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I've always thought that QC15 sounded great (wired), and based on reviews, QC35 looks to be on par if not better... but is there really a noticeable difference over bluetooth? I just can't imagine Bose charging 50 dollars extra for a cordless bluetooth wireless headset that doesn't sound as good as their wired...
The QC35 has the same sound signature as the QC25 even over Bluetooth. They both differ from the QC15 - the 25/35 both are a bit more bass oriented and the 15 is a bit more mids oriented - especially upper mids.
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There won't be an upgraded version of the QC35s unless it is via firmware, but you can still use an adaptor to get BT5. For me it just shows poor timing from Bose but it also makes me even happier that I went with the QC25 and external BT option. I will upgrade my BT adaptor in due course.
Which adapter are you using? I bought a bTunes and it's pretty good except for how big it is.
 
I have a Sony Smart Handset. Bose has one with Aptx but you need to connect it to a power bank. Mine has a clip on it. The Bose has excellent reliability.
 
Thanks to the poor timing of Bose, I actually have convinced myself to wait for what comes next after QC35 that has Bluetooth 5.0. Not sure how QC25 would have the same sound signature as QC35 given the comments about how bluetooth is "compressing" music currently that makes it sound not as good as if were uncompressed.
 
With all due respect...
You are the EXACT "happy" customer they love most... an uninformed one.
As you say: you "only use Bose"; so you don't know any better. Now, the truth of the headphone industry, sadly is that- 90% of us have only ever heard very, very, very crappy headphones (what came with our Walkman, what came with our iPod, etc.), so when you hear a custom engineered headphone for the 1st time (and for most, yes... it was a Bose), of course you are stunned- you think: "I had no idea music could sound this good!" & assume that, because it's so much better than the garbage sound that you've heard before- it must be the best. "What was the price?" "Oh, well I guess that's what good sound costs." & that's the end of it..... but, to ANY who have scratched the surface a teeny bit more- they have universally recognized that there are sooooooooo many better choices, that owning Bose is a bit of an embarrassment, as generally speaking- you can get double the sound quality for half the price. Granted- I am a bit of an audiophile (spend as much time on the forums at Head-Fi.org as I do here, etc.), but I can assure you that even to a completely untrained ear- any real headphone in the $350 dollar range would be SO far beyond these toys, it's not even funny.
I am NOT wanting to downplay your opinion though....
I truly believe that "you catch more bees with honey than vinegar" & honestly, I'd love to see you get an ugly old classic set of Grados, or that new bluetooth Urbanite headset by Sennheiser, or some nice in-ears by Etymotic or Shure..... & treat your ears to the WONDROUS audiophonic joy that your mediocre Bose have been robbing them of.
In the end- if you do not.... yes, your Bose are still miles better than most will ever bother experiencing & will "do fine", but (trust me!) if you DO heed my advice & try something else, you'll see that it is yet another equal leap in quality, like going from your Apple earbuds to your Bose... I promise! =)


Who makes Audiophile wireless, noise cancelling headphones for $175.
Define "twice as good." I've never seen noise cancellation better than Bose in any commercial product. Show me twice as good for half as much.
Twice the frequency range? A cat my appreciate reproductions in the 40k range, but I can't hear that.

Are Bose products perfect? No. I can find much better sound but without noise cancelation and with wires for only slightly more, but that doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?

And "No highs no lows it must be Bose?" Really? The recording engineers I hang out with say the opposite: Bose builds a "V" into their EQ and its no mids, all highs and lows.

I actually picked up a QC35, and they work quite well with constant noise. If you are listening to MP3s and complaining about sound quality, you aren't terribly well informed.
 
Thanks to the poor timing of Bose, I actually have convinced myself to wait for what comes next after QC35 that has Bluetooth 5.0. Not sure how QC25 would have the same sound signature as QC35 given the comments about how bluetooth is "compressing" music currently that makes it sound not as good as if were uncompressed.

That's silly. It will be quite a long time before BT 5.0 is available on Bose or other devices. Sound signature and quality are two different things.
 
What do you mean by there is a difference between sound signature and quality? The way I see it is this...

Each release of headphone should be better then the previous. Wired headphones are known to have the best possible audio quality.

QC15 is perfect. QC25 is better. QC35 is the first wireless (that apparently sounds the same as QC25?)
However, due to what Im reading about limitations to bluetooth 4.0, it looks like the audio quality should sound worse because of the fact that its going over wireless instead of hardwired.
 
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QC15 is perfect. QC25 is better. QC35 is the first wireless (that apparently sounds the same as QC25?)
However, due to what Im reading about limitations to bluetooth 4.0, it looks like the audio quality should sound worse because of the fact that its going over wireless instead of hardwired.

Actually, I expect the QC35 to sound the same as the Soundlink headphones, which are Bose's Bluetooth headphones without noise cancelling. The Soundlinks are also Bluetooth 4. I am very satisfied with my Soundlink headphone, but I don't know how they would sound to you. If there's a Bose store near you, you can try the headphones, and see what they sound like. Or you can find a audio / electronics store that have Bose headphones to try. But I think most regular consumers would find Bose headphones sound quite satisfactory. The Soundlinks, IMO sound as good as Bose's wired headphones. If you didn't like Bose wired headphones, you probably wouldn't like their Bluetooth either, but if you did like the sound of Bose wired, then you'll get the same sound from their Bluetooth headphones.

As for why not wait for Bluetooth 5, I think if rumors of iPhone without headphone jack is correct, and other Android makers already starting to release jackless phones, if Bose waited any longer, they'll be left behind. They are already late to offer Bluetooth earbuds -- most other major headset/earphone makers already offer Bluetooth earphones. I've been tempted many times in the last year to give up and get a Bluetooth earphone from another maker. Only reason I waited is I can't find any other ear tips as comfortable as Bose.
 
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Well, I only use Bose. To me, they sound & look good. Great Highs, Great Lows. That is important to me. And isn't that everything? Happy customers?
You must be tone-deaf. The sound quality of my QC15 leaves much to be desired. The noise cancellation on the other hand is absolutely perfect.
 
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What do you mean by there is a difference between sound signature and quality? The way I see it is this...

Each release of headphone should be better then the previous. Wired headphones are known to have the best possible audio quality.

QC15 is perfect. QC25 is better. QC35 is the first wireless (that apparently sounds the same as QC25?)
However, due to what Im reading about limitations to bluetooth 4.0, it looks like the audio quality should sound worse because of the fact that its going over wireless instead of hardwired.
you will wait a while then :D Like, few years.
I am not sure that someone (i am including myself in this) listening to MP3s in a noisy environment with a Bose headset should be too worried about sound quality over BT. As I said, I have a BT headset and cannot hear the difference if I use the wire
 
Who makes Audiophile wireless, noise cancelling headphones for $175.
Define "twice as good." I've never seen noise cancellation better than Bose in any commercial product. Show me twice as good for half as much.
Twice the frequency range? A cat my appreciate reproductions in the 40k range, but I can't hear that.

Are Bose products perfect? No. I can find much better sound but without noise cancelation and with wires for only slightly more, but that doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?

And "No highs no lows it must be Bose?" Really? The recording engineers I hang out with say the opposite: Bose builds a "V" into their EQ and its no mids, all highs and lows.

I actually picked up a QC35, and they work quite well with constant noise. If you are listening to MP3s and complaining about sound quality, you aren't terribly well informed.

If wireless (inherently lower quality sound) & ANC (the best are admittedly, on Bose) are your ONLY concerns; placed far beyond actual "stellar sound", then yes- Bose is right for you, in that niche.
If you are looking for a set of headphones that are "twice as good" (in this instance meaning: SOUND twice as good), for half the price- I'd say, the Grado SR225 absolutely 100% sound twice as good as a $350 pair of Bose; and are around $175. They have wires though.... to send that sweet, sweet, oh-so-dreamy sound through, so I guess you wouldn't be interested. =/

Also... while everyone certainly may have specific cases that require specific products.
You can probably stow the "recording engineers you hang out with" anecdotes, lol. That type of incredulous story does NOT make your point seem stronger; to the contrary... drumming up sources that can't be confirmed smacks more of desperation & is a bit sad.
 
I find Bluetooth on my Bose Soundlink Mini II sounds better than wired. There is a lot more to sound quality than connections.

My Sony Minidisc player had better sound than CD despite compression. Its components were just better, especially its A/D converters.
 
Had a chance today to stop by the Bose store and give the QC35s a go. Connected to my iPhone 6 running Apple Music. Found them to sound better than the SoundLink over-ear from last year and just a bit better than the QC25s. However the noise cancellation was not so good. There was noise in the store that I could hear with music playing. Really! I asked the sales guy that maybe the demo headphones were broke. He said no. I will defer until the wireless in-ear noise cancellation headphones QC30s are released in September.
 
Noise cancellation is not for dynamic sounds such as people trying to talk to you. It's for background noise such as washing machines, air conditioning, aeroplane engines, rerfigerators, and road noise. You will be surprised at how much noise cancellation your brain does on its own when you take off some QCs.
 
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If wireless (inherently lower quality sound) & ANC (the best are admittedly, on Bose) are your ONLY concerns; placed far beyond actual "stellar sound", then yes- Bose is right for you, in that niche.
If you are looking for a set of headphones that are "twice as good" (in this instance meaning: SOUND twice as good), for half the price- I'd say, the Grado SR225 absolutely 100% sound twice as good as a $350 pair of Bose; and are around $175. They have wires though.... to send that sweet, sweet, oh-so-dreamy sound through, so I guess you wouldn't be interested. =/

Also... while everyone certainly may have specific cases that require specific products.
You can probably stow the "recording engineers you hang out with" anecdotes, lol. That type of incredulous story does NOT make your point seem stronger; to the contrary... drumming up sources that can't be confirmed smacks more of desperation & is a bit sad.


Well, in point of fact I DO have friend that are audio engineers, though only one of them has worked on anything you are likely to have heard - to be fair. I've spent a fair bit of time in and around bands (though again, not ones you are likely to have heard of - we never got famous).

To the point of "twice as good" - again, by what metric? How do you MEASURE twice as good?
http://www.cnet.com/news/can-sound-quality-be-measured/

All you can offer is "I like mine better, so its twice as good. I will dismiss this other stuff and blame it on your tinny ears and low expectations (because insulting your standards make me look refined - the wine snob debate method)."

Sound quality is subjective. Period. Full stop.
If I like ridiculously over-pumped bass, then that sounds better to me. If I like crisp highs, then that sounds better to me. If I like incredibly flat EQ and a distinct pop 33 1/3 times a minute, then that sounds good to me.

The goal is not and never was to make it sound "just like when they recorded it." If it was, why reverb, for example. (and if that is your ONLY concern, the only answer is to see a concert whenever you want to listen to music, so practical applications are a problem for everyone.)

Now I have many things I like to do with headphones, including using them in noisy environments, so noise cancellation was a checkbox. I also found that I kept snagging on the wires of my previous headphones, so I wanted wireless. I must have odd shaped inner ears because I can't keep buds in, so over ears became a point. I wanted good sound quality (not absolute perfect sound, and not as flat as studio monitors). In this regard, the QC35 are outstanding. If I were looking to master an album, the Bose QC35 (along with most other headphones that were designed as studio monitors) would be a poor choice.

I listen to music from my phone, mostly - so 256K mp3s are pretty common. If I had that super duper Neil Young media player listening to lossless files, sound reproduction would matter more. If I listened in a really quiet room while doing nothing else, I might not worry about wireless noise cancelling cans. Even then, I am NOT one of my audio engineer friends and I can't tell the wood a guitar is made of by the sound it makes. I can, however, hear all kinds of nuances in these headphones and enjoy them.

If you are listening to a compressed MP3 while in a noisy environment (kids, inside the car, mowing the lawn, working out at the gym), then bragging about the absolute fidelity of your headphones is like bragging how fast your school bus is on a mud track because you have a pro driver. One great component does not make a great system.
 
Took delivery this afternoon and doing some testing.

The Noise Cancelling is much better than the Momentum 2.0 .... As I expected

Pleasantly surprised that they do not feel any heavier than the QC25's ... Feel nice an comfortable.

Paired with an iPhone 6s (iOS 10 Beta 1) man they can get loud! Although I doubt I would need to run them very loud with the ANC this good.

Listening to some songs that I like the production subtitles of (might not actually like the songs! But a good measure of detail)

The Soundstage is very good.

Need to to do more testing, but so far very impressed.

Any others suffering from drop outs?

I have been suffering some audio dropouts, thought it might be iOS 10 Beta 1, but I went back to the Momentum 2.0 via the same iPhone to see there was any drop outs ... Nope

Now trying an external sennheiser Bluetooth Transmitter via the iPhone with the QC 35 ... No drop outs so far

Bose seem to have just released a firmware update ... Was just prompted to install it, no idea wha the update changes.

Yes they have a coloured sound signature .... Not a bad thing ... They are not flat eq, but did not expect them to be.

So far I like the colour signature.... But early days
 
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How did you get prompted for the update? Was it the Bose Connect app on your iPhone?
[doublepost=1466202618][/doublepost]Oh, and with the iPhone 6 Plus, I have no drop outs. None. I don't have dropouts with any of the Bose Bluetooth - AE2w, Soundlink On Ear, QC35 or SoundSport Wireless In ear.
 
How did you get prompted for the update? Was it the Bose Connect app on your iPhone?
[doublepost=1466202618][/doublepost]Oh, and with the iPhone 6 Plus, I have no drop outs. None. I don't have dropouts with any of the Bose Bluetooth - AE2w, Soundlink On Ear, QC35 or SoundSport Wireless In ear.

How about with macOS? Sound link II constantly skipped on my MBP
 
How did you get prompted for the update? Was it the Bose Connect app on your iPhone?
[doublepost=1466202618][/doublepost]Oh, and with the iPhone 6 Plus, I have no drop outs. None. I don't have dropouts with any of the Bose Bluetooth - AE2w, Soundlink On Ear, QC35 or SoundSport Wireless

Thanks for the info re dropouts

Regarding the update.... I used the "Bose Connect" app on my phone, in there it prompted me that there was an update available and walked me through it.
 
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How about with macOS? Sound link II constantly skipped on my MBP
So, this morning my QC35 automatically connected to my iMac 2011. I have been listening now for several songs without any skipping or disconnects. Should I have experienced the problem by now or is it infrequent?
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Thanks for the info re dropouts

Regarding the update.... I used the "Bose Connect" app on my phone, in there it prompted me that there was an update available and walked me through it.

I still haven't seen a notice of new firmware and the Bose Connect app shows me the firmware version is 1.0.0 - what number is your firmware?
[doublepost=1466344519][/doublepost]Never mind- I used the Bose Updater program and web page on my iMac to update to 1.0.5 and the Soundsport Wireless also had an update available.
 
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My QC25s were six months old. I took them to the Bose store and the rep gave me $300 credit toward the QC35s. I was out the door for $50 plus tax. I'm now told this upgrade is only available for QC25s purchased after Feb 1, but it doesn't hurt to ask or try different sales reps.
 
bubsdaddy - when I had mine (Soundlink II) it happened quite frequently on my MBP late-2011. So I guess you're good to go.
 
I used to be the biggest Bose fanboy ever, being a longterm QC15 & AE2 user over the last few years who frequently travels I truly loved them from the start. But what I've come to notice how cheaply Bose tends to manufacture these products, almost Beats-like, it becomes apparent through the sound quality and build quality overall.

I've been able to replace the cushions on the headphones on multiple occasions, and their customer service has been pleasant in my experience within Germany. However, no matter how much I take care of them they can't seem to last and deteriorate at a drastic rate. Even the case that came with the QC15's colouring is coming off, which just screams cheap cheap cheap.

They've really been able to make their cheap plastic headphones come off as premium devices in the public eye, props to them, I used to believe that too.

I've been eyeing the B&O BeoPlay H7's for awhile now, hopefully they'll be a step up in sound quality and overall build quality. Another selling factor for me is that the batteries are interchangeable, meaning I'll never need to lay them down to charge if I get two batteries.

I made similar experiences with my Bose headphones. Especially the ear cushions waste away with the years. This time I purchased the replacement cushions from Amazon that are a bit thinner buttock equally well for a much lower price.
 
I made similar experiences with my Bose headphones. Especially the ear cushions waste away with the years. This time I purchased the replacement cushions from Amazon that are a bit thinner buttock equally well for a much lower price.

The only Bose ear cushions I have had to replace are the QC3 cushions. Just my opinion, but I think it is worth noting that they are replaceable. Many headphones have cushions that are not. And, you are right. There are many third party cushions at much lower prices with varying degrees of quality. Bluecell is a decent third party brand.

Also, when you purchase replacement parts from Bose, the shipping is free.
 
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