[Bombarde]

The Bose store near me does allow demos of these, and did for the QC20s as well, and my original MIE2is.

 

[SSandDigital]

I tried them at a store, they have alcohol wipes. Was saddened by the sound, when listening to Diana Krall thought I was listening to some lame hip hop song, it was just bass. I'll stick to the passive NC with decent IEM.

 

[Bob24]

Just came across this review if anyone is interested: http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/headphones/bose-quietcontrol-30-1322718/review

In short, they're saying noise cancelling is excellent but they find the sound too bassy and a bit muddy (problem is, they don't say what they are comparing them to).

 

[SSandDigital]

They are spot on. Muddy sound with too much bass. Maybe Dre is consulting Bose now that Apple bought beats.

 

[Bob24]

Is it really Beats level tough??!! (hence the reason I think it is a shame the review does't mention what they are comparing to ... I would have expected Bose not to be neutral and to emphasis bass to some extend, but definitely not as much as a pair of Beats)

 

[dweaver]

I don't think the QC30 has bass that is overblown as bad as old Beats headphones at all. It's emphasized but no more than many IEMs these days. I would say the QC30 has a safe consumer oriented signature. Audiophile purists biggest issue with this headphone will be detail retrieval and compressed dynamics. But to be honest this headphone is not aimed at those users.

 

[StanD]

So, I've been on the lookout for a decent pair of Bluetooth ANC IEMs/Buds for a long time. I would like something wireless, small for travel that has good ANC. Yesterday I picked up a pair of QC30's. Here's what I found.

• The Bluetooth cuts out, especially if my smartphone is in my left pocket and I turn my head.
• The treble is excessive though not harshly sibilant.
• THE ANC isn't up to what I expect from Bose. I have an older QC15 as a point of reference.
• Not very loud.

 
Although not my first choice I was able to EQ the treble, however the Bluetooth issue was annoying and without a cure. So I returned them and exchanged them for a larger QC35. Unfortunately larger is the case. I'm much happier with the sound of the QC35 and the Bluetooth seems to work without any issues. The downside of the QC35's are that you cannot turn off ANC when on Bluetooth and of course the size. They are very comfortable and sound better.

 

[rbc3585]

Aww Bluetooth problems? Bummer. Stable Bluetooth is more important to me than sound quality tbh, when it comes to headphones with anc.

 

[StanD]

  Aww Bluetooth problems? Bummer. Stable Bluetooth is more important to me than sound quality tbh, when it comes to headphones with anc.

I was bummed out with the QC30's because I wanted something small that I could turn off ANC for when I didn't want it. The QC35's are not small and the ANC is always on when using Bluetooth. On the upside, after a few days of use I can say that the QC35's are very comfortable, the ANC is awesome, compact for the form factor and the SQ has exceeded my expectations. In a surprise move, I see that Tyll (Inner Fidelity) loves them and put them on the "Wall of Fame." He didn't care for the non-active wired mode, I haven't tried that yet.
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/outstanding-bose-quiet-comfort-35-wireless-noise-canceling-headphone#JtPLwE0ZIgVu5WLZ.97

 

[Kermy]

I was at one of the Bose stores today wanting to buy the QC 30 but when I asked about it, the salesman said they didn't have any in stock and won't have any for another 3 - 4 weeks. He also said they didn't have any in stock at the online Bose store. Curious, I posted on Reddit and someone said they went to a Bose store and the salesman said Bose issued a recall to fix the microphone issue. For those that have a pair, might want to call Bose and see if that's true, because if it is, then it's not a software problem that's fixable with an update, but a hardware problem.

 

[pkshiu]

  I was at one of the Bose stores today wanting to buy the QC 30 but when I asked about it, the salesman said they didn't have any in stock and won't have any for another 3 - 4 weeks. He also said they didn't have any in stock at the online Bose store. Curious, I posted on Reddit and someone said they went to a Bose store and the salesman said Bose issued a recall to fix the microphone issue. For those that have a pair, might want to call Bose and see if that's true, because if it is, then it's not a software problem that's fixable with an update, but a hardware problem.

That's interesting. FWIW Bose seems to be very good with replacing units. I have the first bluetooth sports headphone which has the "sweat" problem. They send me a new pair very quickly no questions asked.
 
P.K.

 

[larryblock]

I'm so bummed over the QC30 offering less isolation than the QC20. I've had cash sitting at the ready ever since the announcement in June. Even though I don't use the mic, the recall makes it sound like another bullet dodged...that's two recalls this year from Bose.
 
As amazing as the QC20 usually is, my local subway's got a little too much of the frequencies that the QC20 seems to let through on purpose. This causes the QC20 in that scenario, to appear not much better than an older Sony ANC product I use foam tips with. Which breaks my heart and my wallet. Argh!
 
Because of that experience I've begun to shop cheaper, technically less capable ANC products from other brands, but useful reviews from people who are properly familiar with ANC is scant, meaning I might have to be a guinea pig and buy stuff I can't return. Hrmm.
 
I've auditioned the QC35 several times and while I really admired it, I'm just not an overhead can person. I guess I'll have to keep shopping and see what else Bose comes up with.

 

[StanD]

  I'm so bummed over the QC30 offering less isolation than the QC20. I've had cash sitting at the ready ever since the announcement in June. Even though I don't use the mic, the recall makes it sound like another bullet dodged...that's two recalls this year from Bose.
 
As amazing as the QC20 usually is, my local subway's got a little too much of the frequencies that the QC20 seems to let through on purpose. This causes the QC20 in that scenario, to appear not much better than an older Sony ANC product I use foam tips with. Which breaks my heart and my wallet. Argh!
 
Because of that experience I've begun to shop cheaper, technically less capable ANC products from other brands, but useful reviews from people who are properly familiar with ANC is scant, meaning I might have to be a guinea pig and buy stuff I can't return. Hrmm.
 
I've auditioned the QC35 several times and while I really admired it, I'm just not an overhead can person. I guess I'll have to keep shopping and see what else Bose comes up with.

As we know the QC35's ANC is second to none. Surprisingly its SQ is rather good, better than most would be willing to admit. Tyll at Inner Fidelity said he's going to hang it on his wall of fame.
As I said in an earlier post, I was very disappointed by the QC30, ditched it and got a QC35. It's been a while and I am very pleased. It's not as small as a QC30, but it's light and very comfortable. My only complaint is that when wireless, you can't switch off the ANC, I can live with that.

 

[jhoff80]

I decided to give these a try and received them today.  Haven't been able to fully put them through their paces yet.  A few observations though:
 

1. Mine were ordered Tuesday direct from Bose, shipped Wednesday, and received Monday, so if there was a recall it seems to be over.
2. Maybe related, but there was a white dot sticker next to the serial number sticker.
3. Noise cancellation seems more than decent at subtracting out a TV playing loudly, and audio quality seems pretty good.  Again, haven't used them enough to know for sure yet.
4. The fact they default to less noise cancellation on calls is a huge pain.  I can't foresee any situation where I'd want that set at a lower level for calls than I would when listening to music, especially when there is already sidetone on these that pipes in outside noise regardless.
5. There's a lot of steps and while I feel like that's helpful when using the app, I feel like low, medium, and high would be enough when using the physical buttons.

 

[Kermy]

I decided to give these a try and received them today.  Haven't been able to fully put them through their paces yet.  A few observations though:

• Mine were ordered Tuesday direct from Bose, shipped Wednesday, and received Monday, so if there was a recall it seems to be over.
• Maybe related, but there was a white dot sticker next to the serial number sticker.
• Noise cancellation seems more than decent at subtracting out a TV playing loudly, and audio quality seems pretty good.  Again, haven't used them enough to know for sure yet.
• The fact they default to less noise cancellation on calls is a huge pain.  I can't foresee any situation where I'd want that set at a lower level for calls than I would when listening to music, especially when there is already sidetone on these that pipes in outside noise regardless.
• There's a lot of steps and while I feel like that's helpful when using the app, I feel like low, medium, and high would be enough when using the physical buttons.

Out of curiosity, have you made any calls using it yet? Any complains about the mic?