Bose - QuietComfort 35 II

I've tried a few pairs of noise-cancelling headphones, and there are a few that stand out depending on what you're after. **Bose QuietComfort 35 II** – These have been around for a while, but they're still great for what they offer. They’re ultra-comfortable and have fantastic ANC that works really well for blocking out consistent background noise (think air conditioning or the sound of a train). **Cleer Audio Enduro ANC** – I got these recently, and I was pretty impressed by the insane battery life. We're talking 100 hours of listening with ANC on—no joke. The noise cancellation works well enough for most everyday situations, like blocking out chatter in a coffee shop or some ambient noise, but it’s not as hardcore as Sony or Bose when it comes to drowning out louder sounds like a screaming baby or engine noise. **Sony WH-1000XM4** – These are widely considered the king of noise-cancelling, and honestly, after using them for a while, I get why. The ANC is seriously amazing. It blocks out everything from noisy streets to loud offices and even the hum of an airplane. If you’re just looking for the best at blocking noise, Sony WH-1000XM4 could be a good option, but if comfort and battery life are your priorities, the Cleer Audio Enduro ANC is a great pick.

Not a fanboy but wanted to add some things here, firstly no product is perfect and if you wanted perfect sound quality Noise canceling isnt what your after.  1-Re the clicks and hiss, yeah thats noise cancelation, thats how it works, You compromise between cutting noise and sound quality to a certain extent. If you want silence wear earplugs then these over the top. but the noisier your surroundings the noisier they will be, things like fridges, fans, pumps etc all make noise and all cause noise.  2- Turn off noise cancelation while you walk, why walk with it on? Your likely to get run over. ... I see now why bose and sony limited nc when walking in cities etc.  3-Lower the noise cancelling level on the app....jeesh. Its not that hard.  4-Turn off Noice cancelling on calls and move to a quieter area. But 100% agree and the Sonys of all generations are total dogshite with phonecalls. The only headset Ive had that were decent was the quiet comfort qc35ii that didnt cop those whiney comments. (Turn off nc and see how they hear you on a call) 5- Sounds like you didnt understand how Active noise cancellation works and bought the wrong type of headphones for your use purposes.  You should have bought studio headphones either open air or closed with reference level speakers if your that concerned about hiss. Thats how the technology works, otherwise wear ear defenders or earmuffs rather than active noise cancelling headphones. To be fair yeah they are shit on calls, but compared to my aviation headsets, the current gen of noise cancelling from ultra /700 and latest sony are almost as good as pro gear.  Theres also loads of other problems you havent discovered yet as well, ie the app is total garbage and for the ear buds they occasionally just dont connect etc. 😅

QC35ii, 9 years and two ear cup replacements on…still going strong. (There is a company that makes better ear cups than bose. My first two pairs of cups were bose, the non-bose have lasted much longer).

*effective ANC headphones are no longer produced* You missed out the key word 'compact'. You may not be aware of this, but some time ago before the current generation of bulkier, sometimes-foldable sometimes-not, generation of ANC headphones, there were more compact and lighter offerings, especially from Sennheiser. Unfortunately their performance (by current standards) and sometimes reliability was limited, and they lost market-share and were eventually discontinued. My take on your original post is that you were looking for this level of portability but with contemporary levels of performance. But this is clearly not the case. The nearest equivalent is probably the Bose QC35 II or similar, but using a third-party soft carry-case, not the stock bulky and heavy one.

Bose QuietComfort II 35 are amazing. Four years. Daily use. Most comfortable over the ear headphones I’ve ever used. Mic pickup is excellent. Can pair to two device so I can have my Mac and iPhone both paired and easily switch calls/audio between devices w/o re-pairing, etc.

I have been rocking a pair of Bose QC 35 II for about four years. All-day battery life. I wear them for many hours on end, even all day and have never seen the battery go below 60%. Microphone pickup is great (I personally can't stand boom mics). I can pair both my phone and my computer (a Mac Studio) to them simultaneously. Strongly recommend. I did have to replace the foam ear cups once, but they were only about $30 from Amazon.

what is a WC pad, and does that help with reported clamping? I'm upgrading from Bose QCII 35s. My use case is for watching downloaded stuff on long haul flights, and for music (hip-hop, ambient-chill EDM) while in a flow state in the home office; and to use while doing errands like dishes and vaccuming. That's it. I dont' care about outdoor sound, but need to be able to take serious calls on it (I use airpod gen 2 for that). I hear sony wins on sound, but Bose on comfort.....

I have the Bose QC35 II and Bose QC Ultra, both are awesome. Amazing noise cancellation and decent sound. Fantastic for work in shared spaces

Personally prefer ANC headphones for really long usage, but that's just because I don't like having IEMs in my ears for that long. For shorter periods, I'd prefer IEMs. I haven't been on a long flight for ages, but next time I'll probably take my trusty QC35ii as well as some IEMs and rotate between them - which is roughly what I do at home with my IEMs, flatheads and headphones. Each one causes a different type of fatigue, which is why I like to rotate and avoid using one type all the time.

I have the Bose QC 35 II at work and it's like being on speaker. Microphone picks up people talking outside my office as I'd they were next to me :(

Bose qc 35 ii going strong for 6+ years,