Sony WH-1000XM3 vs Bose QC35 II, which to buy

BLOG CAM
Sep 9, 2021
5 min read

Sony WH-1000XM3 vs Bose QC35 II, which to buy

If you’re tired of using the earbuds that came with your phone and you’re looking to invest in some more Best active noise-canceling headphones. A quick Google search will consistently yield two results- the Bose QC 35 II and the Sony WH 1000XM3. But which one is worth your money? In our Bose QuietComfort 35 II vs Sony WH-1000xM3 face-off we’ve pitted these two goliaths against one another to work out the important winner of the active noise-canceling war.

Sony WH-1000xM3 vs Bose QuietComfort 35 II:- Price

The Bose QC 35 II had an RRP of $426.18 at launch. Since then, the worth has dropped right down to as low as $290 for the black, silver and rose gold finishes. The Midnight Blue model, available on the Bose website, is out there for $386

Sony’s contender has steadily dropped in price since last autumn, reaching its current price of $348. We anticipate this as being a discount before the mooted Sony WH-1000XM4 arriving later this year.

Sony WH-1000xM3 vs Bose QuietComfort 35 II:- Hardware

Both headphones are fairly similar on the outside. They’re both made of plastic. Both folds at the hinges for easy storing and both have plenty of comfortable padding perfect for long commutes or longer flights.

But there are a few notable differences that are worth paying attention to like for instance the method of playback control. The Sony’s have touched sensitive earcups that let you control playback via gestures like swiping and tapping while the QC 35s have physical buttons.

Now in our experience, both of these methods work perfectly fine so it really comes down to which one you just feel more comfortable using.

Sony WH-1000xM3 vs Bose QuietComfort 35 II:- Comfort

The Bose QC25 ii weighs almost 8.3ounces whereas the Sony WH 1000XM3 weighs 9 ounces. The Bose is definitely lighter on the head. Then there’s the method of charging and this is where the QC 35 s start to show their age as they’re rocking the old micro USB port while the WH 1000 XM3 have USB C.

But that’s not the only area where the bose QC35 s are lagging behind. Another is in high-quality codec support but Bluetooth codecs aren’t perfect. Sony is killing the game right now with basically all of them they have AAC apt X apdex HD and L DAC support.

In comparison, the QC 35 ii is only SBC and AAC that said iPhone users don’t really need to worry about this. Because the iPhone is only compatible with AAC anyway and both headphones support that no problem.

Sony WH-1000xM3 vs Bose QuietComfort 35 II:- Battery Life

What’re the sounds go: 20hours of playtime or 30 hours of playtime?

Sony offers Up to 30 hours of battery life on a single charge keeps you listening instead of charging whereas Bose QC 35 ii offers 20 hours of battery life.

Sony WH 1000XM3s 10 minutes of charge time gives 5 hours of playback time while the Bose cans only give 2.5 hours playback from a 15-minute charge

Sony WH-1000xM3 vs Bose QuietComfort 35 II:- Features

If you are a fan of features, you will be impressed with the Sonys. Their ingenious touch-sensitive earcups reply to swipe and tap gestures, allowing you to adjust the volume level, skip songs, answer calls, and bark orders at your chosen voice assistant (Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri are all supported) without reaching for your phone.

The Bose QC35 IIs are a bit more prosaic when it involves controls: they need physical buttons for listening modes and power. The ‘Action’ button conjures up Google Assistant but there are some limitations. While you’ll use these headphones to regulate and play your music, you’ll got to use Spotify so as to access Google Assistant Controls.

Both headphones accompany decent companion apps. Bose Connect are often wont to tweak the noise-canceling intensity (low, medium and high), update firmware, and connect two pairs of Bose headphones via the clever Music Share function. It’s just a shame there are not any EQ settings.

The Sony Headphones Connect app offers a far richer experience, full of customization options. There’s also a feature that permits you to silence the music by putting a fork over an earcup – handy once you want to possess a conversation without removing your headphones.

And the final nail in Bose’s coffin? Sony’s headphones boast USB-Type C charging while the Bose QC35 IIs cope with an older, micro USB connection.

Yes the Sonys are pricier but, they’re going to reward you’ll a better feature count and slick, touch-sensitive controls.

Sony WH-1000xM3 vs Bose QuietComfort 35 II:- Active Noise Cancelling

Let’s look at the feature that these two headphones are most known for active noise-canceling. For a long time, Bose was leagues ahead of the competition with Sony only recently catching up and giving them a run for their money.

But what does that actually look like? we’ll show you

This is the graph of the bose QC35 ii active noise-cancelling. Basically the green and blue colors represent the sounds that were actively removed. So the more green and blue you see in this graph the better now.

This is the graph of the ANC on the Sony WH 1000 XM3

When you compare the two side-by-side you can see that the WH 1000 XM3 does a way better job at cancelling sounds from roughly a 100 Hertz onwards than bose do. While the Bulls QC 35s do taper down slightly in the low end which makes them better at cancelling sounds less than 100 Hertz.

But what does that all really mean practically that means that the bose QC35 s are going to be slightly better at cancelling out low noises like the rumbles of car engines and airplanes. While the sony’s do an okay job with that they’re going to be way better at cancelling basically all other ambient noise.

Sony WH-1000xM3 vs Bose QuietComfort 35 II:- Sound Quality

So let’s not forget these are headphones and expensive ones at that so naturally we want them to sound good but which ones sound better.

Again let’s go to the data now these are the frequency responses of both pairs of headphones which is just how much emphasis is given to each note within a range. Surprisingly the Bose QC35 ii to have a decently flat sound signature which is great.

If you’re the kind of person to EQ their music and mess with the sound of your headphones that said the QC 35 s don’t have any high quality streaming codecs as we mentioned before so you’ll likely hear some compression artifacts out louder volumes. On the other hand the Sony WH 1000 XM3s puts a little more emphasis on the low end so you’ll get some more bass on them than the QC 35 ii.

Sony WH-1000xM3 vs Bose QuietComfort 35 II:- App

Both headphones have their own app. The Sony WH 1000XM3 has Sony Headphone Connect apps through which you can control your ambient sound setting and adjust the sound levels with the equalizer. Sony Headphone Connect available for both android and iphone users.

For Bose QC35 ii, Bose Connect App is available. Using the Bose Connect App you will be able to adjust the level of noise cancellation, enable music sharing, manage Bluetooth connection, and access software updates.