Bose NC700 Review (Noise Cancelling Headphone)

[KEFCarver]

This is why I use Koss when I am literally on the road, and Bose when I am figuratively on the road. I.e., cycling or walking versus riding an airplane, train, etc.

Another thing to note, I find the USB-C port on NC700 to be the most important advantage over QC35ii. Much more robust and it fits in either orientation.

Since you brought up the usb-c port, I will share my long story related to it. I bought the NC700's for $299 on Amazon when they had a special on them a few months ago, and purchased the Asurion insurance as well. My wife & I had to drive to Denver as she was staying there for a few months- I flew back a few days later. I brought the NC700's with me, and they were kept in their protective case and then inside my laptop case. When I finally took them out to start listening to them at the Denver Airport, I noticed the the usb-c port looked like it at been pushed in and there was a small crack around the plastic in that area I am the only one who uses them and have no idea how this happened, but came up with 2 possibilities: 1) The day before we left I had them out on the small table I charge them on and my wife or her friend somehow knocked them off it and so the headset could have fallen about 3' onto our tiled floor, landing on the USB-c port with the cable plugged in or 2) The laptop with the headset was rammed into by our car's electric seat when it was my turn to drive and I had to scoot the seat back (I think this was more likely). So, when I get home from Denver I went to charge the NC700's and my charger (it has both and ammeter and voltmeter display) indicates that it is shorting out. I file a claim with Asurion, and in a day a two they email me return shipping label and have me send them the headset. They did not want it shipped using the case since that is an accessory..? I am thinking that they will not be able to repair the headset economically, & about a week later they told me that was indeed the case and they would be issuing me an Amazon gift card for my purchase price of $299 (no tax refund). The giftcard was posted to my Amazon acct about an after that. I went to order a replacement headset and they are now priced at $389. I call Amazon to complain that I should have been able to have gotten a replacement headset from Asurion, since they are still being made, or at least credit me the $90 difference when I purchase the replacement... Amazon sends me out a replacement headset the same day at no charge, and I got to keep the $299 giftcard. Sometimes I really love Amazon!

 

[MasterMech]

Looking for peoples suggestions, should I go with the QuietComfort 35 II or the NC700's?

 

[KEFCarver]

My 2cents worth is that the sound of the QC 35II is a bit better than the NC700, but the NC700 still sounds good (IMHO) and it's outside noise reduction is better- amazon runs the NC700 on sale every now and then.

 

[MasterMech]

My 2cents worth is that the sound of the QC 35II is a bit better than the NC700, but the NC700 still sounds good (IMHO) and it's outside noise reduction is better- amazon runs the NC700 on sale every now and then.

Appreciate the input, won't be using the noise cancelling so that is not an issue for me.

I am in the UK so can pick up the QC35 II for $235 which is much cheaper than the NC700.

 

[KEFCarver]

As I mentioned, 85% of my wearing them is when running. I wore them yesterday for a few hours while cleaning my carpet as that machine is loud and they help and I can listen to a podcast or music.. good luck!

 

[JJB70]

Appreciate the input, won't be using the noise cancelling so that is not an issue for me.

I am in the UK so can pick up the QC35 II for $235 which is much cheaper than the NC700.

Are you sure either is the right choice if you won't be using noise cancelling? If you don't want noise cancelling there are lots of good options for less, and the thing that sells both of these models to many is the superb ANC

 

[MasterMech]

Are you sure either is the right choice if you won't be using noise cancelling? If you don't want noise cancelling there are lots of good options for less, and the thing that sells both of these models to many is the superb ANC

Not seeing anything Amir has tested in the wireless category that rates as highly as the QC35 II, I also need the battery to last at least 15 hours.

 

[JJB70]

Not seeing anything Amir has tested in the wireless category that rates as highly as the QC35 II, I also need the battery to last at least 15 hours.

Battery life of 15 hours is not very high these days, especially with ANC switched off most wireless over ear models on sale will get past 15 hours. If you limit yourself to what has been tested here you are seriously limiting your options, especially for wireless headphones.

 

[KEFCarver]

Battery life of 15 hours is not very high these days, especially with ANC switched off most wireless over ear models on sale will get past 15 hours. If you limit yourself to what has been tested here you are seriously limiting your options, especially for wireless headphones.

When Full the NC700's say they have like 17 or 18hrs- each time you turn them on a voice tells you how much battery is left in hours.

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

Until it breaks or stops sliding smoothly (if it ever did, I’ve had several 700 coming out of the box with loose or uneven sliding action), or the parts knock against each others when you walk because of how the cup is angled relative to the arm because of your anatomy (microphonics) .
It also undermines the internal packaging and compromised the acoustic design.
I find that a pretty terrible solution in search of a problem to solve compared to Bose traditional yoke design before.

I am now also the owner of the 700.
The ANC is great.
The sound is good.
Likewise the wearing comfort.
But the mentioned construction flaw is annoying I got these headphones very cheaply, and the ANC and wearing comfort are most important to me, I will keep them.
However, I will do a little tinkering and try to fix this clacking ...

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

Wts Bose 700 Upgrade Kit:

5 Cent + shipping

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

Simple, cheap and effective.

Take an earplug and cut it in half.
Then put it in and you're done.

 

[Paweł L]

Got well used NC 700 (earpads are slowly falling apart) from my neighbour for figuring out what's wrong with her MacBook. Pretty terrible headphones comparing to something like HD 6** series. I guess ones pays for the name and silicone chips inside. Maybe they're OK for 'running' around the house, commuting, but not as a serious hi-fi headphone. I also have BT version of ATH-M50X, unfortunately they also need EQ to sound decent, no noise cancelation, a bit heavier than NC700 but they fold nicely for transport and battery life is 2× of the Bose.

 

[MayaTlab]

Got well used NC 700 (earpads are slowly falling apart)

If possible try them with newer pads as well, they may impact the sound. That said they still sound quite awful to me, even with brand new pads.

 

[IAtaman]

On a somewhat related topic, is ANC tuned to the headphone? If I break one of these, stole their ANC circuitry and connect it to another set of cans, would it work?

 

[MayaTlab]

On a somewhat related topic, is ANC tuned to the headphone? If I break one of these, stole their ANC circuitry and connect it to another set of cans, would it work?

The same ANC chip (whether separate or integrated in the SoC) can be used in different headphones (ex : Qualcomm in a lot of models, Sony in some Harman headphones), but it probably needs to be specifically tuned to each model given the different hardware designs and noise reduction goals.
I don't think that you can separate the "ANC components" from the N700 and put them in another pair of headphones, most aspects of the ear cups' design are probably taken into consideration when tuning the system (ie the "ANC components" are the entire thing, considered as a system). If only looking at the microphone arrays used for ANC, there already are a myriad of variables at play.

Here's a teardown of the N700 BTW : https://www.52audio.com/archives/31642.html