TheBOSman

Anyone else looking at getting a pair of these, now that it seems (at least at Best Buy anyway) that they are now publicly available? I have an excuse to go to a no sales tax state this weekend (saving $25 on Texas sales tax), and I want to replace my QC20 which, while excellent, had a flaw for me. I had some severe wear on the headphone jack L connection point, which is only made of rubber and not a hard plastic. The battery weight/positioning, and my typical usage patterns, wore it out and eventually I was holding it together with electrical tape to try to reduce the stress. Running them through the wash twice did no favors either . After the second accidental washing, they wore out and now one side headphone does not work at all and the other has poor sound quality. I've got a lot of traveling upcoming so I can hopefully provide a good review within 4-6 weeks or so, if I do end up going with the QC30s. Thanks for any input!

paperwastage

QC30 does not have a wired fallback mode, which means you cannot connect to airplane IFE

nonstarter for me... might not be an issue for other people who don't use IFE

(I got a pair of QC20 recently just for commuting on subway, love it even with the annoying battery dongle)

GrussGott

That flaw is pretty common with lot of stuff as I'm sure you know - I use https://sugru.com/about to fix or strengthen stuff I'm worried about.

On the QC20/30s ... I'm in the market now, but that necklace thing is bizarre and not very portable so it took them out of the running. I trial-runned the QC35s, but the sound quality wasn't there for me and I had some other niggles.

Right now I"m using the new B&W P7 wireless, which aren't NC, but sound great and have worked well enough passively that I don't notice the background noise as a problem except for low volume listening to podcasts or similar.

I'm waiting on the new Sony MDR-1000Xs to arrive and I've heard they cancel voices and higher frequencies better than the QC35s as well as have better sound quality and some other features the Bose lack ... however there's also been reports of some annoying crackling and some people think they have weak bass so, we'll see!

For now I'm pretty happy with the B&Ws, especially since they can be amp'd and sound great which I've determined is my #1 need in something I'm paying a bunch of money for.

TheBOSman

Getting a new pair of QC20s and doing that to the connector in advance is a consideration as well. Honestly it might be the way I go, thanks for the suggestion. I wasn't concerned with the original pair, until it was a bit too late. Other than that, and the operator error of washing and drying them , I had zero complaints about the QC20s. The wireless aspect of the QC30s isn't a big deal to me; cynically I'd rather have wired as I figure wired headphones are less likely to be stolen directly from my head!

The size of the QC35s/other over ear headphones is a major turnoff for me, especially as I pack lightly quite often.

In this instance the level of noise cancellation is my #1 need. I've gone so far in the past as to use my old over-ear N/C headphones over the QC20s on planes to really block out ambient noise, as well as go over-ear N/C headphones with earplugs . I don't really notice the difference between "good" and "great" audio quality, or at least not enough to pay hundreds of dollars for it; the QC20s were more than good enough for me on that front.

GrussGott

Ha, I'd love to call you crazy but I used to do exactly this: I bought the highest rated over-the-ear hearing protectors I could get (used for the runways!) and then wore earbuds under them ... now if those earbuds were QC20s ...

Would you look like a complete nut? Sure, but then I already do so I'm used to that.

paperwastage

I test-drove the QC30 at a local bose store

the variable NC is nice... but the buttons are very annoying (there are 5 buttons - Vol up/down/pause, NC up/down, and it's difficult to figure out/feel what you're actually pressing because it's so close to your face and buttons are similar without any tactile difference). maybe you'll get used to it?

For the QC20, it's obvious what button I'm pressing even if I"m not looking at it (it only has 4 buttons though - Vol up/down/pause/NC, and the NC button is distinctively/tactically different)

wires are too short, especialyl when you turn your head (or maybe my neck is long).

microphone is on the right earbud itself (not on the button closer to your mouth), kinda weird. didn't test it though

when you adjust NC, the thing beeps. could get annoying, du nno if the app allows you to disable the beeping. NC sounds similar to QC20, need more testing to see if there's a difference



anyways, no wired mode, so not going to buy it anyways

adambadam

Anyone pick up a pair of these and play around with them for a bit longer and have any further thoughts? Really wanted to get a pair when they were first announced but reading reviews on other sites it sounds like a real mixed bag on the review front -- from short, dangly wires to poor microphone quality to mediocre NC ability.

Just picked up an iPhone 7 so looking for something wireless to replace my QC-20s.

PAX_fips

Having a QC20 for some 3 years now I was so waiting for the QC30 in general. But:
- no wired fallback
- no playing while charging (wat? QC20 is fine with that)
- too much prodding into using "the app" (disable voice prompt/beep)
- necklace (hate to have a chocking 'device' at hand plus I dont want to feel how this goes in hot environments)

Since my stoneage version lacks a skip fwd/back control and that's really my
wishlist I'll likely rather by a newer QC20 incl. these controls and get the "+" earbuds seperatly.

tentseller

I got a pair and has put 50,000 miles on them; 2 TPAC and various inter-Asia flights.

Noise Cancellation:

Slight edge over the 20's. The adjustability make conversations with FAs possible. Audio quality is on par with Bose. You will not get Shure quality but you get the NC which is more important for me.

Wireless:

I use a CPAP for sleeping. The lack of the wire made this a superior unit for in flight sleep without the wire dangling from the 20's. I wore a top with a turtleneck type collar and the neckband did not bother me.

Not having a wired connection would be an issue for some. I use my own tablet and smartphone so it is a non-issue. I fly TPAC on DL which has DL Studio; the content of the IFE is wifi connected to your tablet inflight.
I am a consumer of audio-books over movies. For sleeping I have an app of relaxation sound.

Phone conversation:

Inferior to my Plantronics Legend but still very usable.

I think the deal breaker for most would be:
Neckband
Lack of audio input

paperwastage

http://hearphones.bose.com/

supposedly based on the QC30 design, sorta like a hearing aid booster/filter (to amplify/block sound) using the directional mike

I do sometimes use my QC25 for this purpose

nmenaker

I ordered a pair of these. they are based on the DASH models, but without the "alter the world around you" audio trickery. for 150$ shipped they are worth a try

https://www.bragi.com/theheadphone/

pon18n

I will have to try these out next time I see one at a store.

LondonElite

Thanks for the tip. That stuff is pretty awesome!