QC35 and QC30 for communications

[ST - Hearphones]

We have several discussions about the QC35 and QC30 and your experiences when using them for communications. I'm going to invite participants in those other discussions to join us in this discussion.

Here is some background information.

We tuned the communication microphones, mainly used for telephone conversations to the human voice frequency range. They automatically adjust the gain (microphone volume) for "low talkers". In a loud environment where there are voices in the background, it’s possible the microphones will pick up those background voices and bring up the gain. This can send the background voices through to the far end person on a call. The person wearing the headset may hear this too.

To test if this is happening, move to a quieter environment. Then talk to hear if the far end audio improves. Or talk louder so that the communication microphones pick up your voice over background voices. It’s important to note that your devices and cell networks in use may also perform automatic gain adjustments to the communication microphones' audio path.

Previously we've said: 

Our engineering teams are aware of the reports provided here about the background noise level issue in some environments

Adjustable microphone sensitivity is a feature that is being explored by our engineers for future consideration.

User Adjustable side tone is a very popular feature request and along with other feature requests have been received by our engineers and is being explored.

We should have an announcement about the next firmware update for QC35 in two to three weeks.  The announcement should cover what will be in the next firmware release and when it will be available.

edit: We don't have news about firmware updates for QC30. 

We don't have news about the next firmware update for QC30 yet.

Let's talk. 

ST

[Gsxr]

Not sure what this means however, from a user standpoint this is the issue:

I ride the bus every morning. While there are no people talking on this bus (private shuttle) there is a significant ammount of engine, rattle and other noises. If I make a phone call, the person at the other end thinks I am in a convertible with the top down and my head out of the car at 100miles an hour. They can hear all the background noises and my voice comes in faint.

Work around: I take the right earplug out of my ear, create a cup with my hand around the mic and talk directly into it. This makes my voice clearer and muffles out some of that background noise however, still noisy at the other end of the call.

Hope this helps and if you want to experince it, call me in the mornings / evening while I commute monday to friday and you will see what a lot of users are frustrated about.

[ZeeDD]

@ST - Hearphones: Let’s talk about what ? A known problem ? No need to talk, Bose just need to fix it !
No real solution, no news for QC30...
Thanks a lot Bose !

[garretn]

So Bose doesn't recognize there being an issue with the QC30 or they are not going to address the issue?  Support is still under the impression that the QC30's should work great so they are suggesting exchange them you must have a bad pair.

[Robertpetry]

Unfortunately, I think this is not a great update for QC30 owners in particular.   No news about when a firmware update is coming for the QC 30 and only timing to be announced in upcoming WEEKS for the QC35.  We need action sooner than this on the serious mic issues.  

To to my ears this response just doesn't sound like Bose understands the significance of the issue. It seems they consider the amplification of some background noise normal, if unintentional, behavior of the product.  And our complaints are really just requests to be able to control the behavior.  

The reality is that this issue makes these headphones as bad or worse to use during real world calls than most $9.99 headphones.   It is a problem that Bose can fix and needs to fix but first they need to really understand that there is a problem. 

[ST - Hearphones]

Hi @garretn @Robertpetry @ZeeDD

I didn't say there would be no further firmware updates for QC30, just that I don't have any news right now about when the next one will be.  I'll edit my original post to clarify.

There was a firmware update for QC30 on March 23. There was no update for QC35 on that date, so QC35 was out of step with the others. 

ST

[Robertpetry]

Edited as well:

I understand @ST - Hearphones and appreciate the clarification.  

But your post does not indicate that this is considered to be a significant problem with the product and for me it is.  I no longer trust there will be a satisfactory resolution, which I did believe before. 

[Jay31]

I guess we just have to wait and see if firmware is able to fix it. However i think its a hardware design issue same as others think.

[apaterak]

I have walked into the Bose store in Emirates Mall (Dubai) and using my iphone I paired to the display device and made a cone call. The person on the receiving end did not experience the amplified background noise. Did the same test with my QC35 and the issues is clearly evident. The Store agent acknowledged this issue and will replace my pair. Once I get them at hand I will post the experience.

[garretn]

When I get my forth pair of QC30's I am going to try them without doing any updates to see if they work. It seems that mine always worked for a short time before quitting so maybe there is a problem with the update..  I'm just trying to think of some reason these are breaking this quickly. Has anyone else tried this?