Sony MDR-1000X vs Bose QuietComfort 35 II

The ear cups can be folded into the headband. This reduces the headphones' size so that it can easily fit inside bags.

These have great noise isolating properties and can block out a good amount of sound even with the noise cancelling off. The ear cups are closed back, the ear pads go over the ear and seal well, and this effectively minimizes sound leakage to and from the headphones.

If you need to talk while using these, all you need to do is to cover the right ear cup with the palm of your hand. This activates Quick Attention mode which cuts off the music and amplifies voice for easy conversation. To get back to listening to music, all you need to do is to remove the palm from the ear cup.

Users can set the feature to fully on or off, or set it to Ambient Sound which then offers 2 more options. Normal Mode allows some outside noise through, while Voice Mode allows voice frequencies through the noise cancelling.

The MDR 1000x's active noise cancelling is one of the best in the market today. With the mode activated, a significant amount of outside noise is blocked, allowing you to really enjoy your music with minimal distractions.

The noise cancelling optimizer runs a series of quick tests, with beeping noises, to adapt to ambient noise.
This is handy against construction work noise in front of your window.

You can use these headphones wired using the detachable 3.5mm cable or you can go wireless with Bluetooth.

The bass is impactful and controlled and works really well with most genres that are popular today. The mids are slightly forward at just the right levels, which ensures that the vocals can be clearly heard. The highs are emphasized and sound great with a lot of clarity and detail, especially on the upper registers.

Swiping or tapping on the right ear cup's surface can pause or play track, go to the next track or go back to the previous one and can control volume levels as well.

There is a built in microphone which negates the need to remove the headphones to answer a call.

This comes with a carrying case that is made from high quality materials. It should provide extra protection to the headphones against scratches and minor impacts, which are quite common when taking these while traveling.

The internal battery can give up to 20 hours of listening to music.

Most full-sized, wireless over the ear headphones are quite heavy and bulky. The QC 35 IIs on the other hand are relatively compact and light, yet still deliver great performance, battery life and top notch noise cancelling.

The integration of Google Assistant is also a first in headphones, and gives you a host of smart features like notification reading, quick music searches and call making using voice commands and many more.

Bose's noise cancelling tech is quite effective at blocking ambient noise. This will help you fully enjoy the music by virtually eliminating outside noise.

Bass is full and punchy. While the sub-bass is not pronounced, there is good and fast bass extension, and this is what gives the music punch and a sense of tightness.
The mids are full and slightly forward so vocals and guitars can be clearly heard.
The highs are clear and do not distort at high volumes. There is a peak on the upper treble which helps to add more detail and clarity to the music, but some may also find the high frequencies to be quite harsh at times.

These headphones are much more convenient to use and functional thanks to the Google Assistant upgrade. Press the long, flat button on the left ear cup to activate the feature, and you’ll be able to make voice commands to search for music, start calls, set reminders, get weather updates and many other features. This addition makes the QC 35 II one of the best travelling headphones you can get today.

Aside from Bluetooth connection, you can also connect the QuietComfort 35 II to a source using a 3.5mm cable. This makes the headphones usable even with the battery depleted.

You can easily control playlist functions using the buttons on the right ear cup. These functions include volume control as well as the play, pause, next track and previous track commands. The on/off switch for the headphones is also on this ear cup.

The QC35 IIs can play music continuously for up to 20 hours. This should cover most of your trips' duration before needing to recharge.

Multiple microphones are strategically located on both ear cups, allowing for great voice quality when taking calls. The noise cancelling also helps to clean up the voice quality that goes into the headphones.

You can simply press a button on the right ear-cup to answer a call. This reduces the hassle of having to remove the headphones to take a call.

Despite having internal batteries, these headphones are still fairly lightweight, coming in at under 300 grams. This makes the headphones really easy to wear for extended periods, even when you are on the go.

The QC 35 II's ear cups and headband feature quality memory foam material which are soft and supportive so they do not pinch on your ears or apply too much pressure to the top of the head. These contact points are also covered with a quality leather material which feels nice and smooth on the skin.

With these, you won't have to deal with long and dangling cables that can be difficult to manage.