Just as importantly, they’re currently on sale for $50 off. Now, this may not seem like a huge discount on a $450 pair of headphones, but it is the lowest price we’ve seen on these headphones outside of a major shopping holiday. So if you missed your chance during Black Friday, but you have a spring break trip to Mexico or Hawaii on the calendar, this is your best bet.
The best noise canceling headphones are on sale
Over the years I’ve wondered whether the best noise canceling devices even have Needed Another capability upgrade. Previous efforts like Sony’s WH-1000XM5, Apple’s AirPods Max, and Bose’s own QuietComfort 45 provide enough quiet that it scares me when my own wife walks past me.
Then I had a child.
Bose’s aptly named QuietComfort Ultra not only does a fantastic job at silencing my baby’s many cries, screams, and adorable protests before his nap. Now that my wife and I have converted our single office into a shared space, I can do my business with complete voice freedom, even when she’s sitting on a loud Zoom call.
In testing, we found that Sony’s latest WH-1000XM6 offered a slight bump in noise cancellation performance compared to Bose’s latest, which was due to their faster response time when attacking unwanted sounds. But when tested at frequencies the two were within a hair’s breadth of each other. I prefer the Bose pair for travel, due to their more comfortable design that lets me listen to a full cross-country flight in luxury comfort.
Upgrades to the latest generation, like the ability to put them to sleep and wake them up instantly, make these headphones surprisingly more comfortable for daily use. The new built-in USB-C audio interface lets you listen to lossless audio directly from supported devices, a nice touch now that Spotify has joined Apple Music and other services with lossless audio support.
Speaking of audio, the performance of the QC Ultra Gen 2 is impressive, delivering crisp and clear detail and dialogue, with a lively touch that brings some extra excitement to instruments like percussion or zippy guitar tones. This is a beautiful presentation overall. I’m not a big fan of the new Spatial Audio mode (which Bose calls Cinema Mode), but it’s always nice to have the option.
These headphones often bounce between full price and $50 off, so if you’ve been waiting for the drop, now’s the time to buy. If you struggle with daily distractions like I do, whether at home or in a busy office space, you’ll appreciate the latest level of sound-canceling solitude that Bose’s best noise-canceling devices can provide.
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