Bose is known for having incredible active noise cancellation, and the latest generation of QuietComfort over-ear headphones is no different. Despite only minor upgrades, our reviewer Ryan Vaniata was extremely impressed with the Bose, and considers them one of the top three headsets when it comes to ANC, rivaled only by Sony’s WH-1000XM6 and Bose’s first-generation QuietComfort Ultra. Transparency mode is really excellent when you need to keep an eye on your surroundings or even have a conversation with someone without blaring Steely Dan.
Speaking of, these are still a great pair of headphones for listening to music, even if you don’t need noise-canceling. They have sharp level detail and crisp texture, although a little softening of the EQ helped them cut down on some of the excess punchiness. Of course, most headsets sound better with some silence in the background, but these won’t disappoint, especially if you like bigger, more vibrant sound.
While some of the QuietComfort features haven’t changed, Bose has made a number of feature updates to make them more useful when you’re not sitting in your window seat. They now feature an automatic idle mode, so you can lay them flat on any surface to disconnect and go into low power mode, with the headset automatically reconnecting when you put them on. They have slightly better battery life than the previous generation, about 30 hours with ANC on, and if they’re low on juice you can keep listening while they’re charging. You can also listen to lossless audio over USB-C, which is a unique feature of this headset in this category.
The $399 price tag for the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 may seem high, but they’re among our favorite wireless headsets, and the price is only $20 more than the lowest it’s ever been, making them a great upgrade option even for first-generation owners.
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