Reviewing my Bose Quiet Comfort 35ii after 7 years

I've had these headphones for just over 7 years. They're still my daily headphones. Before buying, I was uncertain if these were actually good, or just hyped up. The stakes were high for me as at the time I was averaging around 9-10 hours a day listening to music. Majority was in the office, and then also in the gym and on the train. Most of these were overstimulating, so I was really looking forward to the noise cancellation feature. This was also my first pair of bluetooth headphones, a major upgrade from wired.

First Impressions

The first thing which caught my attention was the comfort. Going from in-ear to over was a major upgrade. The sharp feeling I used to get with my wired in-ear headphones wasn't there. The fabric felt good against my ears and there was plenty of room. The foam on the headphones was also incredibly soft and didn't hurt my head at all, even on the tightest setting. The sound was impressive straight away. I couldn't hear anything from the outside when I put them on.

Daily Use

Comfort

The comfort is my favourite part of these headphones. Even with long sessions, there is rarely fatigue. You don't feel the need to take them off. One negative thing I could add is that it's not great during extreme heat. It's more of an over-ear headphones issue than specific to bose.

Noise Cancelling

The noise cancellation feature was also incredible. The first time I wore them I knew they would be good at helping me focus on whatever I was working on in the office. The first few weeks I wore this, I took them off when walking on the streets as I was worried for not paying attention. One thing I could say was that after 2 years of wearing them, I had adjusted to the noise cancellation feature, so they weren't as special as when I first tried them on. Overall though if you wear them, expect complete silence.

What's Actually Great

Aside from the noise cancellation and the comfort, the battery life on these headphones are great. It's useful for long sessions where recharging isn't possible. These lasted my entire flight to Japan. Another underrated feature I love about these is the design. They look slick and fit pretty much any situation. You can wear them to both the gym and the office.

Annoying Things

One of the annoying things was probably the Bose app which you need to download just to adjust the noise cancellation. The newer Bose models allow you to adjust them via the headphones itself, but this one is done via the app only. It requires frequent updates which can be annoying. Generally though, I always have my noise cancellation set to high, so I never have to adjust it when turning it on.

Another thing which I found a bit annoying was the durability of the headphone ear cups. The main headrest is stable, however the ear cups can break after a year. Even when treating the headphones carefully, the padding on the cups can wear out and even rip. Over the last 7 years, I've replaced them 4 times.

Would I Buy Them Again?

I'd definitely buy these again. Even with the price, I’d still consider these one of my best tech purchases. They’ve lasted a long time and still do exactly what I need them to.