Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd gen) review: Still a noise-canceling powerhouse
Bose announced its latest earbuds in June, but the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd gen) ($299) won’t arrive until early September. Today, though, they’re available for preorder, and I’ve spent the last few weeks testing all the new features. This model is an overhaul of the noise-canceling earbuds the company debuted in 2023 alongside its take on spatial audio. Among the upgrades, Bose has improved the active noise cancellation (ANC) performance, enhanced call quality and added wireless charging to the case. Two years later, the QuietComfort Ultra is still the best option for those primarily concerned with blocking distractions, and Bose’s tweaks make its best earbuds even better.
What’s new on the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd gen)?
The new QC Ultra Earbuds are at their best in Quiet mode. This is Bose’s option for full noise cancellation without spatial audio (or Immersive Audio, as the company calls it). Here, there’s no doubt these are still the best noise-cancelling earbuds available right now. The first-gen version achieved the same feat, but Bose has gone a step further to enhance its ANC setup for this refresh.
Specifically, the company updated the algorithm for its ActiveSense technology in Aware (transpancy) Mode. Now the QC Ultra Earbuds offer smoother changes in ANC levels to combat sudden spikes in ambient noise. This means things like sirens should no longer drown out your music or podcast. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to trigger the retooled adaptive ANC with simulated police sirens from YouTube — the best option on my quiet cul-de-sac — but I’ll report back if I notice any oddities here.
Bose also upgraded call quality on the QC Ultra Earbuds. The company says a new AI-powered setup, known as SpeechClarity, works with “the earbuds’ eight microphones, dynamic mixing and adaptive filters” to focus on your voice. Bose explains that it uses audio augmentation tech that was originally developed for hearing aids here, which can reduce background noise like wind or the drone of an office. During my tests, the revised system silenced a noisy fan, rendering it completely absent from my recordings. However, overall voice quality suffers as you will sound a bit staticky when all the audio processing kicks in.
Thankfully, you no longer need an additional accessory for wireless charging on the QC Ultra Earbuds. With the first-gen model, you had to buy a separate cover to enable cable-free recharging. Bose has now built all of that into the case for the second-gen set, a welcome upgrade that really should’ve been here from the start. When the original QC Ultra Earbuds debuted in 2023, wireless charging was certainly already the norm.
What’s still great about the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd gen)?
As I mentioned, the overall ANC performance of the QC Ultra Earbuds remains unmatched. If you’re looking to block out distractions, this is the best option that still offers great sound quality. Bose even manages to cancel out human voices better than most of its rivals, which can be a struggle for much of the competition.
Audio quality on these earbuds remains near the top of the heap. You won’t notice as much detail as Noble Audio’s FoKus Rex5 or Technics’ AZ100, but there’s great clarity here nonetheless. Bose says the tuning was “slightly refined” for improved bass response and smoother high frequencies. I noticed that tracks with deep bass, like Deftones’ “locked club,” are clearer at the low end. Meanwhile, treble-forward instruments in songs like Miles Davis’ “Green Haze” sound crisper and cleaner than before.
Despite their larger size, this year’s buds offer a surprisingly balanced and comfortable fit. Bose refreshed the ear tips for the QC Ultra Earbuds with a new guard to prevent wax build up. Touch controls are still reliable, and you can disable them entirely on this second-gen version.
What’s not so good about the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd gen)?
The biggest gripe I have with the overhaul of the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds is the lack of improvement to battery life. I was disappointed to see that a better runtime wasn’t part of the upgrades when I read the announcement in June, and I’m still not over it. On this model, you’ll get up to six hours of use with ANC turned on. Like before, if you listen with that spatial Immersive Audio enabled, that drops to four hours. A couple more hours would’ve been nice, enough to keep the QC Ultra Earbuds in place for a full work day without having to give them a lunch break in the case.
While the design doesn’t bother me too much, I know the look of the QC Ultra Earbuds isn’t for everyone. There is a bit of a mini Bluetooth headset vibe going on here, and the overall size of the buds are on the larger side when much of the competition is racing to be the smallest. Like I said, none of this impacts comfort or stability, and I’d bet many prospective buyers are willing to live with the aesthetic in exchange for the type of silence the QC Ultra Earbuds deliver.
Wrap-up
The upgrades on the second-gen QC Ultra Earbuds don’t make for a wildly new product, but they do provide enough for a notable improvement over the previous version. ANC and call performance are both enhanced, and though it’s late to the party, the addition of built-in wireless charging is a welcome change. Other updates, like the tuning tweaks and the ability to turn off touch controls, are quality-of-life changes that undoubtedly improve the overall experience. Bose has done all of this without changing the price from the 2023 model, which is a surprising choice in the current economic climate. Simply put, the QC Ultra Earbuds remain the best option for wireless noise-cancelling earbuds, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd gen) are available for preorder in the US today, August 28. The general on-sale date is scheduled for September 10.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/bose-quietcomfort-ultra-earbuds-2nd-gen-review-still-a-noise-canceling-powerhouse-153017601.html?src=rss
