- [Michael Voiceover] The Bose QC35s were the first
noise-canceling headphones I ever reviewed.
And they're still some of the best.
But in the years since they debuted,
I found I was leaving them on the shelf
more and more often in favor of newer models
from other companies with more features.
Well, these are Bose's answer to that.
And they've catapulted the company
back to the top of the heap
when it comes to travel headphones.
(lively rock music)
It's impossible for me to talk about the Bose 700s
without bringing up the most impressive travel headphones
of 2018,
the Sony XM3s.
These were the headphones that ultimately replaced
my Bose QC35s.
So it makes sense that Bose adopted many of their features.
Just like on the Sony's, you can swipe the side
of the 700s to change volume or skip tracks.
You can charge them with USB-C
instead of the antiquated micro-USB.
15 minutes gets you 3.5 hours of use.
And instead of the all or nothing noise-canceling
of the QC35s, you can tell the 700s
exactly how much of the outside world you want let in
or left out. (distant conversation)
(tone hums)
- [Voice Assistant] Noise cancellation, 10.
- [Michael Voiceover] That noise canceling
is really what puts Bose over the top here.
You crank it up to 10,
and the roar of airplane and train engines evaporates.
Turn it down to zero, and you don't just get no ANC.
You get outside noise actively piped in,
alongside your audio.
So you can see if the cabin crew
is telling you something important
or just trying to sell you a credit card.
- [Flight Attendant] Ladies and gentlemen,
we just closed to 10,000 feet.
If you'd like to use your laptop computer at this time
please feel free--
- [Michael Voiceover] Set it to level five
and you can split the difference.
This is usually my go-to setting for sidewalk strolls.
The quality of the cancellation is softer too somehow.
Maybe it's the symphonic sound effect
that masks the transition.
It's just a gentler feeling than the previous generations
aggressive isolation.
(air whooshing)
The best thing about the 700s is you get those features
without as many compromises as the Sony's.
The 700s weigh almost exactly the same as the XM3s
but they feel much lighter
because they don't clamp down on your head like a vise.
Also you can pair them to more than one device at once.
And that pairing process is much simpler
because of the voice guidance.
It sounds like a simple thing,
but so many other headphone makers fall down
when it comes to the voice assistant.
And that's a huge oversight for a device that doesn't
have a screen.
- [Voice Assistant] Battery five hours and 30 minutes.
Connected to Galaxy Note one, zero.
- [Michael Voiceover] The 700s also correct
the three major complaints I had with the QC35s.
One, a blowing wind will no longer give you a harsh
static sound in your ears.
Two, tracks with extra bass no longer blow-out
and the sound stage is more dynamic and whole.
And three, you can carry on a voice call and be understood
thanks to vastly improved microphone.
The caller still said I sounded better on a phone,
but it's a night and day difference compared to the QC35s.
And even after all those improvements,
battery life is still 20 hours of playback between charges.
That's a transcontinental round trip on one charge
with charge to spare.
(lively rock music)
♪ Yow ♪
(upbeat music)
The compromises aren't enough to curtail my recommendation
but you need to know about them all the same.
For wired connections, Bose is still using
a 2.5 to 3.5 millimeter cord.
Less convenient than the more common 3.5 to 3.5.
The company says it did this to save space in the casing
so it could make the headphones nicer looking
and more acoustically performant.
The ear pads are made of a similar soft material
to those in the QC35s which means they're very comfortable.
But also probably will end up looking like this
after a year or so.
And they leave unsightly rings on tabletops
after just a few weeks of use.
It's really gross.
There's a software bug that inaccurately reports
battery life the first time you power these on
after charging them.
And Bose says it has a fix in the works for this.
The app can be a real pain if you're using these
across multiple phones.
And finally, the buttons are very small and very shallow
which makes them at once harder to feel out
and easier to press accidentally.
I miss the sure thing switch and chunky buttons of the 35s.
For a buck under $400 maybe that sounds
like one too many sacrifices.
But I'll just say it, it's not.
Even though I still love my B&O headphones
for style and sound quality and my XM3s for value.
You sacrifice features on the former
and comfort on the latter.
The Bose 700s are pricey,
but they're also the best headphones you can get
if you live your life on the road.
Folks let me know what headphones you're shutting out
the world with.
And if you enjoyed this review,
please subscribe to theMrMobile on YouTube.
This review produced with a retail set of Bose 700
headphones purchased by Mobile Nations.
Until next time,
thanks for watching and stay mobile my friends.
(upbeat transcendental music)