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For those who have tried both: does the Soundsport Wireless hold its own in terms of audio quality compared to the QC35? The QC35 is a bit out of my price range.
Yes they do. I can't tell the difference in audio quality between the two except for the noise cancellation aspect of the QC35's blocking out the outside noise which gives a more private listening experience.
 
I got the SoundSport Wireless and boy am I glad I did. The sound quality blows the earpods out of the water (and I'm guessing the AirPods too).

It literally took 5 seconds to pair with my iPhone and MBP, and switching between the devices is completely seamless.
 
Edit: I see OP has already made his decision.


I’ve got both the QC35s and AirPods.

IMO, the Bose are actually better at maintaining a connection and staying connected.

My AirPods will either randomly drop after an extended period of time, or won’t seemlessly sync when out of the case. I’ll often have to put one AirPod back into the case, close it, then try again to get them both working.

Also after using them with my Mac, if I then switch to my iPhone later on (with a break in between where they’ve gone back into the charging case and my Mac is off or out of range), I’ll have to select the AirPods from control centre to actually use them.

Maybe my pair is faulty, but yeah. The simple old school Bluetooth connection on the QC35s have worked better for me so far.
 
Yea I could wear them on London - San Fran flights without issue. Well towards the end of the flights they are getting a bit on the on comfy side but thats a 10.5hr flight :O

As I said, AirPods want to fall out all the time, its a tad annoying.

After a long update of a few cross country plane trips - I'll admit I was wrong. QC35 are more comfortable than the Sonys. The sonys make my ears too hot. Initially they feel more comfortable, but the extended usage is annoying.

Very non discernible difference in NC although slight edge to Sony probably. Sony's def sound better for music though.
 
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