A while ago I posted here about getting either quietcontrol 30’s or quietcomfort 35ii’s.
Honestly I kinda wish I would have gone with the controls as somebody suggested. I feel they would have lasted longer. Now I’m back again on here because the QC35ii’s have…deteriorated. Kind of hard to explain what happened but the “leather” that held the foam in kind of burst open. So now the foam is still sitting inside that pleather, but…just not as it should be. If anybody wants to see what happened so bad they want a picture, let me know and I’m sure I can do that. Nothing I did was the result of any negligence on my part. The seams just failed at about the same time on both sides, though one happened a little before the other.
So yeah needless to say, although they still work they hardly feel like a sweet $300 pair like they should. Not sure how much longer I really feel like wearing them anymore. One question is, does anybody think they can be repaired? I mean it is just an external pad problem, not like an internal electronics problem. Although, the active noise cancelling has been making crackling noises from time to time.
All this said, they’ve had their upsides. They have a nice long 20 hour battery time which is great for me since I can just about use all 20 hours some days when I put off sleeping for a few more hours than usual. It’s hard to get through a full charge in one day, in fact I don’t think I’ve ever done it. You only run into trouble if you forget to charge it, but it does charge pretty fast.
So that begs the question: Is there a pair of headphones out there that has all the things the QC35ii’s have except with added durability? I use my headphones absolutely all day every day. They’d need to be practically bulletproof. And I’m not going to like giving up the fact that they’re wireless and have a 20 hour battery life. So I guess I shouldn’t even knock this pair too much because they still have a lot going for them. If I could get them fixed that would probably be the best thing. But I don’t know anything about that. Who do I go to for that? Best Buy or a seamstress? I honestly couldn’t tell you either way!
You can throw the dice and send pictures to Bose customer service and explain what happened. I assume they are out of warranty, but sometimes you get lucky and they will send you replacements for free if it seems like a manufacturing flaw.
Don’t play the angry/disappointed customer card please. You get further with honey than vinegar. Maybe just tell them you really love the headphones, but need new pads because yours fell apart for no reason you can identify, and maybe they can point you to the right place to get some replacements.
Long ago my Bose QC-15s seemed to deteriorate on schedule too. Out of the box, the factory pleather smelled like pickles(!) I eventually bought some Geekeria replacement pads on Amazon. The electrics later died and they wouldn’t come on with fresh batteries, so they were simply thrown away around the 5 year mark. My gut tells me Bose knows exactly how long their products will work, and use materials just strong enough to match the average number of flights buyers take in 3-4 years (cough…planned obsolescence for an upper middle-class market).
In my experience bulletproof headphones have wires. Sennheiser, Focal. I trust my Sony WH series wireless headphones more than Bose products, but just a wee bit more.
Yeah though I did think of this, I didn’t get the insurance on them. I think the insurance must have been something like 60 or even 80 bucks, something I thought was too much. (After already paying 300…) And it probably didn’t last that long either. I figured I’d spent enough and these should last just fine.
That said there may be a default layer of protection that you get practically no matter what. Like you said it might just depend on what Bose feels like doing about it.
That may be a good option, thanks for showing this! My question is, will they fall apart just like these did already? The velour ones look kind of tough. Something different. My goal is to avoid thin pleather + weak stitching.
You bet! I’ve had mine for less than a year and used during a few trips pre pandemic and some around the house listening since. I don’t have concerns with durability based on experience to date. The velour that comes in contact with skin is less susceptible to cracking and is more comfortable.
Yeah I went ahead and got some of the wicked cushions. Good to see you guys are saying they’re pretty good and durable. They say they’re durable on the site and for about 20 bucks, it’s worth a shot! If they fail me I’ll try Dekoni. They look great too, though it is possible to be more expensive and worse.
It’s good to see that companies are out there making replacements, especially for the QC 35ii’s since really they are great headphones. Just looks like the pads they come with by default are not that great. It’s a shame they went to all the trouble to make them just to make that mistake. But yeah I’m not going to bother them about it, kinda curious what 3rd party companies have to offer. Hopefully something better than the company that made the mistake in the first place.
I am kind of late to the conversation but I think my thoughts are on par with yours. I had 4 pairs of the Bose series for years with this same problem. The pads started falling apart at random times from very quick to a little later. Finally I tossed the towel in and purchased the Sony WH-1000XM3 when they came out. I have had none of the Bose pad or crackling issues with the Sony’s so far and I actually prefer their sound signature quite a bit better than Bose. I mainly purchased the Bose for the noise cancellation but have found the Sony’s to be my preference for that feature as well. I also think the Sony’s are quite a bit more comfortable for me. My two cents.
I had the same with my QC35s and found some aftermarket pads that work great and they feel like new again. They lasted a few years before that happened, but I hadn’t been using them every day. With high use, you’d probably find that most headphones need pads and some other parts to be maintained… same as you probably can’t wear the same pair of socks every day and expect them to last a few years!
I’m onto my third pair of pads and second headband pad for my HD650s, which are about 15-16 years old. I think that’s pretty good going. Again, they feel like new and the sound improved with the better pads.
Back to the Bose, you should find the pads pretty cheaply and it took 10 minutes to swap them.