Returned the QC35s
I just returned my Bose QC35s because the sound is so distant to my ear and the BT range is crappy.
Even when the QC35s are loud, it's still "distant loud" like a concert a mile away getting louder. Back-to-Back with my PSB M4U 2s it's no comparison. Granted the PSBs do the noise cancelling only about 70-80% of what the QC35s do, and they also replace the sound with a low, albeit pleasant hiss, whereas the Bose make it totally silent.
The QC35s also don't get that loud: on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being uncomfortably loud, I'd say the QC35s are a 3, the Bose on-ear soundlinks a 4, and the PSBs a 5 - they get VERY loud. Not so with the QC35s. Just sitting in my living room I had them one notch from full volume but, again, the sound quality is like loud distant noise.
I'm no audiophile and don't really know what "bright" and "muddy" mean, so I'm saying "distant". If I immediately switch to the bluetooth Bose OE Soundlinks the difference is huge and the PSBs kick that up higher. The last two sound like you're there, whereas the QC35s sound like it's-over-there.
In the end, compared to the PSBs, the QC35s are just ok and that's strange because I have the Bose on-ear soundlinks which are also Bluetooth and they sound almost as good as the PSBs ... I was hoping the QC35s would be that next step killer stage but ... nope, they sound worse than their on-ear brother. I don't like paying $350 and having that feeling of "ehhh they're oookkkk ... is that right? let me try my other headphones to see ...."
I tried the ANC back to back with my PSBs and Bose Soundlinks: airplane, city noise, vacuum ... yes the ANC was better, but the sound was just blah, not even close to the PSBs which had more of the background noise but sounded WAY WAY better. The Soundlinks weren't far off the PSBs, just let in more background as they don't have ANR and aren't over ear.
Also the Bluetooth range sucks, especially compared to the Bose OE Soundlinks. With the QC35s I'd walk 20 feet away and get clipping whereas with the Bose OE Soundlinks I could walk 2-3x farther, not even close in comparison.
I'm going to try the Sony MDR-1000Xs when they're out in a few weeks and if they don't do the trick I might move to the B&W P7s.
I think I've figured out that I'd rather have louder great sound that noise cancelling, I think. Not a match for me.