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Bose QuietComfort 35 II Review (Noise Cancelling Headphone)

m_g_s_g

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From my experience, depending on the frequency range of the noise and the change of the signal amplitude amplitude of the signal change it goes from completely blocking it to radically lower its level. I use my qc35ii all the time in transatlantic flights, and can easily sleep with them (but not on them :)). With or without music/podcasts.

There was a very interesting conversation about what frequency bands this kind of ANC headphones block and what algorithms do they use in the Sony ANC XM3 headphones review.

EDIT: It was the XM4 thread, and the post that I was referring to was this one.
 
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amirm

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And regarding you not being able to find differences with ABX, it does not discount some people may be able to. Personally I can't either, but I'm not gonna try to dispute the results of an ABX done multiple times with multiple participants.
What? On purpose I showed you a failing ABX test. I have passed a ton of ABX tests including the second one I showed you that vast number of people would fail easily.

From Jason's words in the interview, it seems they did take blind testing seriously, though I obviously cannot say whether they for sure did it properly without actually knowing exactly how much they tested and how they tested.
I can assure you they didn't do as I explained or they would say, "I got 10 out of 10 right."
 

Thomas savage

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The panther rating is my sum total *judgement* of a headphone. It is based on measurement, listening tests, and equalization of the same. For you to think this is stupid means you don't believe in any of these factors. That, would be stupid. :)
With all the tools we have we can trust headphones reviews to separate bad from good and give us a standard.

Its up to the individual in the end of the day to take responsibility for their possible physical diffences that might compromise the precise nature of these frequency plots and conclusions, I dont see how that undermines what headphone measurements offer .

Surely one compliments the other , once we have a measured known and standard to achieve that we can go about measuring our own sensitivity and adjust to suit, there's already software that dose that .

This is great work , I hope we end up with proper standards the Industry both music and audio equipment can respect .

Nobody should shoot amirm or anyone else for sticking a flag in the sand and wanting better.
 

posvibes

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everyone's hearing is different so we cannot compare.

I am just thinking out loud here, but it would seem to me that everyone's hearing is different, but not so different that an entire industry would risk mass producing products on the basis of individual hearing capabilities? Can you imagine the commercial disaster that would entail from manufacturing product on that basis?

The Harman Curve as I understand it is a way of reducing that risk and to assist in the design and manufacture of product that for majority of people is the preferred sound regardless of age, sex and consumer type (audiophile and novice listener).

If the Harman Curve can be determined as successful from not only a commercial standpoint but also the best sonic solution in regards to sound fidelity that is a win-win for all concerned from the naive consumer to the golden eared audiophile.

I think it was @solderdude that said EQ makes all headphones sound similar but not the same and that has been my experience although there are some headphones that cannot be rescued by EQ and the Sony 7506's for instance IMVHO is one of them.

Parametric equalization has been a revelation and a god send for me, thanks to ASR.

If everyone's hearing is markedly different then that is a nail in the coffin of the concept of the "audiophile" right there, because there cannot be a standard of agreed upon fidelity if preference and opinion are the only guide. You need the numbers because otherewise your opinion is just the same as any other schmuck out there. Considering BOSE and their customers have been judged as schmucks by audiophiles for decades, it is not without irony that they may have been enjoying high fidelity products such as these headphones while the rest of us have been listening to noise.

I bought my wife QC25's years ago as she travels quite a bit and I thought they sounded very nice I may have to borrow them and try some EQ and see how they sound.
 

Harmonie

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Just wondering, would anybody buy Bose cans for SQ and listening to music in a quiet environment at home at all ?
I'm sure that there are many other alternatives for above purpose.

I use the QC25 only in the plane (sometimes in the train).
They are not comfortable.
The NC gives me a kind of claustrophobia and a kind of vacuum feeling

But in an air plane, the noise option is much worse and having the best NC phones on my head make my trips a pleasant journey + some ambient music of my choice.

So I love my Bose, but for different reasons.
 

simbloke

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I've had these for just over a year. I find them very comfortable and they sound fine to me. I chose them over the Sony because these have buttons and the Sony has touch controls that I really don't like.

I bought them because of the noise at work but unfortunately they don't seem very good at cancelling out voices. In fact because there is less background noise voices can send worse. This point is mute now since I have been working at home for 11 months.
 

mt196

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The panther rating is my sum total *judgement* of a headphone. It is based on measurement, listening tests, and equalization of the same. For you to think this is stupid means you don't believe in any of these factors. That, would be stupid. :)
I don't believe it because it seems rather biased by measurements, I never saw a damn thing that measured differently than the holy Harman that you enjoyed, so it seems to me that you look at graphs, then you put your judgment later (and since we always talked about biases here, you must convey that this also is a rather big bias). In addition, a headphone may follow that frequency response, but it may have a ton of other problems, like the way it actually reproduces that frequency IN TIME (so bass speed, technicalities, and so on), or do you just think that you can EQ every 100$ can to sound like HD800s or similar?
 

vkvedam

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Very interesting, audiophiles bash Bose left, right and centre in general but this proves otherwise. Never bothered auditioning these because of general bad press about Bose. I shall have a listen!
 

Koeitje

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Very interesting, audiophiles bash Bose left, right and centre in general but this proves otherwise. Never bothered auditioning these because of general bad press about Bose. I shall have a listen!
I think the general consensus is that their speakers are pretty shit, but their noise canceling headphones pretty good. This review confirms people weren't crazy.
 

Objectivist01

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Bose uses Genelec for their mixing and audio engineering. I would not be surprise if they've got some really competent engineers testing these headphones. Their speakers are rubbish though
Their computer speakers sound decent until their clipping point kicks in. Like some other guy mentioned here I am scared to talk about bose amoung audiophiles. They would trash me if I say bose is good. But honestly I think for that footprint they take on my desk there is nothing better. I only compared the companion 20 against a audioengone a2. The companion sounds more full range and fatigue free compared to the a2
 

nxnje

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If that is true, that we are all "very different" when it comes to perception, then you sharing yours is of zero value to us. It is a random data point according to you so can't be used for any purpose. So best not post it over and over again.

On my side, I have compared countless headphone measurements to listening tests and importantly, corrections of what is shown in measurements. I have built up quite a bit of confidence in value of measurements in predicting a) preference and b) what would make the sound of a headphone more correct and preferred. If you don't agree with this, then don't read or comment on these reviews. They are not for people who believe in randomness of everyone's perception.
I'm not saying I believe in randomness, but I also am a human just like you and can have a different opinion.
We keep misunderstanding in this thread and it's understandable when speaking about headphones.

In any case, many might say sharing a personal opinion has zero value, but everyone has its opinion so everyone's opinion has zero value.
Just because I do not have any instrument to measure the frequency response of a pair of cans does not mean I cannot express my thoughts on a product. This is a forum where we all share, so why couldn't I share my opinion and my thoughts about the product and the review?

I was polite and kind and I don't get why people get so mad just because of a personal opinion, moreover considering we partecipate in forum discussions to share.

Plus, just a thing: I don't believe in randomness, but I believe everyone has its own perception of frequencies.
What sounds "too bassy" for me, can be ok for you.
That's not about randomness, that's just about habitudes and perception, at least from my point of view.

I watch and read you on youtube and here, and although there are times where I agree with some of your impressions, there are times that I don't, and that does not mean I am bad and you're good and viceversa. Just different point of view.
People are different, fortunately, and that's why we're here.
 

beeface

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I've owned a pair of these for a couple of years.

When taking intended use into account and assessing the product holistically, I reckon it's a near-perfect product.
This isn't to say they do everything perfectly, but because every aspect of the product (sound quality, battery life, user experience, noise cancelling, build quality, comfort, etc.) is, in my approximation, somewhere between good to excellent, the net result is a near-perfect product.

Where I live, the QC35 is almost ubiquitous among business people commuting into the city. I have no doubt that its popularity in the mainstream and the fact that it's a Bose product means that it is dismissed instantly by a lot of audiophiles. Hopefully this review causes people to open their minds a little.
 

nxnje

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I think there may be a bit of a misunderstanding happening. This is a science based forum (at least in intent), so when anyone states their personal opinion, they may get more push back than they would on, say for example, Head-Fi or SBAF. Perhaps as you spend more time here that will become more obvious and intuitive.

Welcome to the forum, BTW. :)
Every opinion regarding a pair of headphones still needs to have a personal view, it's impossible to be completely unbiased.
Anyway, I wasn't trying to bash someone, was only sharing my opinion, just that.
Anyway, thanks for your welcome, my first messages were on the L30 topic so didn't have the chance to get used to forum's behaviour and need some more time to adapt.
 

nxnje

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I am just thinking out loud here, but it would seem to me that everyone's hearing is different, but not so different that an entire industry would risk mass producing products on the basis of individual hearing capabilities? Can you imagine the commercial disaster that would entail from manufacturing product on that basis?

The Harman Curve as I understand it is a way of reducing that risk and to assist in the design and manufacture of product that for majority of people is the preferred sound regardless of age, sex and consumer type (audiophile and novice listener).

If the Harman Curve can be determined as successful from not only a commercial standpoint but also the best sonic solution in regards to sound fidelity that is a win-win for all concerned from the naive consumer to the golden eared audiophile.

I think it was @solderdude that said EQ makes all headphones sound similar but not the same and that has been my experience although there are some headphones that cannot be rescued by EQ and the Sony 7506's for instance IMVHO is one of them.

Parametric equalization has been a revelation and a god send for me, thanks to ASR.

If everyone's hearing is markedly different then that is a nail in the coffin of the concept of the "audiophile" right there, because there cannot be a standard of agreed upon fidelity if preference and opinion are the only guide. You need the numbers because otherewise your opinion is just the same as any other schmuck out there. Considering BOSE and their customers have been judged as schmucks by audiophiles for decades, it is not without irony that they may have been enjoying high fidelity products such as these headphones while the rest of us have been listening to noise.

I bought my wife QC25's years ago as she travels quite a bit and I thought they sounded very nice I may have to borrow them and try some EQ and see how they sound.
I understood your position and totally agree with you.
I was just saying that the Harman Target (which I like a lot too) has been the standard and benchmark for a long time now.
I see many times some reviews that spend bad words on products that are not Harman tuned but have very high technical capabilities, and good words on products that are harman tuned but also have everything else that's wonky.
I am one of the many that likes reading measurements and graph but I also am the type of guy that likes to watch things from a bigger perspective understanding that Harman target can be for many people but not strictly for everyone, so what goes different from harman isn't necessarily bad-tuned.
I don't know if my position is clear now but I hope so.

(+, I am one of the many that think EQ does miracles many times, but I also am one of the many that think EQing two different headphones in order to reach the same type of signature won't make them sound identical.. still, many people think EQing is everything and I will never understand why aren't they trying with their own ears).
 

restorer-john

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Just measured my pair at different levels. They definitely have volume dependent tone control.

Built in "loudness" bass compensation. LF Boost will likely go up even more at even lower volume settings.
 
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amirm

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I don't believe it because it seems rather biased by measurements, I never saw a damn thing that measured differently than the holy Harman that you enjoyed, so it seems to me that you look at graphs, then you put your judgment later (and since we always talked about biases here, you must convey that this also is a rather big bias).
Measurements are a proper bias. It allows me to not randomly guess at the performance of a headphone. I confirm the validity of measurement by modifying the response to see if it gets better or not.

In sharp contrast, you or someone else saying you don't like the sound of a headphone means nothing. You have no express qualification to make such judgements, nor did you do it in any kind of bias controlled. And at any rate, lack the experience of me doing this (matching measurements and subjective listening) day in, day out.

And no, measurements don't predict my final judgement for either speakers or headphones. I must be satisfied with listening tests.

Bottom line, I don't agree in the least with your comment that measurements are a negative bias. They are a powerful tool to guide you in what to listen for, and train your hearing more and more with each test.
 

infinitesymphony

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The loudness compensation is clever, and it makes me wonder if any of the other manufacturers are doing that as well.

Any chance we could have frequency sweeps at different output levels for future DSP headphones?
 
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