Qwkynuf

I am pretty sure that this quote is saying that you can use the headphones in wired mode, even with a dead battery - but since the battery is dead, you won't get NC.

The manual says that you can "Use the supplied back-up audio cable to connect a non-wireless device, or if the headphone battery is depleted."

I have them, and the only limitation that I have come across is that you can't run NC while charging. I have used them with the IFE a few times, and NC definitely seems to be working as far as I can tell.

gooselee

The sentence is a bit confusing, but I'm pretty sure the author meant that NC doesn't work if the battery is dead. With a dead battery, Bluetooth also doesn't work, thus the need to be plugged in if you want to listen to anything. The sentence structure just confusingly crosses over the two dependencies.

Simpler interpretation:
Good battery: Wired or wireless audio. NC available.
Dead battery: Wired audio only. NC not available.

wco81

Hmm is the noise cancellation switchable independent of the audio?

Can you turn on NC whether or not you're playing audio either from wired or wireless source?

Qwkynuf

Umm... This is tricky. NC is optional when using in wired mode for sure, but I don't think it can be disabled in Bluetooth mode. I will have to try that when I get home.

gooselee

IIRC, the QC35s have a single power switch that turns on/off both BT and ANC at the same time. Since they have to be powered on to use BT, that means ANC is always on when you're listening wirelessly.

I think this also means that you get better audio over a wired source when ANC is on (since the headphones are now powered), but my personal take was that Bose audio quality isn't that great anyway, so...

In the spirit of fairness, the MDR-1000X I use has its own flaws. With the QC35s you could just leave them turned on and enjoy ANC without any audio connection, for example if you're asleep. With the Sony cans, you can toggle ANC on/off and into different passthrough modes all day long, but if you're not connected to an audio source, they'll power off after a few minutes and you're then just wearing a really expensive pair of earmuffs. Workaround is to leave them connected to phone Bluetooth and just put your phone on silent.

Fliar

Thanks everyone for your responses, much appreciated.

You've just cost me $300 as I'll need to go and buy some now

PTravel

The review is referring to what happens when the battery is dead. You can still use the phones corded, but NC and Bluetooth, both of which require battery power, won't work.

I don't have these phones because I don't like the lossy compression of Bluetooth, but I'm quite sure the NC function works both corded and cordless.

KCZ

And now a sorry end to a sorry saga...
I exchanged my QC35's for a new pair, and the replacements were defective right out of the box. They had a lot of static and the sound cutouts were so frequent that I could generally hear about one syllable out of five. I spent a considerable amount of time re-pairing them with everything I could find, then pairing a cheap set of BT headphones to those same BT sources, and confirmed that the Bose pair was indeed the culprit. Best Buy took this replacement pair back and refunded my money after I declined a third pair.

usafltg

Well, currently on the phone with Bose Support. Have a pair of the Silver QC35's which were purchased in Dec 2016. The "Power Button" (a well known documented issue if you google it) no longer works and is broken internally somehow. As if the switch assembly inside became loose or dehinged or something. So that's a problem. Very Disappointed I'm hoping the new one they send me has addressed this issue.

el aye

Jeez I didn't know these seem to have a lot of quality control/design issues...

scubadu

Agreed, have been thinking about purchasing for awhile, but sort of disappointing to see some of the issues in this thread.

Regards

Qwkynuf

I bought mine about 9 months ago and use them on 4-6 flights per week. I have had zero issues. (Knock on wood.....)