Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have owned the Bose QC 35 series I (the originals) for four years now, and just recently replaced the ear pads since they finally deteriorated. I figured after four years there has to be some serious improvements in noise cancelling technology, and since the WH-1000XM3 model got so many good reviews I figured these would be awesome. So I pre-ordered them. I pulled them out of the box and followed the very quick connect process of downloading the app and using it to pair to my phone. It downloaded a firmware update automatically while I fiddled around with some settings briefly and listened to some music. Super easy, awesome. The sound is very impressive. Punchy kick drum (I listen mostly to rock/metal) and nice bright sound. I quickly settled on a slightly customized version of the included Bright preset. But things quickly went downhill from there. After using the headphones for a bit, the touch controls became frankly annoying and easily susceptible to mistakes (I triggered track skips multiple times just by removing and putting the headphones back on). The volume adjustment is especially tedious...if you want to raise or lower the volume significantly you have to swipe it up or down a large number of times because the volume adjustment is done in small increments. With the Bose QC 35 and its dedicated buttons, you just quickly push the buttons. Simple. I spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out how to pair the headphones with my laptop, reading the guide in the app and doing some web searching, thinking it must be provided by one of the two dedicated buttons like on the Bose QE 35s. Nope. It must be done with the app. In fact, everything has to be done with the app except whatever you have the custom button configured to do, and the power. On the Bose I just have to slide the power button, and it goes into pairing mode. Simple. The above are honestly smaller issues that you could probably put up with since the sound these produce is so good. However, the deal breaker for me was when I connected them with the included wire to the controller on my Roku Ultra to enjoy some TV time after a long day. I always watch movies and TV with headphones. To my horror they produced a clearly audible hissing sound that is incredibly distracting. I turned them off and on again, disconnected and reconnected the cable. No change, still the hissing sound. My Bose don't produce this sound. Ugh. After listening to them for a couple hours I had a slight headache and felt fatigued, almost nauseous. I know some people are affected differently by the noise cancelling technology, but I don't get this from my Bose, even after listening to them all day. Additionally, speaking of noise cancelling, I compared my Bose QC 35s to these, and I couldn't tell the difference between the noise cancelling. They sound the same to me. :shrug: I'm sure you could tell the difference with laboratory equipment though. All-in-all the sound these produce is really good, and the noise cancelling is great (although I can't tell the difference from my Bose QC 35 Series I). But they have 1) lots of annoyances in the touch controls instead of dedicated buttons, 2) the fact that the app is required to do everything (including pairing) except turning them off and activating the custom button, 3) the hissing on the wired connection to my Roku Ultra, and 4) the fatiguing after listening to them. I'll be returning them.