Reply With QuoteFor me the Senheisser Momentum's would be my choice. Quality, and long term satisfaction.
I'm looking at three wireless, ANC headphones, but am on the fence about which pair will be best for me. They'll mostly be for commuting on the bus and train, so no critical listening opportunities! I have nicer headphones at home for that purpose. I've tested out all three, but it wasn't definitive! For one thing, it was hard to get a good idea of the real-world effectiveness of the ANC in the shop. My thoughts are below, and I'd be interested to hear opinions from owners, please.
1. Bose QC35II
- Seems to have the best noise cancelling, according to *most* reviews and my own experience testing in store
- They are comfortable
- Currently on sale, so price isn't an issue
- I'm not excited about the sound quality, especially in this price range
2. Sony WH-1000XM2/3
- Good noise cancelling
- Price also OK
- Even with the headband completely retracted, they didn't feel very secure (may have been that the test pair I tried on were stretched by many other heads)
- Sound was better than the Bose, but bass was quite muffled. I was led to believe by the store assistant that fiddling with the app could fix that
- Very wary of the headband cracking problem that seems to have affected this model and its predecessor. Possibly fixed in the third gen, soon to be released, but only time will tell
- Assumption that the v3 won't be substantially better in most regards
3. Sennheiser Momentum 2 Overear Wireless
- Best sound of the three by quite some way; actually made me smile when I listened to them!
- ANC was OK, clearly not as good as the other two, but hard to tell in store whether it will be good enough for the train/bus
- Build quality is excellent, all metal and leather. Have no worries about longevity with these
- Price OK as also on sale, so comparible to the Bose and Sony
- Comfortable
I had hoped writing out these pros/cons would help make the decision clearer...
For me the Senheisser Momentum's would be my choice. Quality, and long term satisfaction.
I purchased all three recently whilst in Australia to test in readiness for the trip back, plus the Plantronics Backbeat Pro 2
My choice were the Bose QC35II.
I wanted to like the Sony's (XM2), but they felt too big and bulky, I liked the Plantronic Pro's but again a bit bulky, and thought the Sennheiser Momentum very underwhelming even though I have Sennheiser HD580 and 650 headphones for home use.
During the flight back the Bose were really comfortable and a pleasure to wear and use.
I have tested all three in stores or from friends and ended up with the Momentums. Noise cancellation is not as good but if you have something playing through the headphones you'll rarely hear anything from the outside so that was good enough for me as I mostly use them in the office or during flights, not on my commute (which can get a bit more loud than what the Momentums can handle).
All in all I'm pretty happy with the Senns and was also pleasantly surprised with their support when I sent the headphones back because one cup would slide down without any friction and they simply replaced it without any questions asked.
However, if not for the Senn, I'd probably go with the QC35...
My lads had the Sony ones for a while now and loves them, he's pretty heavy on headphones and tends to kill them in a few months but the Sony have lasted nine months so far and going strong.
He is loving the noise cancelling and also the battery life.
Where did you see the Bose on sale? The best price I've seen on them is £269.00 but most places are over £300.00Originally Posted by sean
The Sony's, which are excellent in my experience, are currently on an Amazon deal for £249.00
Depends on use I guess, but the Bose are excellent for long haul flights, and the sound is good enough for me. If I was more into the pure music I don't think I'd be being noise cancelling- but I'm sure there is a good compromise out there for most people.
It's just a matter of time...
You can read reviews and opinions forever on this subject and end up more confused than when you started. I've been through the same process.
I ended up buying the Bose QC35s. They've had loads of use and have been spot on.
If you went on reviews, most favour the Sony's Sony WH-1000XM2 and the more comprehensive ones give clear justification as to why.
I've had the Sennheiser and the Sony and kept the Sony. I found the sound quality much better and the noise cancelling as good. My understanding is Bose is less for music lovers and more for people who want noise cancellation.
Not really. They can go either way.
I have the Bose QC35 (series 1) and Bowers & Wilkins PX.
I can't remember the last time I used the Bose... I should stick them on SC really.
I have the Sony WH-1000XM2 and am very pleased with them. I work in what's supposed to be a library like environment but it can get loud, especially when we have tours etc. I've had people talking to me with my headphones on and I've not heard them (much to their chagrin), the NC is that good and that's without playback being loud.
I bought the Sony's as I'm a bit of an audiophile and they had the best sound reproduction in a wireless NC headphone. The battery life is excellent and I can wear them for 8 hours a day in perfect comfort and without ear/listening fatigue. I've had no issues with the headband and I think it only really affected the previous model.
Hope that helps and good luck with your decision.
Cheers,
Gary
I bought Bose QCII, because of I had to move to open space office and so far I am satisfied, because of I hate open space office with 30 people clacking away their keyboards, chatting and making all kind of noises.
I found the Bose the most comfortable to wear
You can have the most awesome NC, audiophile sonics etc but when you want to wear them for extended periods Bose QC35 mki win it for me
Exactly - for me the Bose were by far the most comfortable when trying them on, and have remained so and my regular long hauls.
It's just a matter of time...
I really wanted these to be the clear winner, and if only their NC was a bit stronger they would have been!
I'm working in Toronto at the moment, and they're on sale over here (and in the US) bringing their price into the same range as the others.
No kidding! I'd hoped testing them all out in the shop would have settled this, but no such luck.
See, this is the thing. Will the great SQ of the Sennheisers be compromised by their less than stellar NC during my commute to the extent that the poorer SQ of the Bose pair enhanced by their really good NC becomes preferable? Or would the Sonys' in-the-middle NC and SQ be the best combo?
If I had a clear priority out of noise cancelling, sound quality and build quality, then the choice would be clear (Bose, Sennheiser and Sennheiser respectively, IMO) but I want the best combination of the three. TBH, I'm sure whichever one I get will turn out to be a great pair—that they're all so good is what's proving to be challenging!
I had this conundrum last year. In the end I went for the BOSE QC35's due to the excellent NC, the comfort and the fact that to me they sounded great (maybe not as good as the others but good enough for me).
I bought the Bose QC35s because they were the most comfortable and looked the most understated. No complaints.
I was searching for the best quality ANC headphones for a while, and I tend to always follow other people's reviews. After reading and watching many of those, I settled on the Sony. Mainly because of the flexibility and their use with the App, and their fine adjustment, which the others lack.
Sound quality wise, I thought they didn't sound that powerful when giving it some beans straight from my iPhone, being my main music source. Although purchasing for wireless Bluetooth quality, when using at home, I experimented with attaching the supplied optional cable direct to the headphones and via my Fiio headphone amp, attached to the phone.........Wow!.....now we're talking completely different quality altogether, and the ANC still works, albeit the App function is disabled as works via Bluetooth.
Excited with the now quality I've achieved through these cans, I looked forward to my recently returned trip to Thailand. After all the messing around, I found I didn't need to connect the amp at all, as these seem to work even better in a much louder environment. I found I had them on quite low volume, and the ANC was excellent , and with the hand gesture control on the right ear cup when needing to listen and speak to people, they were a joy to use......the other ANC headphones on the market do not have this. I made my final purchase decision after watching this guys reviews......https://youtu.be/lrCnF7YyRhs
This video includes the Mk1's, and here's his update for the Mk2's.
https://youtu.be/ty3DqOggC1M
Definitely happy with my choice.
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Sony's just announced the Mk3s.
A redesign, so the headband cracking issue may be sorted; 4x better NC; USB-C. Should be available next month for the same price as the current version. Hmmm.
Argh! I've barely used my Mk 2s as it's been too hot, I've been using the WI-1000X earphones instead, which are also excellent.
What HiFi on the new Sonys:
CNET:Add all of the ingredients together – the increased comfort, improved noise-cancelling and serious audio ability – and you have as close to the perfect pair of noise-cancelling headphones as it’s currently possible to find.
There are rivals out there that can beat them in specific areas, but none offer the same exceptional all-roundedness. Taken as a whole the WH-1000XM3s are simply sensational – the perfect long-haul travel companion, office upgrade or daily commute enhancement.
I suppose I shall have to wait and try these before I make a decision.Sony's WH-1000XM3 dethrones Bose QuietComfort 35 II as top noise-cancelling headphone
Funnily enough I was looking at both these too for my tube journey so the MK3 means I will wait as the Bose was definitely more comfortable than the MK2. The new unit being the same price as the old one will be RRP though as the MK2 have been well under that recently so in reality there is likely to be a fair price hike to get the new ones.
How about the new(ish) B&W PX headphones?
^^^ I dismissed them as apparently the feature whereby they stop playing when you take them off is over-sensitive and cuts in when you tip your head down, say to look over your reading glasses. Build quality and styling is something else though!
Interested to 'hear' about which you go for. Also looking for a solid set to use on the commute! Issue for me, lot of these look too bulky.
From comparisons I have seen the ANC is not as good as the Sony or Bose. The music quality is good. Apart from the quirks of the start stop which I believe you can alter the sensitivity of anyway it is the comfort that is much worse than the other two. From trying all of them on I would put them well third in this category. I love my P5 for comfort but had to give my daughter my P7 as they hurt my ears after extended use and I used them on planes a couple of times. My ears must just the wrong shape for them.
Another ingredient to throw into the mix: the Sennheisers support the Bluetooth aptx codec but not the AAC codec, which is what Apple uses, meaning used with an iPhone the pair would revert to using a basic, lower quality codec to transfer the Bluetooth signal. The sonys have the aptx and AAC and a bunch of others. I'll use an iPhone to listen to, so that's another possible strike against the Sennheisers and for the Sonys.
I’m pretty sure there’ll be an updated set of Sennheisers along soon. I’ve had mine for three or four years and they’re well overdue an update (although they’re still my go to headphones and would still be my pick from all the candidates suggested, all of which I’ve tried).
Given the frequency with which they’re discounted on the Sennheiser website I’d say a new version can’t be far away.
A new version will use a newer version of Bluetooth and undoubtedly support AAC, as the newer in-ears already do.
Another vote for Sony here (Mk 2)
No headband issues. Sound quality more than good enough for me & very tweaksble. The NC is stunning. I do a lot of commuting on buses trains and flights. Apart from the motion you wouldn’t know you were anywhere but the library. The ability to recalibrate for pressure in flight is pretty useful too.
Totally delighted with them.
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I owned a Sony 1000 series and traded them for the Bose 25s (I wanted replaceable batteries...) as the Sony pair were too hot. Loved the Bose, comfortable and superb NC, nice accessories and portability. Better than the Sony, in my use.
However, they failed on my last flight. Right speaker unit died. It is a common fault. The QC35s apparently use the same design. Replaceable speaker units are available online for about £5. Aside: the markup on headphones must be astronomical. Tediously, the original units are glued in. I've removed mine, intending to replace, but the general low quality revealed in the dismantling has disenchanted me. I now know exactly why Bose are so "comfortably light".
I think my next pair will be Sony, Sennheiser or B&W.
Oh dear. That got me thinking. If I'm going to spend serious dosh on a nice pair of headphones that I expect to use five days a week for the foreseeable future, then longevity is a factor. To that end, replaceable battery and earpads makes sense. That pushes me to consider the B&O H9i, at quite a price premium. I shall try and test them this weekend; if they sound good (in this regard some reviews are favourable and some aren't) then they may be the ones I go for.
They do look lovely with all that leather.
Following a recent visit to Bose Glasgow, I was assured the lag with You Tube videos had been rectified. I was even shown a video which supported this claim. I got home and the problem was very much still there.
Edit: Apologies, this refers to the in ear Bose buds.
Last edited by MTM84; 6th September 2018 at 07:12.
The Sennheisers have no problem with YouTube/Netflix lag on iOS for me.
Also, having been daily wearers for ~2hrs per day mine are still going strong 3 (or is it 4?) years later with the battery still almost as long lasting as it was initially.
It’s going to take some serious advances to get me to upgrade.
I have a pair of these and rate them highly. Comfortable, high quality, can be used when the battery is dead and replaceable battery to boot when it does die. They sound amazing but the ANC is not as strong as the BOSE equivalents.Oh dear. That got me thinking. If I'm going to spend serious dosh on a nice pair of headphones that I expect to use five days a week for the foreseeable future, then longevity is a factor. To that end, replaceable battery and earpads makes sense. That pushes me to consider the B&O H9i, at quite a price premium. I shall try and test them this weekend; if they sound good (in this regard some reviews are favourable and some aren't) then they may be the ones I go for.
They do look lovely with all that leather.
Good to know. The ANC just has to be good enough though, which hopefully I'll get a sense of if I get to test them out. I think if I wanted the best ANC I'd get the new Sonys for sure; that would be an easy decision!
Although I travel a lot for me the ANC was secondary to sound quality and the BOSE just didn’t do it for me (borrowed the wives headphones, better ANC but reedy sound IMHO)
Tested out the B&O earlier. I'd rate them up with the Sennheisers as the best of the ones I've listened to. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a good gauge on the ANC as it wasn't that noisy in the shop.
I also tried once again the Sony M2s, and it reconfirmed my earlier experience that to my ears they're dull, muffled and boomy at the bottom end. Apparently the M3s are better, but given that the M2s were given pretty good reviews sound-wise when they were released a year ago, I'm not all that optimistic. Still, we'll have to see. I'll give the M3s a listen as soon as I can when I can find them in a shop and then I'll make a decision which pair to get.
Bought a pair of Bose Soundlink 2 wireless headphones yesterday. I had initially planned to buy the QC model but I didn’t like the pressure feeling that built up in my ears whilst wearing my friend’s over the last week. I imagine this is due to the noise cancellation feature. Whilst the Soundlink version doesn’t have the noise cancellation, I can’t hear a thing when I’m listening to them and they feel better on my ears, so overall I’m delighted. This model also comes in the white and tan colour scheme which I preferred over the silver or black of the QC range. Highly recommended.
Slightly off topic, but how comfortable are these over the ear phones when wearing glasses? Also does the glasses leg interfere with the noise cancelling effect by letting sound inside the cuff?
Can't decide on in the the ear vs cans. Anyone got any opinions?
I always wear my QC35s over glasses.
Not uncomfortable. No discernible difference in ANC, though I guess there must be technically as you're slightly breaking the seal between your ears and the outside world.
In my experience of using gaming headphones with specs for long periods it is generally not an issue if they are fine without specs. The Sony have a calibration feature that can take account of this anyway.
In my reading on this topic it depends on the headphones. The comfort of some, like the Sennheiser Momentums, apparently are affected by wearing glasses. It may also depend on the person and the glasses!
After weeks of reading reviews and a few demos I picked up the QC35s. Not sonically as refined as the Sony, B&O, Senn or AKG, but very comfortable and with superior ANC. And since I bought them specifically for travel, when ANC is a priority, it was a logical if not audiophile choice. That accolade would go to B&O.
Tried them on a flight, and they blocked out the engine noise superbly, and also on a long train journey, similarly blocking out the train noises brilliantly.
At the time the Sony version 3 had just come into the shop, but at 50% more I couldn't see the point of considering them as an option.
For travel there's the QC35. For anything else, there's B&O...
Sean, which did you go for?
I am planning to buy some today. Leaning towards Bose - seems to be the cornerstone and good all rounder. Lot of money. Just using on a daily tube commute, worried they (and all of the above in fact) may be too bulky and uncomfortable, meaning I ditch them after a few weeks!
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Useful feedback! I am also leaning this way. Do you find them bulky in travel / storage on your person?
Aren’t the QC35 and the new Sony the same price though at £329? Even with offers I’ve not seen a difference that big.
As my daughter was increasingly borrowing my Sony wh1000x m2s I had to upgrade to the m3s. Even better. I did swap out the longer line in from the m2s though.
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Undecided between the Sony Mk3 and the Bose now! I guess it will be much of a muchness in the end.
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