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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    6. PlayStation Compatibility
    7. Xbox Compatibility
    8. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 vs Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Oct 05, 2022 05:48 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1

Updated Mar 14, 2024 05:38 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Picture

Variants

  • QuietComfort 20 (Android, Black)
  • QuietComfort 20 (Android, White)
  • QuietComfort 20 (iOS, Black)
  • QuietComfort 20 (iOS, White)
  • QuietComfort 35 (Black)
  • QuietComfort 35 (White)

Our Verdict

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20

Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016

If you prefer a compact design you can easily carry around in your pocket, then go for the Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20. However, if you want a wireless over-ear, the Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 are a great alternative. The QC 20 are wired earbuds that are comfortable enough to wear for long listening sessions. They also block a lot of noise in noisy conditions, thanks to their excellent noise canceling. They're a slightly better travel headphone for some, since they are a bit more compact than the QC 35, and their earbud fit is not as bulky on your head so you can fall asleep on the plane or train with no issues. On the other hand, the wireless QC 35 are a bit more practical for everyday casual use. They also have a much better sound quality, they're easier to use and versatile enough to use wired or wireless with most of your devices.

0

Check Price

Android, Black
QuietComfort 20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
QuietComfort 35
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Android, White
QuietComfort 20
Amazon.com
White
QuietComfort 35
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
iOS, Black
QuietComfort 20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
iOS, White
QuietComfort 20
Amazon.com
 

Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

7.5
No major differences between these headphones for mixed usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Design Picture 2
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Design Picture 2

Type  

Earbuds
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

No
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

7.5
8.5

Comfort Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Comfort Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.09 lbs
0.52 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0 lbs
0.69 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

7.7
6.4

Controls Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Controls Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

iOS
iOS

Ease Of Use  

Great
Good

Feedback  

Decent
Good

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
N/A

Noise Cancelling Control  

On/Off
No

Talk-Through 
 

On/Off
No

Additional Controls  

No
No

Show text

Breathability 
 

8.9
6.3

Breathability After Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Breathability After Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

1.1 °C
6.3 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

8.3
6.1

Portability Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Portability Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Portability Picture

 

4.7" (11.9 cm)
5.12"

 

1.6" (4.1 cm)
5.71"

 

1.2" (3.0 cm)
3.15"

Volume  

8.80 in³ (144.21 cm³)
92 in³

Transmitter Required  

No
N/A

Show text

Case 
 

7.0
8.0

Case Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Case Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Case Picture

Type  

Soft case
Hard case

 

5.1" (13.0 cm)
8.27"

 

2.8" (7.1 cm)
5.91"

 

0.8" (2.0 cm)
2.17"

Volume  

11.20 in³ (183.53 cm³)
105.7 in³

Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.5
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Build Quality Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

7.5
7.0

Stability Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Stability Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Angled Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Side Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Front Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Rear Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Top Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 In The Box Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

0.27 dB
0.93 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-4.38 dB
-0.88 dB

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

7.8
8.1

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.43 dB
0.37 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.5
9.1

Bass  

See details on graph tool

Bass  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.65 dB
1.15 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

22.45 Hz
10 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

1.58 dB
1.81 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

4.02 dB
0.97 dB

High-Bass 
 

4.8 dB
0.81 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

7.7
8.4

Mid  

See details on graph tool

Mid  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.03 dB
2.19 dB

Low-Mid 
 

3.16 dB
-0.02 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-3.15 dB
-1.83 dB

High-Mid 
 

-0.02 dB
-0.28 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.3
8.2

Treble  

See details on graph tool

Treble  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.65 dB
3.26 dB

Low-Treble 
 

1.71 dB
1.3 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-1.73 dB
-2.82 dB

High-Treble 
 

-20.85 dB
-1.51 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

6.3
7.7

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

2.69 dB
1.38 dB

Dips 
 

1.51 dB
1.52 dB

Imaging 
 

8.6
8.1

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.36
0.11

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

1.92
5.33

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.83
1.99

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.63
1.89

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

0.5
5.1

PRTF  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 PRTF
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

N/A
4.21 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

N/A
9.15 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

N/A
11.82 dB

Openness 
 

0.8
1.4

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

1.1
4.3

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No

Room Ambience 
 

No

Head Tracking 
 

No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.5
7.8

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.179
0.161

WHD @ 100 
 

0.241
0.150

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware

Power 
 

On

Connection 
 

Wired

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ

ANC 
 

On

Tip/Pad 
 

Silicone (small)

Microphone 
 

In-line
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

9.2
8.6

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-24.42 dB
-25.16 dB

Noise Cancelling  

Yes
Yes

Bass 
 

-23.88 dB
-15.7 dB

Mid 
 

-20.86 dB
-25.58 dB

Treble 
 

-28.06 dB
-35.18 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

9.1
6.6

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

26.86 dB
41.87 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
Yes

In-Line 
 

Yes
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
N/A

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Show text

Recording Quality 
 

7.5
5.9

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

515.36 Hz
281 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.46 dB
2.54 dB

HFE 
 

17,984.02 Hz
2,152.7 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.955
16.622

Gain 
 

20.19 dB
39.75 dB

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

6.7
6.4

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

12.18 dB
16.69 dB

Noise Gate 
 

No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

6.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

7.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

7.9
8.3

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

19 hrs
18.5 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0

Total Battery Life 
 

19 hrs
18.5 hrs

Charge Time 
 

1.8 hrs
2 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
Auto-Off Timer

Audio While Charging 
 

Yes
No

Passive Playback 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port  

micro-USB
micro-USB

Show text

App Support 
 

0.0
7.0

App Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 App Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 App Picture

App Name  

No App
Bose Connect

iOS  

No
Yes

Android  

No
Yes

macOS  

No
N/A

Windows  

No
N/A

Equalizer 
 

No
No

ANC Control 
 

No
Adjustable

Mic Control  

No
N/A

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
Yes

Button Mapping  

No
N/A

Surround Sound  

N/A

Surround Support 
 

No

Show text

Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
8.8

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
4.1

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
2 Devices

NFC Pairing 
 

No
Yes

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
116 ft

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

N/A
189 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

N/A

Android Latency 
 

N/A

Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Wired 
 

9.0
9.5

Cable Picture  

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 Cable Picture
Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016 Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

No
Yes

Length  

4.33 ft (1.32 m)
3.84 ft

Connection 
 

1/8" TRRS
1/8" TRS

Wired Latency 
 

0 ms

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms

Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC / PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PC / PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
N/A

USB Input 
 

No
N/A

Line In 
 

No
N/A

Line Out 
 

No
N/A

Optical Input 
 

No
N/A

RCA Input 
 

No
N/A

Dock Charging 
 

No
N/A

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
N/A

Show text

Check Price

Android, Black
QuietComfort 20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
QuietComfort 35
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Android, White
QuietComfort 20
Amazon.com
White
QuietComfort 35
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
iOS, Black
QuietComfort 20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
iOS, White
QuietComfort 20
Amazon.com
 

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20

Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016

Comments

  1. Comparison

Bose QuietComfort 20/QC20 vs Bose QuietComfort 35/QC35 Wireless 2016: Main Discussion

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