Today I’ll be walking you through all the differences between the QC35 II and Bose’s latest Noise Cancelling Headphone, the NC 700. So whether you already have the QC35 and are thinking about upgrading, or if you’re trying to decide which one to get between the two, you’ll have all the information you need to figure out what will be best for your particular situation.
The NC 700 is more of an evolution as opposed to a replacement for the QC 35 II. So with the changes, some may still prefer the QC 35, as many of these changes have more to do with preference as opposed to being better.
Before buying, check out latest prices for Bose NC700 and QC35 II
Contents
Accessories
Beginning with the accessories, both headphones have almost identical accessories.
NC 700
- 1/8 to 1/16 audio cable
- USB type C charging cable
- Manual
- Carrying case (slightly larger than the QC 35 case)
QC 35ii
- 3.5 mm audio cable
- Micro USB charging cable
- Manual
- Carrying case (slightly more compact than the QC 35 case)
Both headphones offer a possible advantage here. The QC 35 has the slightly more compact and portable case, while the NC 700 has a USB C charging cable. So if you have an android phone, you can use the same cable for charging your phone and your headphones.
Also, just a note that neither of these headphones come with the Bose Airline Adapter. So you may want to order the one from Bose or you can get a lower cost generic one if that might be helpful for you to have.
Build Quality
Both headphones are well built, but the NC 700 does have some design changes which help give it a more solid feel and slightly more durable construction.
NC 700
- Stainless steel frame that seamlessly connects the two earcups
- No folding joints
- Headband is well-padded with a soft rubbery coating (slightly more padding than the QC35)
- The point at which the metal frame intersects the earcups doesn’t feel quite as secure as the QC35
- Earcups slide up and down now along the steel frame of the headband
QC 35ii
- Traditional Bose over-ear design
- More of a plastic build, headphone feels more plasticky as a result
- More folding joints than the NC 700
- Used a slide click-adjustment to adjust fit of headphones
Both headphones are durable, and the QC 35’s have been around for a while and have proven they can hold up to years and years of use. The NC 700 does seem to be slightly more durable with its new steel frame construction for the headband.
Controls
This is one area that could be a deciding factor for some. Because the NC 700 uses a touchpad on the earcup (which you tap or swipe) whereas the QC 35 uses physical buttons to control music playback and to answer phone calls.
NC 700
- Touchpad could be an improvement for those who prefer this
- Very cold or freezing weather can affect touchpad use (making it more difficult to use)
- Touchpad allows you to hear how much battery life is left
- Touchpad is reliable overall, but steel frame on earcup can interfere
QC 35ii
- Traditional buttons on QC 35 are more reliable
- Handles extreme cold and freezing temperatures better
- Easier to use and provides more tactile feedback
This will come down to preference as to whether you will prefer one over the other. For example, if you know you prefer a touchpad over physical buttons, then the NC700 would be the better choice. However, one slight issue with the design of the steel frame on the NC 700 is that it can interfere when swiping backwards.
Once you’re aware of that, it shouldn’t be a big deal, but it’s worth noting in case you feel that might be bothersome.
Also, if you think you’ll be using your headphones primarily in very cold or freezing temperatures then that can affect the use of the touchpad. So in that situation the QC 35ii would be the safer choice or you can just use your phone to control playback of your music rather than rely on the touchpad.
Comfort
The QC 35 is definitely the more comfortable headphone between the two. While the NC 700 is still a comfortable headphone to wear, the clamping force and the way this headphone fits on your head ends up causing some discomfort over time.
So if a top priority is comfort or being able to wear your headphones for several hours at a time, then the QC35 would be the winner.
NC 700
- Has a tighter clamping force, and although this affects the long-term comfort of these, you do get a tighter seal and quite a bit less sound leakage as a result
- These stay put on your head a little better if you’re using these in more active pursuits such as working out.
- You notice you’re wearing these more
- After a few hours, may feel like you need to give your head a break
QC 35ii
- Ear padding is slightly more plush and comfortable feeling
- You can forget you’re wearing these, they’re more likely to ‘disappear’
- Ideal for all-day type use
- Ear cups are slightly more airy and open on the inside
- Does a better job distributing the headphone weight and pressure
So while there’s not a significant difference between the two comfort wise, if comfort is a top priority, the QC 35 would certainly be the winner here.
But again, depending on your situation, the NC 700 might make more sense. For example, if you’re planning on using these outside while gardening, or while going for a walk, or during workouts at the gym, having the stronger clamping force of the NC 700 might make more sense and give you a better listening experience as a result.
Charging and Battery Life
There’s not a huge difference between the two here. As both headphones will have about 20 hours of battery life. Though the NC700 does give you a little bit more on average.
Both headphones have an ‘audio-off’ feature which automatically powers the headphones off after being in-active for a set period of time (you can control this through the apps for each). And both headphones allow you to use them as wired headphones when the battery dies.
NC 700
- Charges via a USB C port
- Slightly faster charge times compared to the QC 35
- Can use as a wired headphone when battery dies
QC 35ii
- Charges via a micro USB port
- Can use as a wired headphone when battery dies
For those who have Android devices (and use USB C charging cables), using the NC 700 has an advantage here as you can share the same charging cable as your phone. Probably not a deciding factor for most, but just something to consider.
Microphone Comparison
This is another area where there is a noticeable difference between these two headphones. Call quality on the NC 700 absolutely sounds better and noticeably improved compared to the QC 35.
NC 700
- Noticeably better call quality compared to the QC 35
- One of the best sounding mics compared to all ANC headphones
- Better able to distinguish and separate speech from background noise
QC 35ii
- Call quality is decent and certainly usable for talking on the phone.
- Mic quality is comparable to what most ANC headphones sound like
If you plan on using your headphones for more professional use (ie. your a realtor taking calls while using your headphones), then the NC 700 would absolutely be the better choice for better call quality.
Because the call quality is not only noticeably better, but it actually sounds good. As a result, you could actually use these for professional use and not have people wondering why the call quality sounds off or bad.
Bluetooth Connectivity
Both headphones connect very easily to a variety of devices. The NC 700 does provide a little more range though compared to the QC 35.
NC 700
- Has an obstructed range of about 50ft
- Has a line of sight range of about 230ft
- Has the stronger bluetooth signal compared to the QC 35
QC 35ii
- Has an obstructed range of about 40ft
- Has a line of sight range of about 120ft
For many, the difference here probably won’t make enough of a difference to be a deciding factor. But, for those who want or need as much bluetooth distance and range as possible, then the improved range of the NC 700 might be worthwhile.
Latency
Between the two, the NC 700 has better latency by a difference of about 20 milliseconds. For most people, this won’t be a noticeable difference.
NC 700
- Performs slightly better than the QC 35
QC 35ii
- Just a tad more latency than the NC 700
It’s worth noting that both of these Bose headphones perform within the acceptable range of what you’d expect for a good Bluetooth headphone in regards to latency.
Sound Quality
Both are excellent sounding and enjoyable to listen to. But there are some noticeable differences that could affect which one you would prefer.
NC 700
- A little more neutral sounding
- A little more ‘open’ sounding
- Improved harmonic distortion over the QC 35
- Upper mids and treble is slightly more forward giving you better dialogue and vocal performance (especially in noisier environments)
- Listening experience can vary a bit more (might be brighter or darker for some)
- Can be more harsh to listen to if using all day
QC 35ii
- A little more balanced sounding
- A little more ‘closed-in’ sounding
- More consistent sounding
- Less likely to get ‘listening fatigue’ from all-day type use
Regarding bass, both have good bass extension, but the QC 35’s have a more pronounced low end bass response (whereas the NC 700 is more pronounced in the mid and high bass). As a result, the QC 35’s sound a little ‘thumpier’ and more pleasant when listening to genres with more bass emphasis like rap, EDM, or many popular styles of music.
However, if you’re flying or in a noisier type environment, the NC 700 can be nicer to use when you really want to be able to hear what people are saying. For example, when listening to a podcast or trying to hear the dialogue in a movie. The slightly emphasized upper mids and treble makes it easier to hear what people are saying.
The downside to this, is it can be fatiguing if you listen to a lot of music that has a lot of treble detail (such as music with brass instruments, or drummers hitting high hats, etc.)
It’s hard to say which one is better, as it’s more of a personal preference here. When listening to movies while flying, the ‘thumpier’ low end presence of the QC 35’s will make action movies come alive and be more exciting to watch. While the NC 700 will help you to more clearly hear what people are saying.
So if you’re someone who mainly listening to audiobooks, podcasts, drama’s, reality shows, etc. the NC 700 might make more sense given that you’ll be able to hear dialogue better in noisier environments.
But if when watching movies, you prefer more to “feel” the movie, or you watch more action movies, or movies that have soundtracks with more bass or low end response in them then you may prefer the sound signature of the QC 35’s.
Ultimately, you can’t go wrong with either one sound quality wise. As they both sound incredible and hold up to the best sounding noise cancelling headphones in this price range. But thinking about how you’ll be using these most and what type of material you’ll be listening to the most can help you figure out which one will give you the better listening experience.
Bose Augmented Reality
I wanted to included a note about this as it’s a feature in both the QuietComfort II and the NC700. Bose states that their augmented reality platform (AR):
“Unlocks the potential to experience fundamentally new ways to travel, exercise, learn, play, and more by augmenting your world with content for your ears instead of your eyes.”
Unfortunately, the experience isn’t all that exciting. All you get for now is the ability to play some sample AR-enabled files through the Bose RADAR app.
And the sample files were just not that great. So it’s one of those features you may play around with for 20 minutes or so and then forget about it.
Now there are third-party travel and entertainment apps that work with Bose AR (such as AudioJack), but these apps cost money.
Overall the experience was disappointing. My advice is that if you’re a gamer or AR fan and really want jaw-dropping AR performance, check out the Audeze Mobius headphone.
Otherwise, this feature is not something I would use as a consideration or deciding factor between whether to choose the NC700 or the QC35ii.
Active Noise Cancellation
The active noise cancellation of both of these headphones is phenomenal. Bose has a reputation for having the best noise cancelling headphones and the NC 700 continues in that tradition.
And truly, you can’t go wrong with either headphone in this regard. However, there are a few slight differences which are highlighted below:
NC 700
- Doesn’t create the ‘cabin-pressure’ like feeling when ANC is on
- Technically, the NC 700 blocks out just a little more noise
- Let a little more of the lower-end frequencies through.
QC 35ii
- Can create an uncomfortable ‘cabin-pressure’ like feeling for some
- Lets a little more of the higher-end frequencies through.
While the NC 700 technically blocks out a little more noise compared to the QC 35, the difference is so slight, that most people won’t notice the difference.
The most noticeable difference is the slightly superior treble isolation of the NC 700. But this seems to have more to do with the design of the earcups rather than the actual noise cancellation technology.
Sound Leakage
This is another area where there is a noticeable difference between these two headphones. The QC 35 has noticeably more sound leakage compared to the NC 700.
NC 700
- Noticeably quieter compared to the QC 35
- Doesn’t leak any sound at moderate listening volumes
- Moderate to loud listening volume won’t bother those around you
QC 35ii
- Noticeably more sound leakage compared to the NC 700
- People will be able to hear your headphones at a moderate volume
This is one of the shortcomings of the QC 35. People are definitely able to hear your music (or whatever you’re listening to) when they’re nearby if you have the volume at even a moderate listening level.
Exclusive Features
While there aren’t many features exclusive to the either headphone, they each have a few features the other one doesn’t.
NC 700
- Touchpad controls
- Ambient mode
- Conversation mode
- Greater control and options within the Bose app
QC 35ii
- Physical buttons for controlling music playback
This is another area that could certainly be a deciding factor for some. The “Ambient Mode” of the NC 700 allows you to decide how much environmental noise (or surrounding noise) you’d like to allow in or be able to hear. It’s kind of like deciding how much you’d like the NC 700 to function like ‘open-back’ headphones.
The ‘Conversation Mode’ (NC 700 only) allows you to pause your music and causes you to hear all the ambient or environmental noise around you. This allows you to quickly talk to someone (or hear what someone is saying over an intercom) without having to take your headphones off.
While not something everyone may benefit from, both of these are examples of some really cool features that for some, could make choosing the NC 700 over the QC 35 an obvious choice.
Before you decide, check out latest prices for Bose NC700 and QC35ii
The bottom line is that both of these are excellent headphones and both are still at the top as far as noice cancelling headphones are concerned. It really comes down to your personal preferences and individual situation as to which one you should get.
If you have any additional questions or have a unique situation you’d like some help with, please don’t hesitate to share any comments or questions below.