These Are The Best Bluetooth Headphones On The Market — Full Stop

The Bose QuietComfort Wireless Headphones are a best-in-class pair that are 100% worth the splurge.

If you’re planning to drop more than $300 on a pair of headphones, you’re going to want a pair that has it all — fit, style, sound quality, and superior noise-cancellation abilities. (Because let’s face it: nothing ruins a perfectly good listening experience like the outside world.)

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Well, friends, Bose’s QuietComfort 35 (Series II) headphones are those headphones — and we're about to tell you why they're truly worth every penny of their price tag.

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These cans are our BuzzFeed Reviews pick for best wireless headphones. and they happen to check all those boxes. Plus, they offer a dedicated “action” button on the left ear cup that allows users access to Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant without taking out their phone. (Just don’t ask it to play “Free Bird.”)

First off, if you prioritize comfort, rest assured that “comfort” is in this pair's name for a very good reason.

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The QuietComforts offer the most immediate sensation of comfort of any luxury headphone, but what makes them truly outstanding is that they manage to remain comfortable (with varying degrees of good to excellent) after extended use.

Style-conscious headphone shoppers might find that the QuietComforts are unable to match the design innovation that models like M&D deliver on, with their chic leather and metal details that complement — rather than overtake — your face. But that’s a comparably small price to pay for best-in-class noise cancellation and, oh yes, reliable Bluetooth pairing. Test out a gaggle of other Bluetooth-compatible headphones and you'll see why this is actually remarkable: Bose’s QuietComforts are one of the few models that are able to reliably carry out their one real job — a feat you will only truly appreciate once you’ve screamed at your device after its 15th consecutive failed pairing attempt and jiggled the Bluetooth switch in every imaginable way.

When it comes to active noise cancellation (ANC), what makes the QC35 II’s technology even more impressive is that you can manipulate its levels on the accompanying Bose app: low, high, or off.

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If you’re curious about how ANC technology works, here’s a quick rundown. First off, the term “active” refers to the fact that the headphones have a power source that produces the noise-cancelling effect. In the case of the QC35 IIs, that means a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that provides 20 hours of listening. The rest is really audio wizardry: ANC headphones have built-in microphones in each earpiece that sense ambient noise then generate a new wave that cancels out those sound waves. This explains the blissful, quiet pressure you feel when turning ANC technology on.

Now, about that “action” button.

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It’s the only remarkable upgrade from the Series I (for which you’re paying roughly $20 extra). The button’s primary use is to give you access to Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant — so you can ask questions and even let your headphones read off notifications and messages, and then reply back in kind. If voice assistants give you flashbacks to 2001: A Space Odyssey, then not to worry: You instead can use the “action” button to toggle between the three aforementioned noise cancellation modes, which, as far as noise-cancelling headphones go, is about as convenient as all get out.

The Series II headphones are not without some shortcomings. For example, their idle noise leakage (the sound that escapes the headphones when they’re at rest). Also, there’s the QC35 II’s absurdly short USB charging cable (hardly a deal-breaker, but baffling nonetheless) and what many of our testers described as “excessive bulk.”

The bottom line is this: We believe comfort shouldn’t be treated as a footnote, especially for something you put around your skull. The Bose QuietComfort 35 II headphones might not have the trendiest design or absolute best sound, but they over-deliver on ease of use, comfort, and pairing — and offer, far and away, the best ANC currently on the market.

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And if you need just a little bit more evidence that these are the real deal? You can check out their rave reviews across the internet:

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“Unbelievably happy with this product. I cannot live without out my Bose QC35 IIs (even considering a second one to keep at work). It is empowering to put these on and have all the noise pollution just go away. I bought them for home and hadn't planned on taking them to my large open-floor office. I put them on and suddenly realized there was a very low and loud hum coming from the ceiling (air blowers, I assume). Now gone. I sit there in my cubicle and feel sorry for everyone else because they don't have a pair of these. I tried other brands, but they were simply not properly engineered. Once you get the pairing 'dialed in,' it is seamless. I have a Mac and iPhone but bought the new model (with Google voice button). I use the button's alternate function of turning on/off noise cancellation — just for fun, to remind me how great this product works. But remember…this technology is not going to isolate voices — it is designed to remove motor noises (plane, furnace blower, road, engine, etc).” —Claveman

"Nobody on Amazon owns more Bluetooth headphones than me. This is my 12th pair and I think I've finally found what I'm looking for. I use this pair strictly for my noisy office building. Although you still can hear the subtle, muffled murmurs here and there, it eliminates 80 percent of the background noise when the music goes silent. It drowns out our servers almost completely. The sound quality is nine out of ten. Soft music, pop, and top-40 genre music it handles really well. Dubstep, techno, and electronic music sound great. Heavy metal and death metal are fair. Having it off will give the highest quality, but I have it set to high because of my noisy environment and I’m perfectly OK with it.” —Vader

“These headphones are amazing! I might have been perfectly satisfied with the first version of the QC35s, but I luckily stumbled on the second generation, which includes the Google Assistant integration. I initially thought it would be a small bonus, but I totally underestimated how powerful and convenient this could be. It's more than just a trigger for voice commands. It's a surprisingly flawless implementation that allows Google Assistant to turn you into a much more productive multitasker.” —Jordan T

Get them from Amazon for $349 (available in three colors).

And check out all of our picks for best wireless headphones on BuzzFeed Reviews!

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