Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones WH1000XM3

I purchased these headphones and tried them out for about 2 weeks. I was upgrading from the Bose Soundlink 2s and was looking for headphones with noise cancellation. I have to say that I really, really wanted to love these headhphones but could not bring myself to keep them. -Features- PROS -USB C- Huge plus as I dont really have anything that charges with micros USB at this point. So definitely saves me from having to carry a micro USB cable for a single device. USB C is also a more robust connection when compared to micro USB and far less likely to wear out/break -ANC- The auto noise cancellation in the MX3s is definitely top of the line. The MX3s did a great job at cutting out office chatter and background noise. Realistically when I was playing music as low to medium volume I could not hear a single thing outside of my music. -Touchpad control- These worked very well, I especially like the cover right earcup to cancel ANC -NFC pairing- very quick and painless pairing -Sony MX3 App- The app was very cool with tons of customization possible CONS -ANC- The ANC is top of the line but realistically I was not BLOWN AWAY by it when compaired to the Bose QC35 IIs. switching back and forth between the MX3s and the QC35 IIs left no difference between the two that I could discern. -Only able to pair to one device at a time. This is such a massive shortcoming for a $350 device. Some people will not find this to be a problem, and I must admit that I thought I could work around it. However, after trying them out I simply found this to be unacceptable. I work in an office setting and wear my headphones for give or take 6 hours a day. I have spotify going all day and the full app on PC is simply better suited for navigation. The mobile side works okay but i expect to be able to use the PC side app when I have it available. Couple this with the fact that I do not want to remove my headphones every time I get a cell phone call and the single pairing option is simply not workable for me. ***I did discover two things after some research. First, supposedly you can pair to two devices, one for audio, and another for hands free calling. However, after following the directions several times on sonys webpage I was never able to get this working. Second, you can pair the headphones to a mobile phone and control the Spotify app via you PC. This made the single pairing option much more manageable for me but is still an inconvenience. -Sony MX3 app- Changing any of the audio settings in the app (base/treble/mids) drops the headphones into a lower bandwidth streaming option. I honestly could not tell a huge difference in audio quality when doing this but still found it disturbing -Sound- PROS -I found the sound to be relatively accurate and warm, however that is about all I have to say that is nice about it CONS -Bass heavy- these headphones are really base heavy. This did make the headphones sounds more like a live concert, but I found the base to be muddy and actually drown out the mids and treble with some music I listened to. You are able to turn down the bass in the app but it drops down the quality of your bluetooth connection. On PC I had installed an EQ program and set up a custom profile to tone down the bass. Realistically though this is just extra dicking around that I did not expect with a 350 dollar set of headphones -Comfort- PROS -i did like the fact that these hug your head in a more streamlined fashion, eliminating the Micky mouse look present in previous models -The cushions on the headband and earcups are very plush and appear that they would hold up to years of daily use CONS -Straight up these are not as comfortable as my Bose soundlink 2s or the QC35 Mark 2s. I do not have overly large earls but still found that parts of my ear touched the inside of earcup. Its not like it was crushing my ears but the slight pressure was definitely there. This may sound like a small gripe, but when you are wearing these headphones for extended periods of time you will most likely find this to be an annoyance. These things also get hot unless you are doing absolutely nothing in a relatively cool environment. If the office was abit warmer than normal or I decided to take a walk around the office I could definitely feel the heat building up. Granted, I am normally not moving when wearing these but if I wanted to wear them while traveling and walking these headphones have a very good chance of making your ears sweat. -Conclusion- As I said, i really wanted to love these headphones. They are supposedly the latest and greatest, they look good, and have a ton of cool features and upgrades over anything else out there. Unfortunately, after only an hour or two of wearing them I found myself disappointed in them, not something you really want in a 350 dollar purchase. I stuck it out for two weeks and was actively trying to convince myself that these things were as good as everyone was saying they were. I am no music expert but found the sound in these to be very fatiguing and somewhat muddy. While my Bose may sound abit more hollow I have come to enjoy super crisp and punctuated listening across the whole spectrum. Sounds is obviously a very subjective aspect so you may feel differently but I find that my Bose offer a superior listening experience to my ear. The comfort was also a big letdown come from Bose. With my soundlink 2s i would often not even feel them. With the MX3s I definitely felt them and this only exacerbated with extended wear. While not necessarily uncomfortable they simply have a ways to go to dethrone Bose. TLDR: For me, everything I found is basically the opposite of 98% of the reviews I read and watched on these headphones. I spent weeks trying to tell myself that I must be missing something that everyone else was seeing but in the end failed to change my views on any aspect of these headphones. For me in the end the Bose QC35IIs simply outperform the MX3s in every aspect that matters to me. I can wear my Bose all day without feeling the need to take them off, the listening experience is more pleasurable to my ear right out of the box (dont have to dick around with any EQ settings), and pairing to multiple devices eliminates the workaround pairing options on the MX3. My advice is to just go with your gut, nobody should have to justify shortcoming in a 350 dollar purchase.