AKG N60NC vs Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016: Which Headphones Are Better?

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Sep 03, 2021 07:46 PM

See Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Review

Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Picture

TypeOver-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

Noise CancellingYes

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

MicYes

TypeOn-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

Noise CancellingYes

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

MicYes

Our Verdict

Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016

AKG N60NC Wireless

The Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 are better headphones than the AKG N60NC. The Bose are over-ear and are one of the most comfortable headphones we've tested. They have a more neutral-sounding audio reproduction and are well-built. The Bose isolation performance is better suited for loud environments, and you'll get a few more hours of continuous playback. On the other hand, the AKGs have better wireless range and trap less heat inside your ears after long periods of time. You'll also be able to use the AKG's microphone when wired to PCs and consoles, which the Bose can't do.

Variants

QuietComfort 35 (Black)
QuietComfort 35 (White)

N60NC Wireless

Review

See AKG N60NC Wireless Review

Check Price

Black

QuietComfort 35

Standard

N60NC Wireless

White

QuietComfort 35

Standard

N60NC Wireless

Walmart.com

Standard

N60NC Wireless

B&H

Standard

N60NC Wireless

BestBuy.com

Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.

Threshold

0.10

Mixed Usage

7.5

6.9

Comfort

8.5

7.0

Battery

8.3

6.9

Full Comparison

Mixed Usage

7.5

6.9

Neutral Sound

7.8

6.8

Commute/Travel

7.9

7.4

Sports/Fitness

7.2

7.0

Office

7.7

7.1

Wireless Gaming

6.1

5.2

Wired Gaming

7.8

6.9

Phone Calls

6.8

6.7

Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Type

Over-ear

On-ear

Enclosure

Closed-Back

Wireless

Yes

Transducer

Dynamic

Show Text

Comfort

8.5

7.0

Comfort Picture

Weight

0.52 lbs

0.4 lbs

Clamping Force

0.69 lbs

0.6 lbs

Show Text

Controls

6.4

6.6

Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

iOS

Not OS specific

Ease Of Use

Good

Feedback

Good

Decent

Call/Music Control

Yes

Volume Control

Yes

Microphone Control

Channel Mixing

N/A

Noise Cancelling Control

Talk-Through

Additional Controls

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Breathability

6.3

7.6

Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference

6.3 °C

2.8 °C

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Portability

6.1

6.9

Portability Picture

L

5.12"

6.5"

W

5.71"

4.6"

H

3.15"

1.3"

Volume

92 in³

39 in³

Transmitter Required

N/A

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Case

8.0

6.0

Case Picture

Type

Hard case

Pouch

L

8.27"

N/A

W

5.91"

N/A

H

2.17"

N/A

Volume

105.7 in³

N/A

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Build Quality

7.5

7.0

Build Quality Picture

Show Text

Stability

7.0

6.0

Stability Picture

Show Text

Headshots 1

Angled Picture

Side Picture

Headshots 2

Front Picture

Rear Picture

Top

Top Picture

In The Box

In The Box Picture

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Sound

Sound Profile

Frequency Response

Frequency Response

Bass Amount

0.93 dB

0.05 dB

Treble Amount

-0.88 dB

-2.39 dB

Frequency Response Consistency

8.1

7.7

Consistency L

Consistency R

Avg. Std. Deviation

0.37 dB

0.45 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Bass Accuracy

9.1

7.2

Bass

Bass

Std. Err.

1.15 dB

3.86 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

10 Hz

14.14 Hz

Low-Bass

1.81 dB

-0.17 dB

Mid-Bass

0.97 dB

3.77 dB

High-Bass

0.81 dB

5.96 dB

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Mid Accuracy

8.4

7.8

Mid

Mid

Std. Err.

2.19 dB

2.87 dB

Low-Mid

-0.02 dB

4.26 dB

Mid-Mid

-1.83 dB

0.85 dB

High-Mid

-0.28 dB

-1.71 dB

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Treble Accuracy

8.2

7.6

Treble

Treble

Std. Err.

3.26 dB

3.16 dB

Low-Treble

1.3 dB

1.07 dB

Mid-Treble

-2.82 dB

3.17 dB

High-Treble

-1.51 dB

-8.35 dB

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Peaks/Dips

7.7

7.1

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks

1.38 dB

2 dB

Dips

1.52 dB

1.14 dB

Imaging

8.1

8.8

Group Delay

Phase Response

Weighted Group Delay

0.11

0.15

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

1.99

0.49

Weighted Frequency Mismatch

1.89

1.25

Weighted Phase Mismatch

5.33

6.58

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Passive Soundstage

5.1

3.1

PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)

4.21 dB

3.11 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.)

9.15 dB

1.96 dB

PRTF Distance

11.82 dB

1.98 dB

Openness

1.4

2.0

Acoustic Space Excitation

4.3

2.8

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Virtual Soundstage

0.0

Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling

Speaker Modeling

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

Virtual Surround

No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

7.8

7.3

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

WHD @ 90

0.161

0.258

WHD @ 100

0.150

0.257

Test Settings

Firmware

Unknown

Power

Connection

Unknown

Codec

aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ

Default

ANC

Tip/Pad

Default

Microphone

Integrated

Isolation

Noise Isolation

8.6

8.0

Noise Isolation

Isolation Audio

Overall Attenuation

-25.16 dB

-21.77 dB

Noise Cancelling

Yes

Bass

-15.7 dB

-14.67 dB

Mid

-25.58 dB

-16.91 dB

Treble

-35.18 dB

-33.71 dB

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Leakage

6.6

7.6

Leakage

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

41.87 dB

36.24 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

Yes

In-Line

Yes

Boom

Detachable Boom

N/A

Mic

Yes

Show Text

Recording Quality

5.9

6.3

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

LFE

281 Hz

289.23 Hz

FR Std. Dev.

2.54 dB

3.04 dB

HFE

2,152.7 Hz

2,751.68 Hz

Weighted THD

16.622

5.893

Gain

39.75 dB

41.42 dB

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Noise Handling

6.4

6.1

SpNR

Speech + Pink Noise

Speech + Subway Noise

SpNR

16.69 dB

13.78 dB

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Active Features

Battery

8.3

6.9

Battery Type

Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life

18.5 hrs

13.2 hrs

Additional Charges

0.0

Total Battery Life

18.5 hrs

13.2 hrs

Charge Time

2 hrs

1.6 hrs

Power-Saving Feature

Auto-Off Timer

Audio While Charging

Passive Playback

Yes

Charging Port

micro-USB

Show Text

App Support

7.0

0.0

App Picture

App Name

Bose Connect

No App

iOS

Yes

Android

Yes

macOS

N/A

Windows

N/A

Equalizer

ANC Control

Adjustable

Mic Control

N/A

Room Effects

Playback Control

Yes

Button Mapping

N/A

Surround Sound

N/A

Surround Support

Show Text

Connectivity

Bluetooth

8.8

8.1

Bluetooth Version

4.1

4.0

Multi-Device Pairing

2 Devices

NFC Pairing

Yes

Line Of Sight Range

116 ft

231 ft

PC Latency (SBC)

189 ms

141 ms

PC Latency (aptX)

N/A

114 ms

PC Latency (aptX HD)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL)

N/A

iOS Latency

413 ms

Android Latency

130 ms

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Non-Bluetooth Wireless

0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range

N/A

Non-BT Latency

N/A

Wired

9.5

Cable Picture

Analog Audio

Yes

USB Audio

Detachable

Yes

Length

3.84 ft

4.2 ft

Connection

1/8" TRS

1/8" TRRS

Wired Latency

0 ms

Analog/USB Audio Latency

0 ms

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PC / PS4 Compatibility

PC/PS4 Analog

Audio Only

Audio + Microphone

PC/PS4 Wired USB

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless

Xbox One Compatibility

Xbox One Analog

Audio Only

Audio + Microphone

Xbox One Wired USB

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Base/Dock

0.0

Type

N/A

No Base/Dock

USB Input

N/A

Line In

N/A

Line Out

N/A

Optical Input

N/A

RCA Input

N/A

Dock Charging

N/A

Power Supply

N/A

No Base/Dock

Show Text

Check Price

Black

QuietComfort 35

Standard

N60NC Wireless

White

QuietComfort 35

Standard

N60NC Wireless