Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 vs QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018: Which Headphones Are Better?

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Mar 14, 2024 07:16 PM

See Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Review

Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Picture

Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018 Picture

TypeOver-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

Noise CancellingYes

MicYes

TypeOver-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

Noise CancellingYes

MicYes

Our Verdict

Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016

Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018

The differences between the Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 and the Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018 are minimal. The new model now has a dedicated ANC button, which you can also map for voice-enabled controls. Overall, if you always want your ANC on at max level and don’t use your device’s voice assistant, there is practically no reason to get the QC 35 II over the first model.

Variants

QuietComfort 35 (Black)
QuietComfort 35 (White)

QuietComfort 35 II (Black)
QuietComfort 35 II (Rose Gold)
QuietComfort 35 II (Silver)
QuietComfort 35 II (Triple Midnight)

Review

See Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018 Review

Check Price

Black

QuietComfort 35

Black

QuietComfort 35 II

White

QuietComfort 35

Rose Gold

QuietComfort 35 II

Silver

QuietComfort 35 II

Triple Midnight

QuietComfort 35 II

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

No major differences between these headphones for mixed usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Mixed Usage

7.5

Neutral Sound

7.8

8.0

Commute/Travel

7.9

8.1

Sports/Fitness

7.2

7.4

Office

7.7

7.9

Wireless Gaming

6.1

6.2

Wired Gaming

7.8

7.9

Phone Calls

6.8

7.3

Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Type

Over-ear

Enclosure

Closed-Back

Wireless

Yes

Transducer

Dynamic

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Comfort

8.5

Comfort Picture

Weight

0.52 lbs

Clamping Force

0.69 lbs

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Controls

6.4

7.6

Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

iOS

Not OS specific

Ease Of Use

Good

Feedback

Good

Call/Music Control

Yes

Volume Control

Yes

Microphone Control

Mute/Unmute

Channel Mixing

N/A

Noise Cancelling Control

Adjustable

Talk-Through

Additional Controls

Voice Assistant

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Breathability

6.3

Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference

6.3 °C

6.2 °C

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Portability

6.1

6.5

Portability Picture

L

5.12"

6.5" (16.5 cm)

W

5.71"

6.1" (15.5 cm)

H

3.15"

1.5" (3.8 cm)

Volume

92 in³

59.20 in³ (970.11 cm³)

Transmitter Required

N/A

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Case

8.0

Case Picture

Type

Hard case

L

8.27"

8.3" (21.1 cm)

W

5.91"

5.9" (15.0 cm)

H

2.17"

2.2" (5.6 cm)

Volume

105.7 in³

106.00 in³ (1,737.02 cm³)

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Build Quality

7.5

Build Quality Picture

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Stability

7.0

Stability Picture

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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

2 dB

Treble Amount

-0.88 dB

-2.27 dB

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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

8.2

Bass

Bass

Std. Err.

1.15 dB

2.54 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

10 Hz

Low-Bass

1.81 dB

2.55 dB

Mid-Bass

0.97 dB

2.59 dB

High-Bass

0.81 dB

3.22 dB

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Mid Accuracy

8.4

9.1

Mid

Mid

Std. Err.

2.19 dB

1.23 dB

Low-Mid

-0.02 dB

1.47 dB

Mid-Mid

-1.83 dB

0.01 dB

High-Mid

-0.28 dB

0.15 dB

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Treble Accuracy

8.2

8.3

Treble

Treble

Std. Err.

3.26 dB

2.55 dB

Low-Treble

1.3 dB

1.05 dB

Mid-Treble

-2.82 dB

-1.23 dB

High-Treble

-1.51 dB

-6.32 dB

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Peaks/Dips

7.7

8.1

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks

1.38 dB

1.28 dB

Dips

1.52 dB

0.8 dB

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Imaging

8.1

9.0

Group Delay

Phase Response

Phase Response Mismatch

Weighted Group Delay

0.11

0.1

Weighted Phase Mismatch

5.33

2.96

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

1.99

0.69

Weighted Frequency Mismatch

1.89

1.26

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Passive Soundstage

5.1

5.0

PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)

4.21 dB

2.96 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.)

9.15 dB

6.46 dB

PRTF Distance

11.82 dB

10.6 dB

Openness

1.4

0.9

Acoustic Space Excitation

4.3

4.0

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Virtual Soundstage

0.0

Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling

Speaker Modeling

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

Virtual Surround

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Weighted Harmonic Distortion

7.8

7.7

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

WHD @ 90

0.161

0.265

WHD @ 100

0.150

0.140

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Test Settings

Firmware

Unknown

Power

Connection

Bluetooth 4.2

Codec

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ

No EQ

ANC

Maximum

Tip/Pad

Default

Microphone

Integrated

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Isolation

Noise Isolation

8.6

9.1

Noise Isolation

Isolation Audio

Overall Attenuation

-25.16 dB

-27.01 dB

Noise Cancelling

Yes

Bass

-15.7 dB

-19.65 dB

Mid

-25.58 dB

-24.92 dB

Treble

-35.18 dB

-36.85 dB

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Leakage

6.6

6.5

Leakage

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

41.87 dB

42.4 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

Yes

In-Line

Boom

Detachable Boom

N/A

Mic

Yes

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Recording Quality

5.9

6.0

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

LFE

281 Hz

320 Hz

FR Std. Dev.

2.54 dB

1.73 dB

HFE

2,152.7 Hz

2,061.43 Hz

Weighted THD

16.622

2.416

Gain

39.75 dB

37.46 dB

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Noise Handling

6.4

7.5

SpNR

SpNR

16.69 dB

16.19 dB

Noise Gate

Speech + Pink Noise Handling

7.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample

Speech + Subway Noise Handling

7.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample

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Active Features

Battery

8.3

8.4

Battery Type

Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life

18.5 hrs

20 hrs

Additional Charges

0.0

Total Battery Life

18.5 hrs

20 hrs

Charge Time

2 hrs

2.1 hrs

Power-Saving Feature

Auto-Off Timer

Audio While Charging

Passive Playback

Yes

Charging Port

micro-USB

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App Support

7.0

App Picture

App Name

Bose Connect

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

Yes

Surround Sound

N/A

Surround Support

Show Text

Connectivity

Bluetooth

8.8

8.6

Bluetooth Version

4.1

Multi-Device Pairing

2 Devices

NFC Pairing

Yes

Line Of Sight Range

116 ft

122.00 ft (37.19 m)

PC Latency (SBC)

189 ms

239 ms

PC Latency (aptX)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL)

N/A

iOS Latency

79 ms

Android Latency

105 ms

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Non-Bluetooth Wireless

0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range

N/A

Non-BT Latency

N/A

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Wired

9.5

Cable Picture

Analog Audio

Yes

USB Audio

Detachable

Yes

Length

3.84 ft

3.90 ft (1.19 m)

Connection

1/8" TRS

1/16" TRS

Wired Latency

0 ms

Analog/USB Audio Latency

0 ms

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PC Compatibility

Analog

Audio Only

Wired USB

Non-BT Wireless

PC / PS4 Compatibility

PC / PS4 Analog

Audio Only

PC / PS4 Wired USB

PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless

PlayStation Compatibility

PS4 Analog

Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB

PS4 Non-BT Wireless

PS5 Analog

Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB

PS5 Non-BT Wireless

Xbox Compatibility

Xbox One Analog

Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Xbox Series X|S Analog

Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless

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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

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Check Price

Black

QuietComfort 35

Black

QuietComfort 35 II

White

QuietComfort 35

Rose Gold

QuietComfort 35 II

Silver

QuietComfort 35 II

Triple Midnight

QuietComfort 35 II