Noise cancelling is pretty effective but if you listen in a quiet environment to a piece of music and do an on/off test, it does noticeably degrade the quality of the audio. On the other hand, in a noisy place, music with noise cancelling sounds a lot better than music without noise cancelling.

Really nice 'phones ... you can use them either wired or via bluetooth which supports Apt-X, (a very high quality codec) if your source device has it. You can easily turn the NR on or off either in wired or wireless modes. They have a talkthrough mode that can be engaged if you need to have a conversation in a noisy environment. Have SRS-WOW for 'music enhancement' (pointless IMO) and of course are full hands-free compatible. You can also take the USB battery pack out to charge externally and keep using them wired.

Sound quality under optimal conditions (no noise cancelling, quiet room, wired) is superb and even going to bluetooth they sound pretty much as good as long as your source has Apt-X.

I don't think you can get them any more but there does seem to have been a replacement model which from a Youtube review that I saw is better in some ways but not so good in others.

[Craikeybaby]

Thanks. I have seen them. I tried some Bose QC-35s at the weekend and was impressed with the noise cancellation. It was a shame that the other headphones in the shop had flat batteries, so I couldn't compare.

[gregs656]

I bought a pair of Lindy BNX-60s on a bit of a whim a couple of weeks a go with a view to replacing my very nice but wired and bulky PSB M4U 2s.

Very pleased with them, the PSBs have been sold.

I've compared them directly with the QC35s and the MDR-1000Xs. Bose definitely have the most silent noise cancelling (no hiss). The Sony's are very nice but not sure about touch sensitive controls, I got it wrong about as much as I got it right but I would probably get used to it. The speaking mode on the Sony's works really well.

None of them match the sound of the PSBs but I was prepared for that.

I'll be sticking with the Lindy's. They have been down to £40 on Amazon apparently which would be an absolute steal.

What HiFi review - http://www.whathifi.com/lindy/bnx-60/review

Edit: I'm flying with them this weekend which is the real test. The noise cancelling is at a similar level to the PSBs I think so I don't expect to be disappointed.

Edited by gregs656 on Tuesday 21st March 16:38

[hairyben]

gregs656 said:

I bought a pair of Lindy BNX-60s on a bit of a whim a couple of weeks a go with a view to replacing my very nice but wired and bulky PSB M4U 2s.

Very pleased with them, the PSBs have been sold.

I've compared them directly with the QC35s and the MDR-1000Xs. Bose definitely have the most silent noise cancelling (no hiss). The Sony's are very nice but not sure about touch sensitive controls, I got it wrong about as much as I got it right but I would probably get used to it. The speaking mode on the Sony's works really well.

None of them match the sound of the PSBs but I was prepared for that.

I'll be sticking with the Lindy's. They have been down to £40 on Amazon apparently which would be an absolute steal.

What HiFi review - http://www.whathifi.com/lindy/bnx-60/review

Edit: I'm flying with them this weekend which is the real test. The noise cancelling is at a similar level to the PSBs I think so I don't expect to be disappointed.

Edited by gregs656 on Tuesday 21st March 16:38

Hi there.

What are these like at cancelling out the likes of pop radio/ tv pap? I'm not too bothered about white noise, jets etc even when quite loud (although suppression would be an added benefit), my issue is I struggle to read my book when in the vicinity of noise design to try to grab your attention - unfortunantly my brain struggles to shut it out, much more than joe average I think - sometimes to the point I just have to stop trying to read as its physically impossible.

I gather many NC cans are less adept at this but it seems to be a lot of VERY mixed experiences - maybe the larger closed designs are better? Thanks!

[craigjm]

In my experience none of them are any good at that. Constant low tones yes, rising and falling and on and off tones no. You might be better off trying noise isolation sets like Etymotics for what you want which are basically ear plugs with sound

[wjwren]

I had the qc35 which broke so sent back for refund, now have the Sony's - not sure of model number but they were about £300 and are very good. Only gripe I have is they get a bit hot on your ears after prolonged use. They have a handy button on the side which you just place your hand over if you want to talk to someone next to you and turn the NC off.

[buzzsaw]

MDR1000X. Good aren't they?

[Leicester Loyal]

Just looking at some QC 35 II after taking a couple of flights in the past week and finding them awfully uncomfortable. Also the headphones would be used at work in order to help me get some sleep on occasions.