Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 2 review: Sound | Tech News

One of the best joys of my job is testing the newest and best headphones. In my opinion, a pair of first rate cans are one thing everybody ought to splash out on at the least as soon as of their lifetime. There may be very little I haven’t tried, together with new fashions from Sony, Bowers & Wilkins, Apple, Cambridge Audio and Sonos, however one model that I’ve not utilized in a very long whereas is Bose. Deputy Technology Editor, Henry Burrell, put the final pair of premium QuietComfort Ultra Headphones from this well-known audio model to the take a look at, and there have been no flagship launches since that 2023 review.

So, I used to be actually excited when the new QuietComfort Ultra 2 from Bose arrived on my desk.

These £449 headphones promise to offer improved Active Noise Cancellation, higher audio and bonus extras such because the Cinema Mode. So, did they stay up to the hype?

The reply is yes, and no.

To put them via their paces, I took the Ultra 2 cans on a 17-hour trek from London to Hawaii, they usually actually handed the bulk of my assessments with flying colors.

Let’s begin with one of essentially the most important features of any headphone: the best way they sound.

The QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 2 presents some severely high-quality audio, and there is no query that once you begin your playlists, they actually do impress.

There’s lots of bass with out issues being overpowering; vocals sound crisp and clear, and you’ll take pleasure in an enhanced expertise – because of Immersive Audio – which provides more depth to the music by turning any audio you’re taking part in into spatial audio. It works very well on some genres of music and fewer nicely on others. It’s a bit of trial and error.

There are additionally heaps of controls to adapt issues to fit your tastes through the Bose app. This contains an EQ which might be adjusted manually or switched robotically through presets akin to Bass Boost and Treble Reducer. If you really need the best expertise, you may as well use Bose’s CustomTune technology to personalise audio playback primarily based on the distinctive form of your ears. This robotically adjusts the headphones’ sound to make sure a balanced, immersive expertise each time they’re put on.

It’s not simply music the place the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 2 excel, as additionally they function a Cinema Mode, which is good for these film binges – one thing that I undoubtedly needed to go the time as I travelled over the Pacific Ocean.

Once Cinema Mode is switched on, the audio is boosted to really feel a little more immersive while additionally crisping dialogue for readability. It truly works very well with voices boosted, so that you hear what the actors are literally saying.

Of course, one important improve, particularly when flying, is the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC).

The QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 2 does a superb job of blocking out the roar of jet engines, and I’ve additionally been impressed when on the London Underground and dealing in busy cafes.

Would I say they beat the good Sony WH-1000XM6? Probably not, however there’s no doubt that the ANC works nicely and creates an atmosphere the place you solely hear your music and never a lot else.

Other options which have impressed me embrace the design and hard carry case. These cans fold up neatly and don’t take up a lot space in your backpack.

The battery life is superb (you may get round 30 hours), and I acquired nowhere close to operating out of juice regardless of carrying them for nearly all the journey to Hawaii.

To help preserve energy, the headphones auto swap off after 10 minutes of not being worn, and there’s additionally put on detection, which stops and begins the music once you elevate them on and off your head.

When issues do run low, a full refill takes round three hours, however plug within the energy and also you’ll get three hours of playback after simply quarter-hour of charging.

As you’d anticipate, they hook up with gadgets through Bluetooth and can even seamlessly swap between your telephone and laptop computer with no need to dig into infinite settings.

Those in search of the last word expertise may also join them on to source gadgets through USB-C. This then presents lossless audio file playback that retains all the unique knowledge from the recording, so none of the audio info is misplaced during compression when li.

There’s a lot to love, however I do have some niggles.

Firstly, my review unit was the White Smoke shade (additionally they are available Black, Midnight Violet, Driftwood Sand, Desert Gold and Midnight Violet). This white model options a shiny chrome edge on the arms, which I can not help however really feel appears a bit low-cost and cheesy.

Although they’re tremendous mild and really snug to put on, they do really feel a little plasticky and never as premium as headphones such because the Sonos Ace or Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3, each of which price across the identical because the Bose.

You can’t take away and exchange the cushions both, which is one thing a quantity of different producers – together with Sony, Apple, and Sonos – now enable.

Then there are the buttons and contact controls, which I discovered a bit finicky to seek out and use. To be sincere, no headphones I’ve examined have gotten the controls spot on and it appears to be a function no one can get fairly proper.

Finally, there’s that price.

They price a whopping £449.50. It’s a huge quantity of money, particularly because the top-rated 2023 Ultras can now be grabbed for as little as £349.

This can also be a very crowded market, and different than the much-loved Bose branding, I’m not sure there’s one function that basically makes the Ultra Headphones 2 stand out from the group.

Have I cherished carrying the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 2? Definitely.. Are they great for travelling? one hundred pc yes. Would I pack them on my subsequent journey? Once again, that’s a yes from me as they’re simply a very straightforward pair of cans to make use of and offer some great audio.

If you’re keen on all issues Bose and need the best of the best, then the Ultra Headphones 2 are laborious to not advocate.

However, you’ll avoid wasting severe money should you buy the 2023 model (now £349), and there are heaps of different headphones on the market that I’ve examined and might extremely advocate.

These embrace the Bower & Wilkins Px7 S3 (£399), Sonos Ace (£399), Sony WH-1000XM6 (£399) and Apple AirPods Max (£499).