[SilverEars]

I'm late to this one. Views and questions for all here. I have the Sony XM2 (SQ and NR similar to the XM3) and the Bose QC 35 (SQ and NR similar to the 700, when active).

Fully passive / wired, both are boxy & terrible. I don't think the XM3 changes that. Does the Bose 700 sound better than the QC 35 boxy sound when fully passive and wired?

Passive wired is of course terrible. Headphone must be powered for EQ to be applied and sound proper

 

[matteventu]

Passive wired is of course terrible. Headphone must be powered for EQ to be applied and sound proper

Yeah... No lol.

That is valid *IF* the manufacturer is lazy and optimise the sound via software rather than building actually good headphones and designing proper drivers.

 

[headitaly]

I always have iPhone and iPad nearby when I use it, so I thought the cable is not a real problem for me, especially to the advantage of not having another device to recharge, a more transparent and clean sound, and not radio frequencies on my head . moreover I don't take public transport but I use headphones during lunch, while I work and in the evening in bed and I don't need noise cancellation. I decided to buy a pair of traditional headphones, and with the koss pro4s I can only say that it is such a consolidated technology that they had to invent something else (wireless and nc for example) to stimulate new purchases.

 

[s0126471]

I have a rather unusual question.

Recently on an overnight travel (i.e. dark surroundings) I had noticed that the power led/light on the NC700 shines rather bright. I was quite amazed how powerful it was, as it did a good job of illuminating my right shoulder

If I was on an evening long haul (or red-eye) flight, I would feel sorry for the person sitting on my right-hand side...

I do not recall having this issue with the QC35 II. I do, however, remember my Sony 1000XM2 did have a blue flashing light (at 5 second intervals, when a bluetooth connection is made) which I also found rather annoying.

Does anyone else have this issue, or is it just me?

 

[neil74]

Late to the party but l Amazon dropped the price on the NC700s to £269 so I just jumped on them on impulse and they arrived yesterday. For those that are interested here are my initial thoughts vs. the 1000 m3s (now sold) and the QC35 iis and Beats Studio 3s that I still have.



They do not fold right down. I knew this and in truth the difference to say the Sony 1000 m3s in terms of folding is really not that great. The Beats and QC35s though do fold down a little more. I do not like using the cases so usually have a safe slot in a work bag and the NC700s fit everywhere that the others do just fine.



The build quality feels the most premium on the NC700s but for some reason I have more confidence shoving the QC35s in my bag. Maybe the quality feel just makes me more careful, no idea?



They sound a little louder than the QC35s. What bugged me with every pair of QC35s I have had is how low the volume is on them, 50% on 1000 M3 was about the same as 80-90% on the QC35s. The NC700s seem a little louder which is welcome.



Sound quality on both Bose are similar, maybe the NC700s have more weight to the base at lower volumes but they are hard to split. Out of the box the Sony’s base overwhelms and they sound a little muddy but after some in-app EQ they are I think the best sounding of the bunch. The Beats are my guilty pleasure, I just find them an enjoyable listen.



The QC35s are more comfortable. The NC700s are better comfort wise than both the Beats and Sony’s though, the Sony’s in particular retained way too much heat and pretty much cooked my ears which is why I sold them. The ear cups on the NC700s are still quite roomy, I have a big head and have not found clamping an issue although they are tighter than the QC35s, some people recommend a night or 2 with the NC700s put around the box to loosen them up which I might try.



The NC is so close between the 2 Bose and Sony’s as to not be a factor, the Beats do a little worse in this regard but are ok and do curiously seem better with traffic noise when walking. If you pushed me for a winner I’d still give it to the Sony’s but only just.



In terms of connectivity it is early days but some app glitches aside they have been solid. I have owned 3 pairs of QC35s (1 mk1 and 2 mk 2s) and all of them have issues when used on the move, my latest pair are the best so far but if I wear them whilst walking the sound will drop briefly every minute or so. The Beats and NC700s and the Sony’s before them have never done this.


So overall I cannot keep all 3 so I am weighing it up which ones to sell or send back!

 

[Monstieur]

I would send back all of them and just use regular headphones or IEMs for isolation. When alternating between cheap Hi-Fi headphones in the same price range and these NC models, the NC ones all sound like crap. For a portable wireless headphone I would get a Mobius or something that actually sounds good and is full range down to 20 Hz.

I kept the NC 700 for multipoint pairing and and its very good microphone.

 

[nunomeneses]

I had bowers and wilkins px, then because i had to use glasses everyday i bought momentum 3. Had several problems so exchanged with bose 700. Now am enjoying bose with the more neutral sounding wireless pair. I’m tired of bass excess In the market. Everyone talked badly about beats but nowadays is “great” to have bump on bass if doesnt mess other frequencys and thats not my taste... mids on bose are a bit veiled but In general they are very pleasent. And love the added passive noise reduction.

 

[SilverEars]

His points about build quality and functional design choices are usually pretty agreeable (there were poor design choice made with the NC 700), but his measurement rig is questionable. Does it really have that drastic of a peak? Rtings measurement doesn't show that. He is wearing a Beyer while talking about peaky treble? How ironic.

 

[Monstieur]

The NC 700 are built better than the QC 35. The QC 35 is more comfortable. The NC 700 is closer to the Harman target than other Bose headphones. There is no treble "spike" in the NC 700, but it is brighter than the competition (B&O, Sony). The QC 35 is brighter and has treble distortion which is quite bad. The NC 700 has no distortion in the treble or bass. The QC 35 has better sub-bass which the NC 700 lacks.

 

[AlwaysForward]

Yup. Has anyone tried comparing the adjustment of volume on the headphones control vs a phone control? It seems the auto eq behaves better when you control volume with the headphones themselves

 

[Monstieur]

Yup. Has anyone tried comparing the adjustment of volume on the headphones control vs a phone control? It seems the auto eq behaves better when you control volume with the headphones themselves

The volume level is linked to the source in Bluetooth mode. The volume steps when using the headphone controls do not line up with the source, thus the same number of steps will sound different depending on where you adjust it. There is a difference in EQ in wired mode.
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/discussions/BJrH4FmFMhQQdSDB/volume-optimized-eq-in-wired-mode

 

[n1kk1]

Would the 700s pair well with a Pixel 3xl? If no should I go for the QC35 or the Sony?

 

[AlwaysForward]

Would the 700s pair well with a Pixel 3xl? If no should I go for the QC35 or the Sony?

It’ll pair just fine

 

[geardoc]

I would send back all of them and just use regular headphones or IEMs for isolation. When alternating between cheap Hi-Fi headphones in the same price range and these NC models, the NC ones all sound like crap. For a portable wireless headphone I would get a Mobius or something that actually sounds good and is full range down to 20 Hz.

I kept the NC 700 for multipoint pairing and and its very good microphone.

For many years, this has been my opinion. Nothing beats a good pair-of IEMs for travel. But, that's changed recently with the newest noise cancellation technology.

High end IEMs are great if sound doesn't leak in too much. But, when the noise level gets high, like a crowded airport, or a crappy seat on a plane next to crying babies or engine noise, then the extra clarity of IEMs is wasted.

Edit to add Bose content: the 700's are coming with me on the next plane ride.

 

[dhc0329]

I really like the quality of microphone on NC 700 but it drops the connection every once in a while which is quite annoying. I don't recall having this issue with QC35.