Cheapest for the Version ii.
Silver Color here :
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Bose-QC35-II-Quiet-Comfort-Noise-…
Don't forget cashrewards 1.25%
https://www.cashrewards.com.au/ebay-australia
Original 20% ebay deal
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/330875
Wished they'd also added in USB C instead of sticking with micro USB… Maybe we'll have to wait till QC35 iii comes out for those other features.
For me it's the inferior controls. A one button does all solution is pretty frustrating.
Then again, Bose headphones are selling like hotcakes so I doubt they'd need to actually improve much.
I thought they are only selling well when on discount. Not sure if they are selling like hot cakes at RRP.
Seeing alot more Bose than beats on heads on Melbourne trams now but then again it's usually the older crowd
This to me is the biggest disappointment. I was waiting on the Q35 2 for 5.0 so they would be futureproof for a while at least and for me the google assistant button is nothing more than a gimmick. There really is not reason for a premium wireless headphone released in 2017 not to have it as a feature, guess it is just cost cutting. There is also zero info on their spec sheets about what standard they use which to me is really sneaky.
I thought that new button is for NC on/off toggle. So disappointed it isn't.
You can remap it to do that instead of Google Assistant.
Guys, I know you are experts in headphones. I have significant hearing loss at low frequencies and often need to use high sound volumes to listen to music etc. Would you think this kind of expensive headphones make my listening experience any better?
Sounds like any noise-cancelling headphones like these would probably help, since the audio doesn't have to compete with the volume of your environment.
Hey buddy. It probably will as it blocks out most of the external sounds, which means you probably will be using lower volumes to achieve the same experience as before. This is better for your ear health in the long run. I brought a NC headphone for similar reason (tinnitus).
Now for the general experiences side, no wires=freedom, noise cancellation=every place is a good place for music. I say it does make your experience better
I bet residents who live near nightclubs would love to have your kind of hearing! I know sometimes I would when neighbours play music while I'm trying to sleep.
Can confirm on that one….One night I told ex: did you just hear that noise? She said: oh well, there has been a party next door all night!
I haven't got a pair, but perhaps Nuheara IQbuds might be a good fit for your circumstance?
if you have significant hearing loss at low frequencies, then you wont need noise cancelling because you're not hearing most back ground noise in the first place, unless you have very good high frequency hearing (rare but possible).
You do need a pair of headphone which is loud enough for you to hear music properly. However, you might find at higher volume it tends to be too tiny.
Yeah, my problems are really low frequencies.. For high frequency, even for face-to-face conversation with one person, I am ok. Group conversations or classroom kind of discussion is a major problem because it creates background humming noise and I can't follow most things.
Active Noise Cancelling removes external noise through a feedback loop, and therefore most effective cancelling consistent noise like the hum on airplanes. However if you’ve lost sensitivity to lower frequencies I doubt noise cancelling would make a difference. If you’re not sure you can go to a job hi fi and try it out before coughing up the cash.
Great idea.. thanks.. didn't know you could try them on
Sorry to be late to the party but I’ve been travelling. If you go to a Bose Store you can test earphones and if you buy you have a 30 day return. Period if you aren’t excited by them. Just confirm when you purchase.
I was excited about these but the tech-lover inside me is disappointed that there are no improvements apart from the Assistant button, so now I'm not sure.
Same. I read the original post about the QC35 II's which were supposed to have extra battery life and better ANC. But looking at the product specs, I guess the only difference is really the Google Assistant button.
I think the assistant button will be awesome. Will be keen see user reviews on how good the microphone is. Rather than pull out your phone you can descretely say "play x song, x playlist" which is pretty handy. You could also do "send a whatsapp to my wife, I'm on my way home". You all should try it on your phones. It works!
Yah that small addition does not justify the II tag at the end of its name. That implies a whole lot of improvement.
I think a small change is exactly what the II implies. If there was a big difference, such as an upgrade to BT 5.0 then it would be the QC45 or similar name.
What about for a medium amount of change? Something less than QC45, but more than one new button.
I was under the impression these were being released at the same price as the regular QC35, not 20% more.
Ah, they were released at the same price (https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/www.cnet.com/google-amp/news…).
I'm just so used to seeing them on OzB that I thought $400 was the standard retail.
I'll have to wait till VideoPro brings them down to 350 like they did a few times for the QC35s.
Spotted a minor difference apart from the additional Action button.
The QC35 I was 8.3oz (235g), and the QC35 II are 10.9oz (309g).
Not a big difference but roughly 30% heavier, not sure how that might impact comfort as my current headphones are comfortable at 9.4oz (266g).
Why they so much more heavy?
A button doesn’t weigh that much.
Huh weird. Heard somewhere else that it got lighter not heavier.
Sure is a heavy button!
Is there any other noise cancelling set of headphones/earbuds out there that can noise reduce to the same degree that these can or even more? I'm not looking for something which sounds brilliant, just something with great noise reduction.
I've got a pair of Samsung u pro anc, and their noise cancellation isn't as good as my aldi 40 dollar anc over earphones… It's partly design, most overear cans naturally perform some cancellation without any extra electronics. Gonna say my aldi wired ones charge from micro usb, and sound reasonable with the anc turned on, not great with it off.
MDR1000X
I have bought the first generation recently and when I heard about the second generation I looked at the settings and turned on google assistant over Bluetooth headphone. Now when I long press the play button and say call x it initiates a call and I don't have to say ok google every time. I still have a low volume issue though when google assistant is replying back to me. I hope they might fix it in future software releases. Based on the above experience how different is the second generation google assistant feature? Is it just a dedicated button to avoid the long press on the play button?
EDIT: I have fixed the problem with low volume. Have to stop playing music and then long press to activate google assistant and then increase the volume level. Now everything seems to be fine. :D
Yeah it appears that the headphones (like a lot of bluetooth devices) tracks different volumes for normal media vs "calls" or user input stuff.
But I agree, I see no reason for this upgrade to have happened.
I can't think of any song that will give me happiness after handing over $399 to Bose.
When you can’t hear the plane engine when you travel and that’s all I need it
I bought the original QC35s just for this reason. I get to test them out on SQ's A350 in a few weeks time!
Flying is literally the only thing I use my QC35s for. Sound quality is too mediocre to bother with at any other time.
I have two of these: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/316681 . Does a very decent job. One charges while the other one sings :)
Battery life on those is way too short for long-haul flights unless you're using a Huawei phone that simultaneously charges though the audio jack. Or if you want to hook it up to a battery pack and forgo audio for a while. Still not a bad deal at the time; I got one too.
@theguyrules: I read that but it still will be problematic for long-haul flights. I get 2 hours battery life out of mine, which means lots and lots of swapping if you're flying to Europe or the US.
Or when you drown out those loud and obnoxious first years in the library that you know will drop out or transfer to art in the next 6months
I've used these for hours every day for the last year and love them. They cost me just over $300 after TRS and other deals, and I couldn't be happier.
Sound quality is subjective anyway.
"If you're not a Google user, don't worry. You can use the Action button to adjust your level of noise cancellation between three settings." - seems like a nifty feature to me that is missing from the older version. There was a firmware update to control ANC for the older version but had to use the app.
Yes agreed, the ability to turn the ANC off is a good feature via a button (especially when using them around the house). Having to do this via the app is a PITA because every time you turn the headphones off it reverts to the default state.
Just wondering, never had these cans before and am planning to get this or the MDR1000X.
Is there any other way of adjusting the ANC other than using the app if I use Google Assistant?
I'm guessing the button will have one function or the other - Google Assistant or adjust ANC
Has the software issues been fixed on the mobile application???? i've never installed and upgraded the firmware….
I don't see the point of having Google Assistant. I mean, some of the places you would use this is at work, on the train, at library, or any public place. Can you imagine just yelling out "OK GOOGLE"
The point of having a dedicated Google Assistant button is to directly invoke it by pressing it instead of saying 'ok google'.
To be honest, I think shouting out "Ok Google, how does my day look tomorrow?" out in public would look less weird than just randomly shouting "How does my day look tomorrow?" after pressing your new button… but maybe that's just me.
When you are listening to music, the person next to you can say ok google and it could interfere with your headphone. I think this is the reason of having a button to initiate it instead of voice.
I'm beginning to think this (both QC35's) is the most overhyped product in OzBargain history.
Use them on one flight and you'll find the hype is real.
I only use my QC35 when flying and the gym; ANC is great but the sound quality is far too mediocre to use them at other times.
That's just how Bose products are. Buy them for ANC only. The audio is disappointing for the price. My Xiaomi Pistons for $5 sound better than QC20 which are $400.
Can't you just use a bluetooth button mapper to make the existing play/pause button launch assistant on long press? I'm pretty sure that would be possible.
I'm considering getting the Sony WH-1000MX2 (new version) over the QC35. It's got much longer battery life, it's cheaper than the old MDR-1000X and it's got a ton of features
I'm waiting for a sale on that one myself.
I'm only scared about the headband issues not being fixed from the prev generation.
The whole point of the new gen was to fix what was wrong with the old gen.
It's not like they weren't aware of the problem.
Just keep an eye out to see if they fixed the build quality issues. They have some really cool new features too.
1000MX2 head band still cracks. It's on YouTube.
First of all nice find!
I understand the Bose QC35's are great noise cancelling headphones, but after listening in store (1st series) I was underwhelmed by the sound quality.
But I figured I wasn't really going to be using them for the noise cancelling so I opted for the B&W P7 Wireless instead.
Much more precise sound! At times I have found myself smiling because the sound quality is that good!
Had them delivered for $430 from the UK (free delivery):
https://theidleman.com/bowers-wilkins-p7-wireless-headphones…
Signed up to their mailing list and got a discount (10% from memory)
My only complaint about the headphones is after a few hours use they aren't as comfortable because the headband doesn't have as much cushion.
Thought I'd share as the above headphones retail for up to $600 here.
That's precisely what makes the QC35 stand out. Headphones clamp to your head, for long periods. So comfort has to be in the top 3 considerations unless you like getting headaches or external earaches. The QC35 does ANC, sound and comfort very well. If you had to score any ANC headphones for each 3 attributes out of 10, the QC35 gets the most score. ANC 9, sound 8, comfort 9. The Sony MDR1000X I'd go ANC 9, sound 8.5, comfort 7.5. Subjective but that's my take. Funny I prefer QC35 sound to Sony's but I only scored Sony more on technicality as many report it has more fidelity. But between the two the Bose sounds more inspiring and pleasing to my ears.
Subjective but that's my take.
You're right about that. I didn't find the QC35 comfortable at all. They got warm after 5 minutes of listening. The 1000X fit like a glove. However, I didn't test either of them for hours on end. I suspect for me, the 1000X is more comfortable long term if I couldn't take more than 5 minutes of the Qc35.
Specs got released today and the only addition is the google assistant, pretty sad they didn't include Bluetooth 5.0 or any other features.. Better off just waiting for a clearance sale on the Mark I.