This is the review of the comparison between the Bose QuietComfort 35 II and the Sony WH-1000XM3. Both of these headphones are of popular brands. In this case, the decision of choosing which one to buy becomes difficult. To know which one is good for you to buy, go to the detailed review.

Bose QuietComfort 35 II	Sony WH-1000XM3
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Adds a dedicated button for Google Assistant. Works in wired mode with the included cord. Class-leading noise cancellation. Highly immersive experience.	Extraordinary noise canceling. Pillowy comfort. Generous battery life (30 hours). Sony has fixed most Mark 2 frustrations. Lots of personalization options via the app.
CONS	CONS
The battery isn’t replaceable. No autoplay/pause. Google Assistant doesn’t work well with iOS devices.	Irritating blinking LED status light on left ear cup. A premium price Google Assistant isn’t very useful. App can cause some confusion in mode selected. Mediocre call quality. No on-ear sensor

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

A Bose product is not a product for an audio enthusiast, it’s a product for a consumer who wants convenience and as a product that offers consumer convenience and comfort, it is a top tier. The Bose QuietComfort 35 II is currently retailing for around two hundred and thirty-four dollars.

Sony WH-1000XM3

Sony is a popular brand in the worldwide market. In terms of active noise-cancellation, sony performs really great. These headphones also have a stylish look. These are currently retailing for three hundred and fifty dollars currently.

DESIGN:

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

There’s two and a half millimeter port right there on this headphone and you can plug it straight into a computer DAC or Amp. Though they don’t need the power of an amp at all because they’re extremely efficient. The switch on the side is great because we can get to know when it’s on and off. The tactile buttons on the sides are also really good. They’re extremely intuitive and I really like the controls on this. They changed it for the Bose 700 but I like it as it is in this.

Sony WH-1000XM3

These headphones come in the case. The case is actually nice to carry around these headphones as these are foldable and convenient enough. The controls are over here is a touch-sensitive area and if you just swipe up it increases the volume up, if you swipe down it decreases the volume down, if you go towards the left it will actually go to the previous track, if you swipe right it will go to the next track, and you can also double-tap to pause or play the tracks. So, I found it actually really convenient and this worked perfectly for me. In fact, I feel this is much better than the physical buttons that we find on many other Bluetooth headphones.

COMFORT:

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

This is a very ergonomic headphone and actually one of the most comfortable ones. This doesn’t have a suspension strap on top and that is because it is extremely light. The top is well padded, the ear pads are well padded, and they’re actually deep enough cups which is great. In some areas, I do feel like the plastic of the build does contribute to that because they have to make it light. Somehow, I feel like the leather is actually held up pretty well. These headphones are a bit more plasticky and they haven’t broken.

There is also some metal in the construction. I believe on the sides, the headphone tends to get a lot colder, when it is cold outside. They do fold easily which is great for travel and you can get them to fold flat and fit in a reasonably small case. Comfort-wise the only complaint I’ve ever had is they do get warm on my ears but that’s with any closed-back headphone. While the top is well padded, I do sometimes get a hotspot right there on top after a number of hours but that’s only usually during a long listening session. 

Sony WH-1000XM3

As these are over-ear headphones and you will be wearing it for long periods of time, so comfort is actually really important. I’m happy to say that actually they are very comfortable to wear even for long hours. It almost covers your entire ear over there inside the earcup, so I would say after some time I felt that the ears tend to get a little bit warm but that was the same case even with the Bose. In terms of comfort, it is very comfortable but I would say the Bose QC 35 II is better than this in terms of comfort.

FEATURES:

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

Then the biggest thing that this headphone brings on the table is its convenience. You don’t buy a Bose product for sound quality, you buy a Bose product for convenience. You buy their headphones because they’re convenient, they don’t take any power. Plug it into your phone as a microphone, for active noise-canceling with the Bluetooth and it will be great and easy to go.

The Bluetooth does pair very easily. I can just flip these on and flip on Bluetooth on my phone, and it connects instantly. The same thing with the computer, Mac, or PC, iOS, Android also connect very quickly and easily. Bluetooth quality is slightly degraded over wired, as it’s pretty much with any Bluetooth headphones.

Bluetooth still doesn’t sound that good. The thing about this headphone is that it’s not quite detailed enough for you to notice a big difference between Bluetooth and wired. The benefit of running them wired is, if I am editing video or gaming or anything like that, there is a delay on Bluetooth. There is a lag while using them as wireless. So, if you’re gonna be editing or gaming with these, use them wired.

This headphone is extremely warm, it’s very feature-rich and those things are nice. There are some downsides too of these headphones. The battery isn’t replaceable, no autoplay/pause, and the google assistant doesn’t work well with the iOS devices. The upsides are that it’s a very inoffensive sound, it is extraordinarily comfortable, and the active noise-canceling is superb. There are headphones out there that compete on fronts of active noise-canceling like the Sony XM3’s but I found those to be similarly lacking in detail. I do think the QC 35 II is a better one overall.

Sony WH-1000XM3

The Bluetooth range is typical in this. From my test, it stays connected up to roughly about 25 to about 30 feet. For example, if I have my smartphone in one room and even if I walk to the other room the connection was always there but again if I move about two rooms further, it would disconnect. So, it’s a typical Bluetooth. I also like the fact that this one actually has NFC, so if you have a modern smartphone, you just tap on it and it will pair up. Also, I like the fact that this one actually has support for LDAC and AptX HD, so it’s sort of future proof. In fact, the Bose didn’t have for that.

Another feature that I really like on these earphones is the ambient sound feature. As these are noise cancellation headphones, if you enable the ANC, it will block down a lot of sound around you. For example, engine noise if you are in a car, or if you are in this room then AC noise, etc. So, it gives you that very silent environment, if you just wear it with the ANC on. The thing is that it also has an ambient sound feature. For example, if someone comes over you and he is talking, you might not hear them properly but if you just place your hand over the right cup and cover it up. It has the ambient sound feature and it actually amplifies the sound. So, you don’t have to take out your earphones to hear what the other person is saying and this is actually really convenient. It works beautifully and instantly outside sound is actually amplified.

As this has active noise cancellation and with the button the ear cup, you can enable it or disable it between the ambient mode and ANC on/off. When the ANC is on, I’d really liked the fact that it does not put any pressure on your ear. I feel these are slightly better than the Bose in terms of active noise-cancellation but the Bose are better in some areas.  But with the Boss, sometimes after enabling the ANC for a couple of hours, I used to get that strange pressure feeling on my ear. Strangely, that is not there on this one. I don’t know how Sony managed to do that but they have done it and it’s a job in that area. This can only pair simultaneously to one Bluetooth device. Unlike, the Bose actually could connect simultaneously to two Bluetooth devices and that was very beneficial.

BATTERY:

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

The battery life on this is up to 20 hours which is absolutely great. I do use these very frequently, and I do have to charge them probably once a week as a result, and also sometimes once every couple of weeks but I do use them pretty much a non-stop. If you’re using them in Bluetooth, you’re going to degrade the battery a lot faster. If you’re running it wired, you’re going to get a lot more mileage out of that battery life when it comes to ANC. If I run these wired all a week, I don’t have to charge them sometimes for several weeks. When I use them Wireless, I have to charge them more frequently and I do use a combination of both.

Sony WH-1000XM3

The battery life is also really good on this one. Sony actually claims about 20 odd hours of battery life with active noise cancellation. That’s nice because in the last almost two months I charge this only just about five times. So, the battery life is so good. They have USB type-c ports, so it’s very convenient. The good thing is that it also has fast charging so that’s very convenient.

MICROPHONE:

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

The microphone quality leaves a lot to be desired but it’s perfectly acceptable for phone calls. I would not recommend this to record on the audio but it’s perfectly acceptable for a phone call. Actually, for phone calls, it’s extremely convenient. The noise-canceling is nice and helps me to not get distracted and in this way, it works pretty well.

Sony WH-1000XM3

As these are headphones can be paired up with your smartphone, so definitely it also has a microphone in and you can take calls with this one. But here I feel that the microphone quality is not that great. It’s not bad but when I compare it the Bose QC 35 II, I felt that the call quality was much clearer and it was crystal clear on the Bose. That’s not the case with this one. When you take calls with this one, it sounds slightly muddy and sort of compressed. The second biggest problem that I have when I take calls with this one is, it automatically enables the ambient sound in, when you take calls with this one. That means if you’re just picking a call in the street, you start to hear everything on the street and ANC gets disabled automatically. So, it’s actually very irritating, when calls come with this one.

SOUND:

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

The big thing you’ll notice with them is they use DSP correction. It seems to be a popular theme with Bose to use DSP correction to make up for the faults of the driver, or the enclosure, or whatever it may be. So, when you flip these on they do sound a lot better than when they are off. It is for two reasons, one of which being the DSP and to being active noise-canceling, which in my opinion a quieter listening environment does definitely help. So, the sub-base does feel a little bit artificially extended which I can’t complain too much about because they’re using DSP in this.

The Bass itself is definitely boosted and pretty good bit boosted not bad like the DT 1770, but it is definitely boosted. It’s kind of slow and sloppy bass but it’s not as bad as some other headphones. It’s not quite overwhelming but sometimes it almost feels that way but I think they just barely stepped back on the line of being unoffensive, which is a recurring theme with this headphone.

Sony WH-1000XM3

The bass is slightly more emphasized on this one if we compare even to the Bose QC 35 II and I feel most of the people will like the sound signature, what they have given for the bass as its punchy and its slightly exaggerated. You also have the companion app both for Android as well as for iOS, where you can customize the sound signature of what you want. The mid-tones and the vocals also sound amazing on this one. I really liked it and even the high tones are really good. Even after hours and hours of continuous listening, it doesn’t give you that fatigue in your ear. So, in that way, they’re really good so in my opinion, 95% of the people will really enjoy the sound signature that this one has.

WHICH TO BUY?

Bose QC 35 II plays the role of a convenient consumer product and it plays that role perfectly. This is not a headphone for an audiophile but I think that audiophile could enjoy it if approaching it from that perspective. So, the Bose QC 35 II will be good to buy, at a low price range than the Sony.

Expert Review of Bose QuietComfort 35 II:

By Craving Tech
Thanks to Bose QC35 II, my Netflix series watching experience gets an upgrade while I commute from and to work on the train. It has enough power to drive all sorts of sounds that you throw at it, cancels many background noises, and lets you immerse in…

By AndroidGuys
The Bose QuietComfort 35 II is one of the de facto standards when it comes to active noise-canceling headphones. With a solid build quality, high-quality sound, and some of the best noise-canceling around the reputation is well earned. My only criticisms…

By Home Theater Review
I know that plenty of audiophiles read this publication, and my advice to you is to put stereotypes aside–because if you are looking for a very comfortable, features-laden, balanced pair of affordable wireless headphones, the Bose QuietComfort 35 Series II belongs on your shortlist to consider.

By Gadget360
The Bose QC35 II carries forward the same level of audio and noise cancellation performance of the original, which makes it a solid pair worth considering. We found the addition of Google Assistant to be quite useful, at least when it worked. If you use it a lot, this integration will come in handy. We did face some moments where the experience got a little buggy, but hopefully, all these things can be fixed with firmware updates.

By goodhousekeeping.co.uk
They may not be cheap but the Bose QuietComfort 35 II is the bee knees of on-ear wireless headphones. As usual, the sound quality is excellent but the headphones are comfortable to wear too, have 20 hours of listening time, and even build on the previous version by including access to Google Assistant (if you have a compatible phone).

Expert Review of Sony WH-1000XM3:

By TechRadar
While they’re not an all-out upgrade on the WH-1000XM2, the Sony WH-1000XM3 makes a lot of subtle tweaks to an already amazing pair of noise-canceling headphones.

By hardwarezone.com.sg
I’m an audio geek, what codecs does it support? For those fussy about sound quality, one of the most enticing features of Sony’s noise-canceling headphones is that they support a wide range of codecs – easily one of the widest. The new WH-1000XM3 is no…

By Android Authority
The WH-1000XM3 is a worthy successor to the popular WH-1000XM2 headphones, improving on them in a few subtle ways with the addition of USB-C charging and new ear pads.

By T3 Magazine
With the Sony WH-1000XM3, excellent sound quality meets the best noise-canceling tech in the world, while the ‘extra’ features are useful without being gimmicky. In short, these are brilliant.

By goodhousekeeping.co.uk
If money’s no object, then you’ll struggle to do better than the Sony WH-1000XM3. Not only do they sound great, but they offer 30 hours of listening time and have excellent noise-canceling built-in that really helps immerse you in your music or podcast. Even better, if you want to temporarily let outside noise in such as an announcement at a station, you can just cover the right ear to do that.