Was thinking of buying a pair of these.
Does anybody own them? I’ve always been really sceptical of wireless headphones from a sound quality perspective, but I’m told these headphones have to heard to be believed.
Don’t want to fork out £330 if they are naff!
Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Bluetooth Noise Cancelling Headphones
I got a pair for Christmas and have been very happy with them. Mainly use them for watching stuff on the ipad in bed, but the sound quality is pretty good (bear in mind that they are noise cancelling so you will loose something from that perspective). In terms of sound quality over wireless, I had a pair of older wired Bose noise cancelling and these are just as good – also they do come with a wire so you can ditch the wireless.
They are very very comfortable and it’s also great that you can sync with multiple sources with two being active – they switch seamlessly between the active connections depending on which you use.
Not wireless or noise cancelling, but I recently took a punt on these:
https://trinity-audio-engineering.myshopify.com/products/trinity-hyperion
Pretty good for £35. A cut above Sennheiser CX et al. A tiny bit bassy for my liking, but that seems to be the way of cans towards the bottom end of the market.
Plenty good enough for me to wear while I stand and watch my boy do football training, which must be the longest hour of the week.
Bose QC are very good but you’re paying for the brand too.
I’ve recently invested 80 sovs in a pair of BNX-60s, noise-cancelling, wireless, and at least 90% of the performance of the Bose kit. I can do a direct comparison because my mate sitting next to me in the office has some, and I am happily over 200 quid less poor than he is as a result.
www.whathifi.com/lindy/bnx-60/review
Wish I had £330 to blow on a set of headphones…
Well, at least afterwards you’d have a whole new set of headphones. Over on The Beatles thread some folk are chomping at the bit to blow a wad on stuff they’ve already bought several times. And some marbles.
Same applies. Some people just have too much money, and I’m not one of them.
At least if someone spent 350 quid on a pair of bluetooth headphones, they’d most likely get a decent bit of use out of them over a period of time.
Spending a few hundred quid on a “special edition” boxset version of an album that you already have and then only playing it all the way through once or maybe twice, with lavish books and stuff you only peruse once or twice before it becomes just an expensive ornament, is definitely the mark of having too much money.
Why has it even got to be a thing? I’ve got a lot more money than some and a hell of a lot less than many. I’ll spend what I do have how I bloody well choose. Not sure why anyone has to justify their luxuries.
(And no I don’t have a pair of £350 headphones but neither is it any of my business if the next bloke does.)
All right then, I might as well admit it.
I’ve got a dishwasher.
You decadent BASTARD.
When I were a lad fatha would cut us in half wi’ t’breadknife etc
Did you get yours from Singapore? We did.
Charming little fellow, lives on fresh air it seems.
Bit racist. 🙁
You mistook my tone. Try reading out my post in a Robert Morley-type voice.
Not if anyone’s listening, mind.
I’m going to read out all your posts in a Robert Morley-type voice from now on.
Oh, good show!
jk, dude, fell for it!
You bounder sah!
(and I’m stuck with this bally voice now, dontcha know!)
Posting this for educational purposes.
In a magnificent bit of cross-thread pollination, in Theatre of Blood RM was killed with a pie made from his own dogs. If Adele had been on the soundtrack, Rob would bring the entire Afterword together tonight.
Touchy, aren’t we…
Got the wired version and they are great esp. for flights when you can also just wear them with no music playing. One other thing to note is that they work (sans noise cancellation) even when the battery has died.
Not to muddy the waters but I was very lucky to receive a pair of Sony MDR-1000X Headphones at Christmas. And I’ve been blown away by them, wonderful sound (the best I’ve heard) very comfortable and the noise canceling is brilliant.
I work in a very noisy factory and it blocks out 95% of machine noise and has a couple of modes where it will let you hear voices and more general noise. It also will measure with a press of a button your individual situation, head size and shape and whether you wear glasses and adjust the sound, and it makes a difference because the sound does improve a lot.
It has touch controls on the right earphone, tap for play/pause swipe forward to skip and back to repeat, swipe up and down for volume. They do take a little bit of getting used to but you soon get the hang of them.
Downsides? They only connect to one source at a time but that isn’t a major problem and the price £330- £360 is a lot but I think they are worth every penny.
A few reviews: http://www.trustedreviews.com/sony-mdr-1000x-review
http://www.whathifi.com/sony/mdr-1000x/review
http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/138674-sony-mdr-1000x-review-quite-simply-phenomenal-noise-cancelling-headphones
https://www.macrumors.com/review/sony-mdr-1000x-headphones/
I’ve had the 35’s for about 8 months and I have to admit its a bit “how did I ever manage with wires?”
I originally bought the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 to replace my beloved Senhheiser 565’s which were giving up the ghost after around 30 years. The 2.0’s just didn’t have it (whatever it was) so I swapped them for the 35s and paid the extra. I’ve never regretted it.
Pluses – sound great, you’ll love the lack of wires, larger than expected ear cups for Bose headphones (one of the reasons I’ve avoided them in the past), easy pairing, firmware updates over the air. Charges last a long time and they auto-shut off to save battery if you forget.
Minuses – not everyone can live with the noise cancelling effect apparently. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest, but you can’t turn it off and operate them wirelessly. Will work with a cord regardless of the power situation.
Buy from Amazon so you can return them if you don’t like them
“Darling, can I spend £330 of our money on some headphones?”
“Yes, the day after your penis has doubled in size”
I’m just one freak dose of gamma radiation away from audio heaven!
I recommend Plantronic Back Beat Pros. They are ace and you should be able to pick up a pair for a third of the price of the Bose.
Google the reviews – they win many a group test.
Another shout out for the QC35s. Sound quality is excellent, obviously – What HiFi says that other cans have better sound quality, but I doubt the difference would be apparent to civilian ears. They’re really comfortable, too – your ears get a little sweaty in 30 deg + heat, but I imagine that’s a problem with all of them. I feel fortunate that I was able to afford them and that I no longer have to waste money on fripperies like children.
Off to Blighty next month – putting them through their paces is one of the few things I’m looking forward to about the flight.
Thanks all – now I’m really confused – haha!
I looked at the B&W P7s – somebody in the office has a pair, but I found them uncomfortable on my ears. Probably more to do with my ears than the design, but I want some that are really comfortable. I have some Sennheiser HD 598s, and in truth I’m happy with the sound and they are super-comfy, but they leak noise something stupid. I actually feel sorry for anybody sat next to me on a plane! Plus, they have this really long cable, that doesn’t detach.
To add to your confusion…
Do you really need wireless? The Blutooth receiver will consume battery power and only the latest couple of versions of BT are CD quality. If you’re playing Flac or Apple lossless these things might matter, and if you’re not the already compressed audio will be compressed again by older BT systems.
Do you really need noise cancellation? Again, it cosumes battery power with variable results.
Headphones with batteries in them will be heavier than those without.
On-ear headphones will be less comfortable than over-ear headphones (which are bigger so usually cost more) and make a less good seal.
The Trinity Hyperions I mention above fit in your ear canal and make a tight seal. They’re comfortable, light, reject a lot of external noise, require no batteries and only cost 35 quid. Other similar types are available.
None of the things you raise as possible problems are actually problems, at least for me. Battery life is as good as I need it to be – Bose says 20 hours, and that seems pretty accurate. They tell you how much battery time is left every time you switch them on, anyway, and they don’t lose charge when switched off. Battery is built in, and recharging is quick. Weight is certainly not a problem – I wear them on my walks, and mowing the lawn, if that helps. Only slight issue, as I mentioned above, is sweaty ears in the summer, and I would think all over-ears have the same problem. Bluetooth is v.4.1, which is ok for CD quality, as I understand it. Noise cancellation is brilliant, although haven’t tested them on a plane yet. To be honest, not having platinum eardrums, my critical vocabulary is limited to stuff like ‘They sound sensational’, which they do.
I’m never going back to on-ears, I tell you that.
Do you mean “in-ears”? The Bose are on-ears, if that’s a thing. Confused.
In-ears are sometims called IEMs (In-Ear Monitors) and create an airtight seal in your ear-canal. Light and comfortable, no sweaty ears. E.g. the Sennheiser CX 300 or the Hyperions in the link above.
On-ears sit on your ears, don’t make a great seal, and are often uncomfortable after long use. I find my ears get uncomfortabe. E.g. Sennhesier HD25, popular with DJs.
Over-ears sit around your ears, make a good seal to your head, are more comfortable but are bigger (and so heavier) and can make your ears warm, especially if they are closed-back. E.g. Sennheiser HD598
Do you need wireless? You haven’t lived until your headphone lead has wrapped itself around a flywheel of a MBO Folder nearly throttling me or caught on the chain of a Muller Stitcher dragging me across a factory floor.
That’s why I went wireless!
I now sit on my arse for a living and am more likely to get the lead tangled up with that of the USB mouse.
I recently bought some new cans which are over-ears, closed-back, wired, magnetoplanar and a frankly eye-watering price*. They do sound bloody fantastic, though.
(*) I’ve barely had a drink for 5 years, so I’ve invested the cash I’ve saved in other treats. The FPO took some persuading, but even she admits they look lovely.
I haven’t had a drink since my wedding day in 1988 (it’s not good for me or others) and Ì spend the savings on Music, Film, Equipment. That’s my excuse anyway.
I used a similar logic to buy the family* a new streaming preamp. I didn’t employ a painter, did the decorating myself, and so saved thousands.
My car’s close to the knacker’s yard, but where’s the fun in replacing that?
(*) If they can get past me to it.
NEWSFLASH: I was just in Staples, now renamed Office Supplies. They are getting rid of old Staples lines – this includes Beats headphones. These are something I wouldn’t normally buy as they are bit hipster for me, but picked up two pairs of these for my kids:
at £48 each. Also these noise cancelling phones:
at £120 – they were retailing at £320 in Staples before Xmas.
There’s more: Office Supplies are currently doing 15% discount on buys over £50.
So I got the wired ones at pretty much £40 and the wireless noise cancellation ones at 50p more than £100. Hurry though, not sure there will be many left: I got the last three ‘phones in my local shop.
There’s a Staples round the corner from my office – think I’ll go take a look!
I live nearby – I’ll Take You There
Staples… I’ll Take You There… nowt?!
…and some fell on stony ground.
I chuckled, so not completely stony…
Cheers Mike – I’m not usually this needy 😉
just got to this @MC-escher
v. good.
similarly if you’re ready, come go with me
I forgot to mention – I popped round to Saples. They only had the Beats headphones with cable, but I did pick up one of those Beats Pill portable speakers for my son. Should have been £150, and I managed to get it for £50 – so thanks for the heads-up BigJimBob!