Bose QC35 (Series I) Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones
$184.99
$349.95
47% off
Reference Price
Condition: Refurbished; Open Box
Color: Black
Top positive review
8 people found this helpful
The state of the art
By Joe Tairei on Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2016
The Bose QC 35 headphones are a tour de force in headphone technology. They incorporate Bluetooth wireless, microphones, noise cancellation, comfortable cushioning and over-the-ear isolation, and on top of all that, they talk to you! When you turn the device on, it reports its battery state and what devices are currently active. You can pair it with numerous devices but it will only play audio from one device at a time. It has some kind of built-in logic to allow your phone to interrupt another device. For example, if you are listening to music on your laptop which is paired to the phones, they will switch to your phone if a call is coming in. (You can ignore a call by pressing and holding the "Multi-function" button on the headset, situated between the up- and down-volume buttons. To turn on the headset, slide the power button to the central position. To put the headset into Bluetooth pairing mode, push the power button all the way to the right (it will spring back). The headset will then report to which devices it is currently connected. I've already brought the QC35 on a couple of plane trips, and it has performed quite well, muting the dull roar of the engines down to almost complete silence. It's the only way to really enjoy a video or music on a flight without jacking up the volume to harmful levels in your ears. Now that the FAA has relaxed the electronics-off rules, you can leave this device turned on the entire flight, from take-off to landing. Phone calls work well with the QC35; just put them on and pair once with your phone, and you are good to go. Once your call is under way, you can put your phone back in your pocket where it belongs, and talk wirelessly. It's also handy for playing games quietly on your phone or tablet. I enjoy watching Youtube or streaming movies in bed at night and this headset is comfortable for lying on a pillow, not true of all headphones. Bose provides a free mobile app for both Android and Apple devices that lets you set some preferences on the headset, such as turning off the talking feature and enabling/disabling some paired devices. It's handy if you wish for example to force the headset to ignore a device such as a laptop that's emitting audio and make it instead work only with your phone. When a paired device emits audio, the Bose QC35 automatically makes it the active device on the list, which you usually want, but not always. Back when I was working in a noisy office, I found noise canceling headphones very helpful for blocking out the world so I could concentrate. Working from home, with a noisy family in the background, I find them equally useful. They are so good that you literally might not hear someone addressing you until they tap you on the shoulder. You might not hear the microwave beeping that it's done. A phone call might be missed, unless your headset is connected to the phone. You might not hear the doorbell. The battery seems to last a very long time; I haven't done a drainage test but they are rated 20 hours and I have yet to get them down below 60%. They charge up quickly on a typical micro-USB charger and you can take them on a pretty long plane ride and not worry about needing to recharge. Your phone will die a lot sooner than these headphones. They will work without battery charge, by the way, if you use the included cable, though of course you don't get the noise cancellation. Note by the way that the battery is not user-serviceable. In other words, you can't change the battery, which distinguishes this model from the previous Bose QC 25 headset; that model runs on one AAA alkaline battery that lasts 35 hours, then requires replacement. It's a tradeoff that some may find unacceptable if they need the noise cancellation for long hours out in the field. If you routinely fly New York to Australia, for example, you're possibly going to prefer the QC25 to the QC35 because you can easily carry a few spare AAA's. On the other hand, you can also get an external phone charger battery that will top off your QC35 and still have enough juice to recharge your phone and other peripherals on a long flight. The kit comes with a stereo cable to connect directly to a phone or other audio source. I have yet to use it. Bluetooth is ubiquitous today and if you have an audio device that lacks Bluetooth capability, you can add it by purchasing an inexpensive Bluetooth transmitter for around $20 and plugging it into the audio device's stereo headphone jack. I'm planning to get one for the digital piano in the living room, to get away from having a wire dragging off my head while practicing late at night. Bose doesn't really have a monopoly anymore on sound cancellation; good noice cancelling headsets are made by many other top manufacturers such as Sony, Sennheiser, Bohm, AKG, and a host of Chinese knockoffs that range from OK-ish to very good, often for a fraction of the price. But Bose is still the state of the art in high end noise cancellation.
Top critical review
157 people found this helpful
Disappointing Customer Service. I've included a workaround for broken Bluetooth Pairing Feature.
By Kindle Customer on Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2017
After experiencing a problem with these headphones, I contacted Bose Customer service. While I like the product overall, the customer service that one gets for what I consider a major purchase is left wanting. After my contact with Customer Support, I was asked to complete a survey (not that it could actually be submitted - see below). The information I put into their comments section should answer any questions: --------------------------------- 1. Representatives should first listen to what has been attempted by the caller. I understand that there is likely a guide/flowchart for resolution, but having to explain to the representative "Nope, I can't do that due to the issue I've been attempting to explain" is frustrating (Rep: "Slide the switch towards the bluetooth symbol for 10 seconds". Me: "I've told you that doesn't work, but I'm doing it." Rep: "Now you should be hearing the confirmation." Me: "Nope." Rep: "Just slide the switch to the bluetooth setting for 10 seconds." Me: "I am and I have." Rep: "You should be hearing the confirmation." Me: "Nope. Because it's not working. That's why I called." Rep: "Are you sliding the correct switch <explains switch location>?" Me: "Yes." Rep: "Are you holding it for 10 seconds?" Me: "Yes." Rep: "It sounds like there may be a problem with the switch on the headphones. Please hold while I attempt to find a way to resolve this problem." 2. Representatives/Bose Support should not utilize and even use as a troubleshooting referral/tool the Community Support area on the Bose website if they are going to discredit the information given in that site. When I indicated that the bluetooth switch not working on some models of the QC 35, citing the Bose website, I was told "No, that issue does not exist for these headphones." If one reads the community support that Bose encourages users to utilize it is clear that this is a problem. If Bose Support does not think the information on the Community Support site is valid, then don't refer customers to it. 3. After paying over $350 for a luxury product, I think it was inappropriate to then ask for me, the customer who was supplied with a defective item, to then be required to give my credit card information and pay for shipping. When this happened, I actually double checked that I had contacted the correct Bose support phone number as I thought I had perhaps stumbled into a scam. 4. I was told by the representative the amount that I would be charged for shipping. When the first email was received, I was actually charged more. So not only was I required to give my credit card number, and get charged for shipping a defective product, I was not even given the correct charge. Did I stumble into a scam after all? 5. The support emails that were sent had dead image links (making it look even more like a scam) and were in two parts. The information about the "Return #" was not mentioned during the call and was not mentioned in the first email until the very end. That information should have been clear and at the beginning of the email. The second email, the one that actually had the shipping label, did not mention at all that a Return number was needed. It simply had instructions for attaching the shipping label. In short, don't split shipping instructions across two emails, make sure that relevant information is presented first, and fix your image links. 6. The emails that were sent have also indicated that I am required to now insure the headphones being returned for their $350 value. This is yet another charge to insure a product that no longer even works properly. Your returns policy is not fair and is misleading. 7. The survey asks if I would refer family or friends and simply gives a 1-10 Likert scale for likely/unlikely. I want to make clear that, based upon this experience, I will actively discourage others from buying a Bose product until the problems outlined above have been addressed. I also intend to publish this information at the site where the purchase was made. ------------------------------------ To add insult to injury, after taking the time to complete the survey, the Bose website experienced a "Runtime" error due to a configuration problem that actually presents a security risk (the customErrors tag does not appear to have been turned off, and configuration information is presented - a "no no"). Attempts to try and resubmit simply result in the same error. Their survey tool is broken. To be clear, the Bose Community Support site has multiple posts seeming to indicate that the latest Firmware update breaks the functionality of the bluetooth pairing feature. One can still use the Bose Connection app to delete devices and connect, but 1) only on IOS and Android devices (not Windows, Linux, etc.) 2) can only connect to one device at a time, deleting the previously paired device and adding the new one [the headphones are advertised as being able to connect to more than one device], and 3) the bluetooth pairing feature on the headphones themselves remains broken. I will be attempting to return the headphones today. Customer support indicated that after the headphones are received, it can take 10 days to verify the receipt, several more days to process, and then another week or two for shipping the replacement. Approximately 3-6 weeks from the sound of it. I carefully took pictures to show how I shipped the item back, including the RMA on 3 surfaces of the outside of the box as well as another copy inside the plastic bag that contain the headphones. And, of course, the shipping label for which I had to pay. I'll try to update how long it takes and if any further difficulties are experienced.
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