Bose Acoustimass System 5 Series Ii

TechRadar Verdict

The Bose QC35 Two shows why the company is so popular amongst travelers with class-leading noise cancellation and counterbalanced sound. They may non be the most detailed or exciting-sounding headphones but they will sound great to most listeners. The add-on of Google Assistant is a overnice addition just non a must-have.

Pros

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Class-leading noise cancellation
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Balanced, but soft sound quality
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Incredibly comfy

Cons

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No motorcar play/intermission
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No instant mute
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Plastic build, plainly blueprint

The Bose QuietComfort 35 Two was a great pair of wireless noise-cancelling headphones for its fourth dimension - and remain one of the all-time noise-cancelling headphones out there, despite beingness usurped by the newer Bose Dissonance Cancelling Headphones 700 and Bose QuietComfort 45.

While information technology'due south now a few years old, the QuietComfort 35 2 offer both wireless operation and active noise counterfoil also as built-in support for Google Assistant.

With Google Assistant onboard, you can simply press and hold a button to collaborate with Google without yelling, "OK Google." The headphones volition likewise read back notifications to you and then you lot don't take to dig in your pocket or purse for your smartphone.

Overall, we feel the QC35 2 NC remain a solid recommendation for travelers and commuters.

Design

The Bose QC35 II NC look exactly similar the previous generation headphone salve for the new Google Assistant button located on the left earcup. The headphones come up in black or silver and its blueprint is ... well, stiflingly generic. This makes them perfect for pocket-sized business course travelers, but less perfect for those who similar their headphones to brand an impression.

As well disappointing is its plastic build, which is nice for saving weight just feels extremely cheap peculiarly compared to luxury headphones like the Chief & Dynamic MW50, which bathes your head with lambskin leather and aluminum.

Thankfully, the plastic build doesn't bear on the headphone's ability to take penalty as it feels very solid. The headphones besides come with a hard case for traveling, which is nicer than the pouches that many headphone makers opt to include.

The plastic build does help the QC35 II NC in terms of condolement and nosotros were impressed by just how comfortable the headphone was to utilise for extended periods. Although plastic doesn't feel as prissy as metallic, it does wonders in weight savings which travelers volition love on long flights.

The pads Bose use in the QC35 2 NC are amazing, every bit they block out a ton of ambient noise fifty-fifty when noise cancellation is switched off. This is dandy if you want to preserve battery and listen with racket cancellation off.

Similarly, controls on the headphone are unproblematic and effective: You have a ability and pairing slider on the right earcup too as buttons for book up/downward and playback. The left earcup houses just i button for Google Assistant, though you can remap the push to toggle noise cancellation levels using Bose's Android or iOS app.

Features

Bose QC35 II specs

Class factor: Over-ear
Weight: x.9 oz
Battery life: 20 60 minutes(s)
Bluetooth Version: Bluetooth 4.i

Google Assistant is the Bose QC35 II NC'southward headline feature and it works well for the near part. Throughout our testing, we were impressed by the speed and accuracy of Google Assistant and how well the headphones were able to selection up our voice even on a crowded train and coffee store.

Before you power on the headphone for the commencement time, you're prompted to download the Bose app for your phone as the headphone will require using the app for many features like toggling noise counterfoil, remapping the Google Assistant button, updating firmware and more than.

The app is elementary and worked well though we suffered some connectivity bug from time to time on Android where the app wouldn't detect our headphones. Restarting the app would fix this then hopefully Bose will proceed working on its mobile app to be more stable.

Using Google Assistant with the Bose QC35 Two NC works just similar it would on Google Home. Y'all tin ask it to read headlines, add reminders, or myriad other questions. The Assistant volition also read you your notifications as they come in, which is nice but may be redundant if you have a smartwatch already.

In curt, the addition of Google Assistant is nice to have merely is past no means the reason yous should buy the Bose QC35 II NC: buy this headphone for its excellent racket cancellation, balanced sound, and incredible condolement.

Where Bose fall short is elementary things like automatically pausing your music when you lot take off the headphones. There's also no instant-mute feature similar on the Sony WH-1000XM2 where you tin put your palm over an earcup to hear what's going on effectually you. This characteristic is a godsend to travelers who demand the power to hear the airport PA quickly. It's disappointing Bose doesn't include these features when the budget Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 has both.

Performance

Bose's forte is active noise cancellation and it shows with the QC35 II NC. Switching on noise cancellation is similar walking into a quiet room after being on a busy city street. The headphone does an excellent job of drowning out everything from the rumble of a train, cars driving by and even voices.

There's still some pressure nosotros felt with noise cancellation turned on but it wasn't bad. (All the same, those sensitive to noise cancellation pressure may non like them.) The headphones do an excellent job of blocking out ambience noise even with noise cancellation turned off, which is a testament to Bose's earpad pattern.

In terms of sound, the Bose QC35 Two NC is good, but not course leading. While tonal residue is relatively neutral with a slight mid-bass bump, the sound is somewhat soft when compared to competitors similar the Sony WH-1000X M2 (previously the Sony MDR-1000X). This means dynamic range is a scrap limited and makes for a somewhat dull presentation. Resolution is good but non bully and sound stage is nigh average.

Most listeners will find the sound quality of the Bose great if taken in isolation. Audiophiles will want to go with the Sony WH-1000XM3 or Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 2 instead.

Battery life is rated at an excellent 20 hours with noise cancellation turned on and listening at moderate volumes. We establish this rating to exist spot on and you won't have to worry about charging these headphones in the heart of a flight. Yet, the battery is not removable like the B&O Beoplay H9 so bring a microUSB charging cable and a battery pack just in case.

If you want to save some battery life, yous can mind in wired way with dissonance counterfoil still on, which is a nice option to take. It'south abrasive that Bose chose to use a ii.5mm to three.5mm cable - which means finding a replacement won't be as easy - just it's non a bargain billow by any means.

Verdict

Bose took the already-excellent QC35 and updated with Google Assistant. The headphone is identical in every way save for the new Google Banana button. This means you still get the course-leading racket cancellation Bose is known for, adept sound quality, and incredible comfort.

The Google Assistant works well on either Android or iOS and provides a similar experience to using a Google Home. The headphones will also read back your notifications, which may be redundant for smartwatch users. Google Assistant is squeamish to have merely is past no means the reason you should buy this headphone.

Taken every bit a whole, the Bose QC35 2 NC is an excellent headphone for travelers and commuters. Bose has establish a good residue of features that will satisfy most mainstream listeners. Audiophiles notwithstanding, volition want to cheque out our roundup of the best headphones for the very highest sound quality.

Don't miss our round-up of the best dissonance-canceling headphones

Lewis Leong is a freelance writer for TechRadar. He has an unhealthy obsession with headphones and can place cars simply past listening to their exhaust notes.