The QuietComfort 35 II Gaming Headset is a brilliant adaptation of an existing product at a time when production hurdles make it difficult to bring completely new designs to market, while the gaming category is showing signs of resilience, with increasing sales as people spend more time at home.
The Bose QC 35 ANC wireless design was launched in 2016 to succeed the popular 25, and was updated in 2017 with the QuietComfort 35 II, which updated the Bluetooth 4.2 module, adding a customizable "action" button on the left ear to activate voice assistants. Now, three years later, the Bose QC 35 II continues to sell well and is already heavily discounted since Bose introduced the flagship Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. Launching the Bose QuietComfort 35 II Gaming Headset is a wise decision, considering the recognized advantages of the QC design and the ANC processing.
Apart from the Bluetooth wireless mode, which is a must-have in the current market, the new QC 35 II Gaming Headset was also designed to be used in wired mode, allowing for longer hours of daily usage. In wired mode, unless they wish to use active noise cancellation, users don't need to worry about battery life (Bluetooth is automatically turned off when the cable is connected) and the audio signal will sound better and without latency. Even without ANC, the passive noise cancellation is already much better than the average gaming headphones.
The new headset offers the renowned Bose Acoustic Noise Cancelling processing combined with Volume-Optimized Active EQ technologies. In total, the headset features seven microphones: four for ANC processing, two for voice pickup, and one for gaming in the boom mic. The Volume-Optimized Active EQ automatically boosts the lows and highs so the music, videos, and voices remain consistently balanced, depending on the usage mode (ANC off, low, or high) and the activated microphones.
The removable desktop gaming module attaches in seconds and is equipped with a Discord and TeamSpeak-certified boom mic that’s designed to reject noise and ensure that gaming teammates can hear comments and communications loud and clear. This PC desktop controller allows users to lower or raise the master volume and cycle through four levels of mic monitoring to help users self-regulate the sound of their own voices. Bose also explains that for this new microphone, they have leveraged the company's 30+ years of experience developing microphones for aviation headsets, helping to determine the ideal length for the boom, physical design, and acoustic materials to pick up only voice and reduce background noise.
Designed for maximum comfort, the QC35 II Gaming Headset uses lightweight materials such as anodized aluminum for the earcups, with a combination of glass-filled nylon and leather on the headband and ear cushions, filled with soft foam. As for battery, it supports 20 hours in wireless mode from a single charge, or 40 hours in wired gaming mode if the users wants to turn ANC on. 15 minutes of quick-charge offers up to 5 hours more for wired gaming, and up to 2.5 hours more in wireless lifestyle mode.
The QC 35 II Gaming Headset retails for $329.95. Now, we will just have to see if hardcore gamers actually value the ANC features over the conservative, black-finish design of the QC 35 II and not having color LEDs and bright logos flashing over their ears.
www.bose.com
