Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphone owners, Questions for you!

• 

  EightImmortals on 20/07/2018 - 16:11

  I have the QC35's and have worn them without a connection but don't recall the timing (longer than 5 min though)? Otherwise they tick all of those boxes. You might want to compare sound quality between the various brands as they apparantly vary quite a lot.

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  kathmandu-jeff on 20/07/2018 - 16:12

  Bose QC35 are super comfy (at least for me). You can disable the auto off feature through the app. I don't think you can use them while charging but the battery life is long enough that it is a non-issue.

  Apparently there is a hack to go around the Sony's auto off function.

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  burgermaniac on 20/07/2018 - 16:34

  Hey mate

  I got the Bose QC25s

  Basically ticks all your boxes, and can be found for $199. They use AAA batteries for the ANC, and basically can be changed in under a minute. The only issue, is there isn't much resale value. Although, you would be spending only $199 instead of $399 (at best?)

  Cheers

• 

  confetti01 on 20/07/2018 - 16:46

  +1

  Bose QC35 V1, I ordered a pair last year thanks to OzBargain. One of the best headphones I've owned!

  Comfort - I've worn them on planes and fallen asleep with them on with no problems.
  Good Sound - Decent balance between low, mid and high range frequencies, and good sound quality. It's not a bass heavy as a set of Beats if you're after more of a doofdoof sound, but still decent.
  Good Noise Cancelling - I can't compare with the other models out there, but it'll be hard for me to switch back to non-NC headphones. It does pretty good job at lowering the background noise on a train/plane, it's not 100% but a very noticeable difference.
  Will remain active (i.e noise cancel) even when not connected to a source for trains and planes (Sleeping)- NC remains switched on wireless or wired. Download the Bose Connect app and you can change the standby timer settings from 5 min to never.
  Battery life over 20 hours (Long Haul Flight)- I probably charge mine once a fortnight, I use them about 2 hours a day during the weekdays on my commute to and from work. So no problems on sustaining a charge on a long haul flight. You could always carry a micro-usb to charge it on the plane/airport.
  Low latency would be great! (Movie watching!) - I can't tell of any lag between video and audio sync. Not sure if there are any technical stats on this.
  Decent resale if cared for in a year. (not as important) - No idea! Prob decent resale value given how much they are new, but the new version is out and so mine will be valued even less.
  Stay put on my head and not slip about everywhere (not in possession of a melon head!) - Stays on pretty well, but I wouldn't go and do exercise with them on.
  Would be great if they worked whilst charging! - Nope, they don't work whilst charging, at least not wireless.

• 

  coxjon on 20/07/2018 - 17:10

  Check out Logitech UE9000. Seems to fit your criteria. I love my pair and if you have a 3.5mm device you can use them when the battery is flat too.

  • 

    ChillBro on 23/07/2018 - 22:07

    The 10 hour battery life seems a bit shit as most others have ~20 or more. I'm not against spending more on quality but this seems rather expensive too compared to other options.

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  HighAndDry on 20/07/2018 - 17:36

  +1

  Have both QC35s and MX2s. Can't speak to latency, but either/both would be perfectly fine for your needs. I think QC35s have slightly better NC, MX2s have slightly better sound quality. Again, for your uses, either is fine and either seem to have good resale value considering their prices were fairly stable until release of new models - which don't seem to happen often.

  As for the Sony's auto-off feature… is there a reason you can't just keep them connected via BT to your phone? I've used them for flights as well, and that's never been an issue.

  The 5 minute auto off is a deal breaker, it makes them junk for sleeping on a flight surely!!

  You realise you can keep them connected without playing anything through them right?

• 

  Godric on 20/07/2018 - 17:40

  QC35's

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  stratbargain on 20/07/2018 - 17:51

  I picked up a pair of second hand 1000MX2's yesterday and am very happy with them. Great sound quality, great noise cancellation and the companion app has some really good features without being gimmicky. The google assistant is a nice addition also.

  The only problem is now my wife wants a pair :(

• 

  redfox1200 on 20/07/2018 - 18:44

  just sleep with them paired to your phone any they wont turn off

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  Ugly on 20/07/2018 - 19:12

  I have a pair of Cowin E7’s that do what you want and don’t cost a bomb like the Bose. ($120 on Catch)

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  FuzzyWolf on 20/07/2018 - 20:50

  I have the Sony MDR-100ABN (i think discontinued, theyre 2016 model I think) but when in the bus or train it hits a bump it makes a "boop" kinda sound like it amplify the bump noise while all the other engine noise are mostly removed. Apparently this is normal with ANC headphones so yeah.

• 

  Meho2026 on 20/07/2018 - 21:21

  +1

  I got the Sony WH-1000XM2, I was initially put off by the 5 min power off but I just leave the cable plugged into the headphones and the noise cancelling stays on even when not connected to a device.
  I roll the other end of the cable up and put it in my top pocket or inside my shirt.
  I reckon you could put any input plug into the headphones to trick it if you really dont want the cable there.
  Its really not that big a deal and I reckon the other features make up for it.
  I just used my headphones with the cable from Sydney to New York and back again on one single charge. The noise cancelling was on the whole time (economy class so I was sleeping upright with headphones on) but I was using the cable not bluetooth at all times too.
  Id recommend learning how to control the headphones through the hand actions and buttons on the ear piece and forget about using the app.

• 

  Melb69 on 21/07/2018 - 04:53

  Just put a short audio cable in the Sonys.Or leave the standard audio cable supplied in hp. Or keep. Connected to BT, but your phone battery will nit last. Best to keep cable in for that issue. They are the current leader in features and has great NC. Comfort in my opinion is great as well. Just takes getting use to if you havent worn over ear HP before. Price better as well thsn QC. Up to you really. New 2.0 firmware update allows easier google assist. Hope that helps.

• 

  Blue Suby on 21/07/2018 - 15:52

  I've got Parrot Zik 3-My Hubby was so impressed he bought a set for himself! I paid around $200 for them and they come with a cord if battery goes flat. I've tested these mainly on short haul flights >4hours and will be using them on long haul in a couple of weeks time. Very comfy and good noise cancelling. I was gonna get a set (for him) at HK duty free but they were dearer than on line in Oz. The guy couldn't match the price! Could always use a power bank if they run out of juice.

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  seraphim2017 on 22/07/2018 - 19:48

  Thanks all!

  I think I'll stay on the lookout for Bose QC35(was looking for wireless). I don't want to have to workaround just to get a feature they could implement through a software update but won't because they'll add it as a new feature to the mark 3!

  Shame as the Sony sounded good in JB but the trade off would kill my device battery life for no good reason. Heard the zik 3 had to be app connected to work?

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  sickburn on 23/07/2018 - 15:17

  What device are you going to pair with the headphones? My wife has the QC35 and latency is pretty poor when using a Galaxy S8. However when I use my Sennheisser PXC550s with the same phone, latency is non-existent (as it uses aptX). Apple devices support AAC, which the Bose supports, but I'm not sure how they fare latency wise.

  • 

    seraphim2017 on 24/07/2018 - 06:41

    How comfortable are the pxc550's? How do they compare to the qc35's, comfort, performance build wise etc?

    • 

      sickburn on 24/07/2018 - 14:23

      Honestly the QC35s feel a little more comfortable, but only because they are lighter and have softer leather earcups. The earcups do feel a tad smaller than the PXCs though (I can sometimes feel my earlobes brushing the sides).

      IMO the PXCs feel better built (denser, more substantiial, etc).

      NC is a bit better on the Bose, but sound quality easily goes to Sennheiser.

• 

  seraphim2017 on 23/07/2018 - 22:01

  Today I listened to the same tracks and NC at JB

  WH-1000XM2
  CH-H900N
  CH700N
  JBL Everest 750NC
  Backbeat Pro 2
  Bose QC35 II
  Sennheiser 4.50BT

  They all sounded ok, I found the backbeat pro 2 to be surprisingly comfortable and sound the best to my ears. They don't look pretty but they tick the boxes otherwise, including aptx LL which will be useful for lag reduction. I did NOT like the touch controls of the sony's, the CH700N's were nice but again, I don't want to have a cord dangling, or BT connection flattening my phone, just to use NC on a flight. The Bose felt cheap which was weird, although they had the best NC, they had the flattest noise profile.

  The bose store next door bragged about them being premium with a whole 12 months warranty! I laughed at them and said if I took a pair of $500 headphones to fairtrading they'd expect a good few years of service not 12 months, it doesn't inspire confidence!

  I think the backbeats, looks aside, will take my money, just got to find a good Ozbargain for them! Any deals like the telstra $162 a couple of months ago? (Time machines are very expensive!) :)

  • 

    Godric on 24/07/2018 - 15:47

    Hard to base comfort off of a 3 minute test though

  • 

    FoxJump on 19/07/2019 - 20:02

    I'm a bit late to this party. My dad has QC35 V1
    he's been using them roughly .. 5hrs a day, almost every day since 2016.
    He's had to buy 1 set of ear cups.
    Beside that - flawless.