Review: Bose QuietComfort 35 Noise Cancelling Headphones

I’ll be honest, this is the first pair of noise cancelling headphones I have every bought, so I don’t have much to compare these to.  I have thought about buying some for a while, but never had an extra $300 to spend, and this wasn’t somewhere where I wanted to be cheap.  But recently I got some money back from a home refinance, and my work cubicle was moved close to a fountain that buzzes in my ears all day.  My coworkers constantly babble on about video games and I don’t want to hear that either.

So I did what I always do and headed to Amazon. I know that from the perspective of an audiophile, liking Bose makes me a poser, but for us normal humans, we know that Bose headphones, though expensive, will consistently be of high quality and will rarely disappoint. I have had a pair of wired Bose in-ear headphones for 10 years and I still wear them all the time.  I also have a pair of crazy-expensive, fitted “in-ear monitors” made by Ultimate Ears that are amazing, but I only use them for when I am performing (I play the drums).

I first heard of the QuietComfort series in A.J. Jacobs book “Drop Dead Healthy” where he uses

Comes in silver too.

them to cancel out noise pollution, and he really seemed to like them.  I settled on the Bose QuietComfort 35 Headphones.  This link is to the Series II; I bought the Series I.  The only real difference is the Series II has a “Google Assistant” button, which I am sure some people would like, but I would never use.

First impression was that these were the most comfortable over-ear headphones I have ever worn, leaving me questioning myself, “Why did I wait this long to buy noise cancelling headphones?” They do a fantastic job cancelling out constant noises, like the aforementioned fountain, or a loud A/C.  Other noises like people talking or your phone ringing come through but are definitely muffled.  One of the things I love about the QuietComfort 35 is it has a physical switch to turn it on and off.  You can turn on the noise cancelling without connecting to a Bluetooth audio device if you just want pure silence, and I do this often.

After wearing them for an hour or so, my ears tend to get a little hot, but that happens to me with any over-ear headphones. It comes with a high quality case and an airplane adapter (not included in the Series II, so I hear), which is nice.  It charges with an included micro USB cable and can also be connected to an audio source with an included stereo cable, which I think is a great touch.  Not everything has bluetooth (yet).

Pros:

• Noise cancelling works well
• The little things make the difference: physical switch, high quality case, and wired option.
• Comfortable

Cons:

• Makes my ears hot.
• People can sneak up on me.

Overall: I am very happy I bought these, and though they were expensive, they were worth it.

Purchase on Amazon here.