Bose - QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones - Silver

Having tried many brands of headphones, these are by far the best. They are so comfortable on the ear thanks to the generous padding. The adjustable bar makes these headphones suitable for all head sizes. Now for sound quality, the quality of the audio from these headphones in my opinion, is second to none. You'll hear every individual instrument with perfect clarity. They connect seamlessly to your chosen device too.

Amazing noise cancellation (as expected)

I bought these purely for noise cancellation, not for the sound quality, so for my purposes, these headphones were exactly what I've been waiting for from Bose. My wife got a pair of QC15's as a gift from her company and I've been amazed at Bose ANC ever since --I never expected noise cancellation to be so good having used so many other so-called "active noise cancelling" headphones over the years. Bose's ANC implementation really puts all others to shame. There is no competitor that even comes close.I'm not really an audiophile or anything, but I've got some pretty nice, expensive headphones and a couple of headphone amps, so I've definitely heard some pretty high quality audio. I did not expect the Bose headphones to be anything close to those headphones, but ... MoreI bought these purely for noise cancellation, not for the sound quality, so for my purposes, these headphones were exactly what I've been waiting for from Bose. My wife got a pair of QC15's as a gift from her company and I've been amazed at Bose ANC ever since --I never expected noise cancellation to be so good having used so many other so-called "active noise cancelling" headphones over the years. Bose's ANC implementation really puts all others to shame. There is no competitor that even comes close.I'm not really an audiophile or anything, but I've got some pretty nice, expensive headphones and a couple of headphone amps, so I've definitely heard some pretty high quality audio. I did not expect the Bose headphones to be anything close to those headphones, but they definitely meet my expectations, and in wired-mode, I would compare them to something in the ATH50x or MDR-V900 range... a nice, closed-back, decently flat (but not boring) eq sound... but nothing special, and definitely a pretty typical dynamic driver sound (along with all the problems of a typical dynamic driver, some distortion due to slower "attack" response, muddiness/clarity issues in certain ranges, etc). But don't get me wrong, these do not sound bad by any means --they are exactly what I expected them to be.I am able to very, very clearly distinguish the difference between wired and BT though, but that's more of an issue with BT audio being compressed even with the bandwidth available on BT 4.0. It's going to be a while (maybe BT 5 next year?) before BT audio can keep up with wired. Obviously the sound quality difference is more or less discernable depending on audio source, and for most applications, I'll still use bluetooth as the drop in sound quality doesn't really bother me --especially when the main use of these is on a plane or in the office (on a plane, the background noise would be loud enough to mess up sound quality without ANC anyway, so better to have ANC and reduced sound quality than awesome sound quality that's ruined with background noise).The app is an nice added touch... although I'm not really sure what I'll use it for after renaming the device. Other than that, a well-rounded headphone with all the features I've been waiting for from Bose (wireless yay!) and although slightly more than what I wanted to pay, pretty much a reasonable price, considering there is essentially no competition.

Freedom to enjoy the music!

Bose QuietComfort 35 Headphones ReviewThis is my review of the new Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless, noise-cancelling headphones. I have tried to provide an honest and personal view of my experience living with these headphones. I have also tried to steer away from covering technical information which is available elsewhere (such as on the Bose website/other reviews) and from describing the well documented and now-legendary noise-cancelling performance.The QC35 headphones (silver model) arrive folded in a high quality hard-walled case, offering excellent protection for the headphones when not being used. Removing the headphones from the case for the first time, I was struck by how light they were, yet still having that feeling of being a high quality, classy and ... MoreBose QuietComfort 35 Headphones ReviewThis is my review of the new Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless, noise-cancelling headphones. I have tried to provide an honest and personal view of my experience living with these headphones. I have also tried to steer away from covering technical information which is available elsewhere (such as on the Bose website/other reviews) and from describing the well documented and now-legendary noise-cancelling performance.The QC35 headphones (silver model) arrive folded in a high quality hard-walled case, offering excellent protection for the headphones when not being used. Removing the headphones from the case for the first time, I was struck by how light they were, yet still having that feeling of being a high quality, classy and sturdy product. This lightness is particularly impressive when considering the fact that the rechargeable (non-removable) battery and electronics are all self-contained within the headphones, without the need for an additional electronics unit. On first wearing of the headphones, this feeling of lightness continues and the ‘phones feel very comfortable, with the soft alcantera padding of the headband and the leather ear cushions giving fairly light pressure on the head and ears.Bluetooth pairing of the headphones to an Apple Ipad and Android Samsung S6 mobile phone was relatively straightforward, achieved following download and installation of the relevant Apple or Android ‘Bose Connect’ App. Confirmation of successful Bluetooth pairing is provided via a voice message through the headphones. (This voice confirmation is provided each time the headphones are switched on, along with a battery life remaining message).On first listening, the impression is of a warm, refined and totally unfatiguing sound. (This is likely to be particularly important where the headphones will be used on, for example, a long flight). Further listening showed that this was not at the expense of clarity and detail. Detail available was impressive and I have since spent many hours re-discovering music which I thought I knew well, having previously being listened through other high quality wired headphones, from respected manufacturers such as, Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic. Many times I found myself smiling after hearing something in the music that I had never noticed before.The QC35s provide a deep and wide ‘virtual soundstage’, with the position of individual instruments appearing to extend well beyond the earpieces. It was easy to focus on these instruments, which appeared to have their own position across this ‘soundstage’. Bass guitars sound tight and easy to follow and did not overpower the rest of the music. It was this quality that contributed to the sub-conscious need to tap your foot, or nod your head with the music. The headphones are highly effective in helping to connect with the emotional content of a piece of music. This is all the more impressive when reminded of the fact that these are wireless, noise-cancelling headphones. Incidentally, it was noted that between tracks or whenever music was not being played, there was almost total silence in the headphones. This is the first time I have listened to a pair of wireless headphones where there was no annoying hiss.The wireless aspect of the QC35s has to be experienced to appreciate the liberating feeling of being able to roam around the house and garden, whilst enjoying high quality audio. It is also worth noting that the absence of a permanently attached headphone connecting cable on the QC35s, avoids the problem of cable failure often experienced with conventional wired headphones.In summary, I find the QC35s to be a light, comfortable and beautifully made wireless noise-cancelling headphone which provide a rewarding, unfatiguing listening experience, all without the annoying constraints of a headphone connection cable.

Great addition to the QC line of headphones

When I initially got my QC 25's and QC 3's, I always thought, wouldn't it be nice if they incorporated Wireless connectivity, and Hands free built in, well Bose listened to us, welcoming in the QC 35.Upon receiving the package, I was a little shocked to see how small the box was in comparison to my other QC headphones, the dimensions were a lot smaller. Inside the box you find a quick start flap, which is nice, and gets people up and running straight away. Upon lifting this flap you find the QC35's housed in the protective carrying case, which is a nice case indeed, similar to those of the QC25's, it's a material hard plastic case with a hard plastic front, with the Bose emblem on the front, with storage pockets on the inside for the airline adaptor, 3.5mm to ... MoreWhen I initially got my QC 25's and QC 3's, I always thought, wouldn't it be nice if they incorporated Wireless connectivity, and Hands free built in, well Bose listened to us, welcoming in the QC 35.Upon receiving the package, I was a little shocked to see how small the box was in comparison to my other QC headphones, the dimensions were a lot smaller. Inside the box you find a quick start flap, which is nice, and gets people up and running straight away. Upon lifting this flap you find the QC35's housed in the protective carrying case, which is a nice case indeed, similar to those of the QC25's, it's a material hard plastic case with a hard plastic front, with the Bose emblem on the front, with storage pockets on the inside for the airline adaptor, 3.5mm to 2.5mm jack, a USB to micro USB cable and the headphones.First thoughts, Bose have done a good job of giving us all what we need, I think though the USB charge cable to shout be longer, as it's quite short, so would cause problems for people who have desktop computers or USB ports far away from reach. Getting these connected up to my IPhone 5s, IPhone 6 was a breeze, and as soon as it connected, I was prompted to download the Bose Connect app. A nice feature are the voice prompts, when the headphones connect you get a voice prompt telling you the headphones are connected to "your iPhone's name" and the amount of battery power available, cool I thought, so then off to the Bose Connect app for a play, this worked perfectly, and gives you options to turn up and down the volume of the headphones, do software upgrades, and be able to adjust when the headphones go to sleep. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't select between Bose new Active EQ and having it off, or a selection of pre-set EQ's. think this would be a little nicer to have. Also a nice to have was the manual built into the app, so if you forget something, it's available on the app and clearly written. The app also shows the battery life of the headphones and shows the phones the headphones are paired to, once again nice touches to have and makes un-pairing much easier. Next was sound performance, time to pop these on my head, I got them adjusted for my head and turned on the power, wow I thought straight away from the Noise Cancelling, as they seemed to be stronger than my QC25's, a little of a funny feeling if you're not used to it, and to be honest I felt a little funny at first until the music was on, then I started to get used to them, the Noise Cancelling was what you expect of Bose, best in class, and amazing. The ear cups are a very soft material and felt lovely on my ears, especially if you want to use them for long hours, the headphones actually fold up and allow for storage in the case. The build quality feels sturdy, and well engineered, I was a bit suspect if they would survive a big fall and if the hinges on the headphone headbands would last, but to be honest, I never had a problem with any of my Bose Headphones, so I thought it's probably just me being me. I wanted to test these on a multitude of different music, from jazz to drum and bass, to heavy metal and pure vocal harmony's, overall I thought these QC35's sounded better than my QC25's as they had much more highs and mids, nothing seemed to sound muddled and the bass was good, as expected, the louder the headphones got, the sound was crisp and tight all the way up to max volume, although I did get them to distort on my IPhone at max volume and one of the ears seemed to sound worse when distortion came on, but this was with very heavy bass music, I was hoping the Active EQ would take care of this, but unfortunately it didn't, usually I like to run headphones in before thoroughly testing these, but I guess with even more use they will open up and sound even better. so impressed with the music sound quality in all areas, next was the chance to test a feature I really was curious about, the hands free telephone calling, this once again was fantastic, and having a call on these headphones was just lovely, the sound quality was perfect, and even walking about in the streets, people could hear me just fine, I was hoping the performance would be somewhere close to my Bose Bluetooth headset series II (another fantastic product, but Bose please release a new alternative soon!!!!) and they where, actually powering on these headphones makes the same little jingle sound as the Bose Bluetooth headset series II. I asked friends to see what the sound was like when I was in the streets, and they could hear me perfectly, and clearly, with not much background noise, which is great, the buttons on the headphones allow you to conveniently pickup calls, and ignore calls without needing to touch your phone, this came in very useful on a few occasions when I couldn't reach my phone in time. I also tried these headphones with my Samsung S4, with also another feature that Bose incorporated into the QC35's, which is NFC, again, trouble free connection, and the same easy connectivity I expected from the IPhone, all worked flawlessly, very impressed so far, but also in regards to connectivity, Bose also put a standard 3.5mm jack which allows you to plug the headphones into another output source, I.e laptop, mp3 player etc, as to be expected no problems here, and worked like a charm, although I was a bit disappointed, that that length of the cable is only about 1.2m long, a bit short if you're a taller person with deep pockets. Something I was very happy to see was the headphones will work if powered off, and plugged into the cable, so if you find yourself running out of power, you won't have a problem using them, you just don't get the Active EQ and the noise cancelling features. there's quite a bit of difference in the sound quality between having them on and off, but nothing I would say makes them bad, in fact I really love all the features of these new QC35's, Bose really have feature packed these with everything you could want in a Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphone.Pros :Multi connectivity options (NFC, Bluetooth, Standard Jack Cable)Handsfree callingIn built rechargeable batteryVoice prompts for battery level etcSound Quality with Active EQCons :Supplied cables too shortBose Connect App features limitedSome Distortion present on very bass heavy tracks at max volumeSummaryA fantastic pair of headphones once again by Bose, and even with the slight distortion I experienced, I would still rate them 5 out of 5, not everyone will run them at max, but I wanted to test their capabilities.There are no other Noise Cancelling headphones, that can match these for sound and features. and being wireless, that's been the answer to my prayers.In all in all, would I rate them to someone who asks? A big yes, I think they are worth their price all day long, and if you travel on aircraft, or want to use them to get some peace and quiet, you're not going to be disappointed. Don't hesitate and go and get yours today, you won't be disappointed :)

Just what I have been waiting for!

Over the past few weeks I've had the opportunity to try out the new QuietComfort 35 Bose headset. First impressions matter, and my first impression of this headset was one of quality and durability. the packaging was excellent, and instructions contained therein provided all the information necessary to get up and running quickly and with very little challenge.In the past, I have tried some earlier versions of the Bose wired headsets, and while I enjoyed these, I often found that they tended to be a little bit heavy on bass. I found the QuietComfort 35 to have a excellent balance between both bass and treble providing an incredibly clear sound. The music was extremely rich, and met all of my expectations of a quality headset. I took the opportunity, to play almost ... MoreOver the past few weeks I've had the opportunity to try out the new QuietComfort 35 Bose headset. First impressions matter, and my first impression of this headset was one of quality and durability. the packaging was excellent, and instructions contained therein provided all the information necessary to get up and running quickly and with very little challenge.In the past, I have tried some earlier versions of the Bose wired headsets, and while I enjoyed these, I often found that they tended to be a little bit heavy on bass. I found the QuietComfort 35 to have a excellent balance between both bass and treble providing an incredibly clear sound. The music was extremely rich, and met all of my expectations of a quality headset. I took the opportunity, to play almost every genre of music and without doubt all of them sounded terrific, from the classics to classical.I also had an opportunity to wear the headset for an extended period of time. I found them to be very comfortable and I was able to wear them for over three hours while working in the yard without issue. As you can expect, as these are over the ear headsets, there was some level of perspiration that needed to be dealt with. This is actually no problem for this set, they easily cleaned and it were not affected at all by the elements.One feature that I am sure you would appreciate, is upon turning on the unit, you will be provided information that tells which device the headsets are connected to as well as remaining battery life. That's a great feature, so you know exactly how much battery life you have before you depart. I can easily recommend the use of this headset during normal work, housecleaning, walking working in the yard etc. However, I would not recommend running in this unit as the weight of the unit tends to cause the headsets to move up and down, providing a little bit of background noise it might be distracting to some.I believe you'll find the overall set up and tearing of the unit to your mobile device is extremely easy and uncomplicated. If you have ever cared any Bluetooth device, you'll find this a very simple task.Overall, I believe you'll find this headset to be one of high quality, excellent durability and one double truly surprise you with the quality and clarity of the sound. As a private pilot, I also use the Bose aviation headset, and I believe the noise canceling capabilities in this unit provide the same level of background filtering as the aviation unit, allowing you to wear this headset almost in any environment yet being able to listen to music at a reasonable volume.Give them a try, I am confident you will not be disappointed.

Perfect!

I bought my pair of rare midnight blue QC35's off of eBay a few months ago (because I could not find them anywhere else) and I fell in love with them. First off the sound quality is excellent, the soundscape is enveloping and rich, the bass is on point I.e. Not muddy, more refined and clean, the mids and highs both sound clear as well. The ANC is incredible (possibly the best in the world) it dosent matter where you are, as soon as you turn on the noise cancellation 'BOOM' the ambient noise literally disappears, this can be a weird experience at first but trust me it's well worth it when you start listening to music as you cannot hear any background noise at all (not even people talking at points).The build quality is next level, the band can stretch very wide ... MoreI bought my pair of rare midnight blue QC35's off of eBay a few months ago (because I could not find them anywhere else) and I fell in love with them. First off the sound quality is excellent, the soundscape is enveloping and rich, the bass is on point I.e. Not muddy, more refined and clean, the mids and highs both sound clear as well. The ANC is incredible (possibly the best in the world) it dosent matter where you are, as soon as you turn on the noise cancellation 'BOOM' the ambient noise literally disappears, this can be a weird experience at first but trust me it's well worth it when you start listening to music as you cannot hear any background noise at all (not even people talking at points).The build quality is next level, the band can stretch very wide with no ghastly cracking or squeaking sounds, and the ear cups + head band are incredibly soft, I could easily wear these for hours on end listening to anything from Dubstep to orchestral pieces, and I've done exactly that without any issues. I would also like l add that any genre of music will sound good on these headphones, I wasn't expecting much bass from them but trap and electro sounds great on these.The battery life next, these headphones lend themselves well to mid volume listening and I have been able to listen for over 20 hours on just over mid volume, but if you like loud music, these will definitely get loud enough to keep damage your ears so keep that in mind. I also love how fast these charge although I would have liked to see something like wireless charging so I could just stick them on a charging pad while still in the case and then be able to pick them up in the morning while walking out the door. Hopefully the technology to be able to do that will be around soon.Lastly the quality of the product is excellent, they definitely have a satisfying weight to them, but they aren't overly heavy, quite light in fact. And just a side note, I personally haven't been experiencing this 'wind amplification that others have been complaining about even though I've been in plenty of windy situations with these and they work just as well as ever.On a final note, 100% worth the money!

Purchased mainly for noise canceling feature

I wish Bose had put better effort into making these headphones more user friendly and intuitive (I work in tech innovation and am a very tech savvy person). I find myself pulling out the user manual more than I should have to, e.g. 'double press to skip forward, triple press to skip backward' and 'with the headphones on your head, slide the Power button to the Bluetooth symbol and release to hear which device(s) are connected; repeat to connect to the next device.' Even with instructions I find myself stumbling over certain functionalities, and at times lack the patience to search longer for answers.It is true that the sound and noise canceling work like no other, however I was surprised to find functionality quirks I would think should get taken out after a round ... MoreI wish Bose had put better effort into making these headphones more user friendly and intuitive (I work in tech innovation and am a very tech savvy person). I find myself pulling out the user manual more than I should have to, e.g. 'double press to skip forward, triple press to skip backward' and 'with the headphones on your head, slide the Power button to the Bluetooth symbol and release to hear which device(s) are connected; repeat to connect to the next device.' Even with instructions I find myself stumbling over certain functionalities, and at times lack the patience to search longer for answers.It is true that the sound and noise canceling work like no other, however I was surprised to find functionality quirks I would think should get taken out after a round of product testing. For example, noise canceling works by turning on the device but first it searches for Bluetooth connections using audio, so if you are looking for true silence you will be interrupted initially when it tells you it is searching and 'Ready to pair' and then a few minutes later when it tells you it whether it has found a connection, 'Mobile device not found, bluetooth off.' If it finds a connection, you'll need to manually disconnect from the device before using noise canceling which doesn't always work smoothly, though the latter isn't necessary unless you have audio that may start playing from your device, like an open Youtube video, etc. The Bose audio is loud for my ears and adjusting the volume does not work for this feature.As I bought this mainly for the noise canceling feature to use at work, others may have better experiences listening to music or talking on the phone. I could see this being an excellent product and worth the price a few iterations and models later, but I think as it currently functions, the headphones lack features I would expect it should have for the high price.

The best headphones I've ever had!

So I initially came from a set of on ear Bose wired headphones and upgraded to the QC35, after having originally been blown away with the wired I thought the QC35 would be on the same level of my wired ones, and yet again Bose blew me away with their attention to detail and clarity of sound which as an audiophile I want and need out of ANY headphones I use.From heavy metal to classical these headphones take everything I can throw at them and balance the audio perfectly, bass is thundery and treble is crisp and clear, and when you hear the amazing noise cancellation technology kick in you'll never want to take these off again, the latest firmware update (available via the Bose Connect app) also allows you to adjust the level of Audio Cancellation based on your ... MoreSo I initially came from a set of on ear Bose wired headphones and upgraded to the QC35, after having originally been blown away with the wired I thought the QC35 would be on the same level of my wired ones, and yet again Bose blew me away with their attention to detail and clarity of sound which as an audiophile I want and need out of ANY headphones I use.From heavy metal to classical these headphones take everything I can throw at them and balance the audio perfectly, bass is thundery and treble is crisp and clear, and when you hear the amazing noise cancellation technology kick in you'll never want to take these off again, the latest firmware update (available via the Bose Connect app) also allows you to adjust the level of Audio Cancellation based on your environment's ambient noise, High being used for normal situations, low for those windy days you're out and about or on a bus with the windows open, and none at all if you don't want it on (which I can't see you ever doing)Admittedly it does take a little while to get used to as it adjusts audio frequencies to silence outside interference, but after maybe 1 or 2 uses you won't ever want these off!The QC35 uses Bluetooth technology to connect to your devices, be it a tablet, phone or portable games console with an incredible range, I can leave my phone upstairs and go over to my neighbors house with my music STILL playing perfectly clear whilst using the media controls found on the lower part of the Right Ear cup.You also have the benefit of using a wired connection which takes a 3.5mm jack to a smaller jack (unsure of the size) on the headphone's Left Cup allowing you to use other devices that don't utilise Bluetooth technology for Audio Playback.The box also includes a very nice Carry Case and a Aeroplane adapter which allows you to use the Wired mode on flights! Bose really have thought of everything with these!Made from premium materials these headphones feel robust yet lightweight, I wear these for hours on end without feeling anything, yet they feel sturdy enough that you know they will survive pretty much anything you can throw at them! (within reason) and the battery life is amazing! I charge these maybe.... once every 2 weeks? and I use these on almost max volume, noise cancellation on and connected via Bluetooth so I daresay these headphones could last even longer using the more Battery Conservative options!To Summarise:I can't recommend these enough! these are THE BEST headphones I've used, sure, they're expensive but its worth the investment and after using them you won't ever regret spending money on these!

The update you've been waiting for!

I've been waiting for this product for some time.I've used and loved Bose noise-canceling headphones for awhile now. I've used the earlier around-the-ear versions, the current American Airlines branded headsets in their premium cabins, and the QC20 in-ear buds.These live up to both the history and the hype - and then some! They are incredibly quiet headphones from the moment you put them over your ears - before turning on the noise-canceling system, ambient noise drops by a large degree. Once you flip the switch, the typical Bose "cone of silence" descends over you and most noticeable ambient noises disappear.The sound quality of music files and video soundtracks are up to Bose's usual quality - might not be 100% audiophile perfection, but they have the crisp ... MoreI've been waiting for this product for some time.I've used and loved Bose noise-canceling headphones for awhile now. I've used the earlier around-the-ear versions, the current American Airlines branded headsets in their premium cabins, and the QC20 in-ear buds.These live up to both the history and the hype - and then some! They are incredibly quiet headphones from the moment you put them over your ears - before turning on the noise-canceling system, ambient noise drops by a large degree. Once you flip the switch, the typical Bose "cone of silence" descends over you and most noticeable ambient noises disappear.The sound quality of music files and video soundtracks are up to Bose's usual quality - might not be 100% audiophile perfection, but they have the crisp high-frequencies and full low-frequencies that have been typical of Bose headsets all along.An added feature of this set over the previous version (QC25) is the phone headset feature - it functions as a bluetooth headset for communications without any visibly protruding microphone. This is not perfect, but also not bad. In a truly noisy or windy environment, the outgoing voice can be a bit garbled/muffled, but if you're in an environment where you could have a conversation on a phone held up to your ear, this feature works very well.I use noise-canceling headphones for two main purposes: travel and high-noise activities around the house. I have not had a chance to use these on an airplane yet, but their behavior so far in other activities leads me to believe there would be no difference in their quality and performance versus the earlier models (other than possible improvement!). I've worn them while using a gas-powered walk-behind lawnmower and a gas-powered weed-trimmer/brush-cutter. I've worn them while doing maintenance on my motorcycles' engines. No noise-canceling system that I'm aware of can make all noises go away - and the same is true of these - but the amount to which the levels of obnoxious and potentially dangerous sound is reduced to a level that it can almost be ignored.The price is right in the range that you'd expect given Bose's previous and current offerings - expensive, but worth it for the features and technology that you're getting. If you do any amount of travel or need peace and quiet in noisy environments, this company and this product are the answer to your needs! I will also keep my in-ear QC20 buds for times when their size is more appropriate/convenient, but these are certainly the new flagship for Bose!

Very good overall

I got these as a present from family about a week ago and I've easily listened to 20 hours plus over YouTube, films and obviously a large chunk of music.When I first received these, the packing was extremely high quality and showed a lot of promise within the headphones, and the first impressions were good. When I first took them out, I thought they looked good and felt very strong and durable with the plastic being a good protector against scratches and scrapes. Although the plastic is a good protector of the headphones, they didn't look as good as other rivals in this price category, such as the Beats Studios, with their metal finish and gloss, I thought that maybe Bose could try that one day as it does look better with the gloss metal.Moving on to the ... MoreI got these as a present from family about a week ago and I've easily listened to 20 hours plus over YouTube, films and obviously a large chunk of music.When I first received these, the packing was extremely high quality and showed a lot of promise within the headphones, and the first impressions were good. When I first took them out, I thought they looked good and felt very strong and durable with the plastic being a good protector against scratches and scrapes. Although the plastic is a good protector of the headphones, they didn't look as good as other rivals in this price category, such as the Beats Studios, with their metal finish and gloss, I thought that maybe Bose could try that one day as it does look better with the gloss metal.Moving on to the usability, they were exceptional, but did have a few issues. The headphones connected to my phone very easily and within a matter of seconds, it was done and music was playing. But however, on my laptop, the Bluetooth system isn't as great, it failed to connect at all in which meant I had to use the aux cord, in which is very short or felt short, but overall, the added aux cord is a fantastic feature to have, easy connections to the jack, but I would prefer a longer cable, other than that, it's virtually perfect.Another thing I found with the usability of the QC35, was that after around 30 minutes of usage, the top of my head where the headphones rested began to hurt a little, but only a small amount, not sure if that's just from my head shape, but it hurt only a small amount. But the comfort overall of the headphones are high quality and better than most manufacturers, perfectly fitting around the ears and with a snug fit.Another thing I have noticed is the battery performance, and the first word that comes to find is sensational. It's incredible, it lasts a long time and really is brilliant, if the charging phase was faster, then they would be brilliant, but overall, I would say the battery is best in this price category and higher than this price range. It's simply brilliant.The noise cancellation on these earphones are quite simply phenomenal, the active noise cancelling works fantastically, and yes, there is a small high pitch noise, but when you have something playing, you can't hear it at all.Now, to the sound, as always with Bose and their most 'superior' headphones, they have their electronic system in which changes the tones, bass and many more sound qualitys. Again, for this price range, they are fantastic with the system, but one thing I have noticed is that it overpowers the high end pitch and drowns out the low end too much so the bass can be fairly small if there is a high pitch instrument or vocal within the music, then the high pitch is slightly overpowering.The sound quality overall is incredible, again, against Beats, these headphones are fantastic, they have the sound quality over Beats by a long way, the only thing I would say is to balance out the high pitch with the low pitch and maybe have a gloss design with maybe metal inputs, and I believe they could have the mix for the perfect headphones, they're very near getting the best that I believe they can achieve, just a few tweaks and then they'll be fantastic, I would recommend this product if you are going on multiple long journeys and listening to music casually and not using it for professional purposes.