Bose QuietComfort Ultra — Review

After six years of remote work, my company mandated a return to the office in 2024. Having grown accustomed to the quiet of working from home, I found the noisy office environment genuinely difficult to manage. With no work-from-home option available, I decided to invest in the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones — and they have been a game-changer.

Pros:

Active Noise Cancellation

The ANC is exceptional. While seated in my cubicle, the office feels nearly as quiet as my home. Even loud colleagues nearby become barely noticeable, and within a couple of weeks, any remaining ambient sound stopped being distracting entirely. The isolation is so effective that I wear these headphones all day at the office.

Microphone Quality

The microphone quality is excellent. Nobody in my meetings has ever complained about audio clarity, and the background noise suppression works remarkably well — even in a noisy environment, colleagues on the other end hear only my voice, cleanly and clearly.

All-Day Comfort

These headphones are genuinely comfortable for 6–8 hours of continuous wear. Unlike cheaper alternatives (such as certain Logitech models), which start feeling warm and tight against the ears after extended use, the Bose headphones feel natural and stay cool throughout the day.

Battery Life

Battery life is impressive — I only need to charge them once every three to four days, even with all-day use.

Bluetooth Connectivity

Paired with my laptop via Bluetooth, the connection is rock-solid with no dropouts or interference issues.

Cons

Multi-Device Pairing

I have never tested pairing these headphones with more than one device simultaneously, so I cannot speak to that capability. For my needs — connecting to a single laptop — this has not been an issue, but it may be worth researching if you frequently switch between devices.

Final Thoughts

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones have genuinely transformed my return-to-office experience. They deliver on every front that matters for a demanding daily work environment: outstanding noise cancellation, a clear microphone, exceptional comfort, and reliable battery life.

While a second-generation model is now available, I see no reason to upgrade — mine continue to perform flawlessly. If you work in a noisy environment and need a headset that keeps you focused and productive throughout the day, these come highly recommended.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

I’m frankly surprised by the amount of griping about the Ultras in these reviews. These are great headphones, it’s that simple. I did get them for $300 on Amazon and that makes it a much more palatable buying decision than $429, I must admit.

But either way, they’re just great. First off, they are not the least bit flimsy or nondurable. They also fit quite snuggly on my head. I don’t know what some people are talking about there. Then, the on-headset volume control is quite easy and is able to select very small variations. The mode button works perfectly, you just have to remember the number of presses that control music play verses what those presses do when you’re receiving phone calls (and it handles phone calls great!). And just holding the mode button down shifts between Quiet mode, Aware and Immersion. Every control you can do in the app, you can do on the headphones. It’s really not difficult at all and you get used to where the controls

are, and how to use them, fast. The Immersion mode is a true gift. It’s not at all a “gimmick” as some claim. Nor does it add any noise, distortion or limit frequency range at all. It’s a welcome change from the normal “playing in the center of your head” effect of all regular headphones. It works great without any compromises and I very much prefer it exclusively. But if you prefer that regular way, it’s easily selectable.

The sound of these is quite exquisite. I use Amazon Music Unlimited. Their so called “Ultra HD” recordings are so wonderfully noise free on these, even at the highest volume. You must experiment with the Equalizer in the Bose app, though, to tune them to your liking. That’s just critical. It’s a perfectly fine equalizer with its three controls for bass, midrange and treble. If you get a volume booster app on your phone (I use the “Goodev” one and it works quite well), you can easily make them play even louder. Just be careful with those, don’t set them too high.

I can’t detect much of any difference between listening to Amazon Music via Bluetooth as opposed to plugged in by wire to my phone. However, I have Amazon’s Echo Link connected to my stereo and when I wire these to the stereo playing Amazon Music from the Link, well, that does sound significantly better than Bluetooth playing the same thing. Then the true height of the Ultra’s fidelity comes through, and I can also use my amp’s volume control to get it considerably louder and cleaner than Bluetooth even with that volume booster on my phone, not to mention the more complex equalizer settings on my amp. So, at home, I’m always plugged into my amp with these.

Incidentally, you need to know that the headphone jack on these is 2.3mm not the 3.5 of your phone’s headphone jack. There’s an included wire cord with one end 2.3 and the other 3.5, so you can plug them into your phone (or your stereo amp if you get a 6.35mm adaptor and a longer cord). Also, the headphones must be powered on in order for a wired connection to work.

The noise cancelling is just awesome. Gone are almost all of that electronic “hush” sound of prior noise cancelling devices (including Bose)- that very low level but still quite discernable fuzz in the background. Now, it’s very nearly simply just silent. It’s so delightful when you use them without music for just noise cancelling. You feel like you’re alone in a submerged submarine with all its power off.

The on/off feature when you remove them from your head works flawlessly. Take them off and the music pauses. Put them on again and it resumes. Off your head, they go to sleep after the time you set for that to happen. And why are some reviewers complaining that you can’t turn them on or off or that it’s somehow

difficult? Just press and hold the button below the Mode button for a second, and they turn off completely. Press and hold it again for about three seconds and it turns on again. Finally, those pillowy ear and head pads make these the absolute most comfortable headphones I’ve ever experienced. Plus, they’re so light weight to boot. It amazes me how long I can wear these without any discomfort. That is a first for me with headphones.

A word on battery and charging. They charge fast enough though I haven't actually measured it. But although you can use them while the charger is plugged in to their USB C port, the headphones will not charge unless they're turned completely off, it seems. And if you use Bluetooth and noise cancelling along with the Immersion Mode, your battery life seems to be no more than 7-8 hours, but that's still pretty good. Best to keep them topped off on the charging though.

But please, do yourself a favor and tune out the naysayers. I don’t know, for the life of me, what they’re talking about. Are we reviewing the same headphones? These things are the cat’s pajamas, especially if you get them at $300. Have no fears!

I bought these to use as an alternative to the same brand's ear buds. The ear buds are great but do not have the same degree of noise cancelling capacity that the headphones do. I use that at my gym to compensate for the music and workout noise. They are comfortable, light weight, and hold their charge well. The sound quality is excellent and the noise cancelling is great. Honestly worth every penny as someone who is easily over-stimulated / overwhelmed by persistent loud noises.

So just to preface my friend is a bit of an audio file and has shown me a lot of medium to high end consumer headphones and systems. I've been super cheap myself and only just recently started to try higher and higher end products granted the highest I currently have is a pair of JBL ead buds that I think were around 40-50 dollar mark. (got them on sale might retail higher) So these Bose headphones are quite the step up in price but honestly comparing the two... A DOWNGRADE in sound quality.

I don't think the ear buds I'm comparing it to are even that great! I literally just went back and forth between the two with the same connection, audio file, everything, and they just aren't that good! I don't get it. Was extremely disappointed even when I first tried them it was extremely noticeable.

Don't get me wrong they are a good set of headphones for around the 50-100 buck mark but that's the problem they are 3x + that budget point! I've been very impressed with speakers from Bose and was just utterly disappointed with these. Idk if the sound cancelling really costs that much because that's really the only outstanding feature that these have.

Main gripes:

-Price for what they deliver.

-They seem to be really proud of their "immersive experience" but they sound like they inject white noise put the audio threw a high and low filter (as much clarity loss than a security camera loosing connection)and then play that audio in an ecco room and they push it to you like the best thing since sliced bread and you know it might be if the music or whatever didn't sound like crap now. Like it could be really cool for immersive binural experiences like that tech has potential to make vr 360 video super immersive but they really do modify the audio too much.

-Audio quality: as in the crispness and high tones are worse than what I have and the punchiness of the bass is worse than my ear buds that are like 1/8th the price. The bass itself is also very not present by default and has to be boosted a bit to sound normal and maxed to have it sound good. It can shake or rumble to its credit, and reproduce really low frequencies it's just not as punchy if that makes sense.

-Loudness: typicaly I like the 75% volume mark to be a good loud workout/hype type volume(and typically it is) for these that's about 90%. It's max volume is (in most cases/with typical balanced audio) one click too loud. When listening to quiet audio I literally can't turn it up enough which is so annoying. It's like just barely loud enough to be ok for 80% of the time but it's literally just on the line and that sucks. I want to say 90% of the cheaper ear buds can be too loud and give me the controll over how loud I want my music. And like it was very similar with the bass, when boosted it just barely hits that ok level but can't go past just ok.

-They don't like to stay on my head. I do have a really small head and I know that less clamp force generaly means more comfort but if you do get these you probably want to because of their insane noise cancellation and if you can only wear them at home not moving much in a chair where it's probably fairly quiet already that's doesn't really seem ideal.

Anywho some good points

-Very comfortable

-Noise cancelation literally sounds like you teleport into outer space

- They do sound good and have a warm unique sound to them ($100 dollar good not 300)

-Loudness and bass are just so barely satisfactory (for me it's a negative but for you, maybe that's all you need)

-Can rumble and shake even if it's just a little bit. (Definitely feels like it's tuned for mid tones the most)

-Battery life is good but again it doesn't stand out

For the price, the brand name, and the sound quality I am really disappointed. I was very excited to have finally splurged on a really nice pair of headphones to get a taste of some better sound quality but was left with a bad taste instead.

It's not impossible that I didn't do something that would have made them so much better or that I was doing something wrong because I only had them for a day or maybe I even got a lemon somehow but they did work so I don't think so.

These are not perfect as headphones go, but they are literally the nicest noise cancelling headphones that any amount of money can buy. They have their ups and downs. I'm going to talk in depth about each of these, but overall these are the best noise cancelling headphones money can buy, so even when it comes to their downsides, you can't do better.

First, if you're a regular consumer, you'll be blown away by the sound quality. However, if you're an audiophile used to audiophile grade open back headphones like the Sennheiser HD800, these fall short of audiophile levels of sound quality. Let me explain why that is.

Sound quality wise, the sound quality is overall spectacular, but it has two problems. Bass is way overemphasized, and the treble is rolled off. The treble issue is in my opinion the only really major flaw you have to deal with in these headphones. It's really a shame. Even with EQ, there's no good way to make up for the treble problem because the high end is just always a little lacking.

Bass is massively overemphasized, but everyone seems to do that these days, and most people seem to love it. Thankfully, you can just lower the bass in the EQ and it works fine, but from an audiophile perspective it's still a mark against it. You can also raise the bass if you want to lose your hearing and cause brain damage from the thump. These things will thump so hard that it'll give you a concussion.

Aside from those two downsides, instruments sound absolutely spectacular with amazing definition, separation, and clarity, it's just really unfortunate that they rolled off the treble. It'd be nice if the bass wasn't so overemphasized, but the bass at least is understandable since it seems to be what most people want. I will say however that the mid is absolutely spectacular, so there's that.

Even at their best, if you're a real audiophile, these don't hold up to the sound quality of high end audiophile open back headphones by Sennheiser like the HD650 or HD800. These are consumer grade, very top end consumer grade, but they don't reach the heights of real audiophile territory. For most people though, these will blow you away.

Noise cancelling wise, these are the best money can buy. I've tried other noise cancelling headphones, and these destroy everything that I've ever tried. It's a night and day difference in terms of the overall quality and effectiveness of the noise cancelling compared to other noise cancelling headphones.

However, they're not totally perfect. I have a bunch of air filter fans running full blast all the time, and it reduces their volume by 90+%, but it's a little inconsistent. Some of the inconsistency comes from just how the headphones sit in my head, if I get them just right, it mutes probably 98% of the sound, but if they're just a little off, it drops to between 90-95%. Sometimes it just seems to work better than other times with no apparent explanation. 90% is still a ton of noise reduction. Be aware though that you can still hear things, they're just quiet. Like if you pass a fan while walking, you can still hear it, it's just quiet.

There is sometimes a slight amount of pressure from the noise cancellation, but it's very minimal, and a lot of the time there's actually none.

Next, we get into the real premium stuff. You're paying like $400 for this, so let's talk about what you're really paying for: the creature comforts and luxury that get overlooked at lower price ranges...

For example, the case for these headphones is simply amazing. It feels extremely premium, it has a nice touch, it's light but durable, it has this lovely leathery material that is a joy to hold. It just feels like a million bucks. Even the zipper is nice! The internal layout is likewise spacious, protective and just overall very high quality.

Same with the headphones themselves. As an object that you hold in your hand, these things simply feel incredible. They're unbelievably light, I don't know how they made it feel this light. The headband literally feels like a cloud, it almost melts in your hand. I've never felt anything like it. It is insanely soft with this beautiful smooth leather feeling, yet it doesn't collapse when you wear it. I don't even understand how that works, but it does.

These are the most comfortable set of headphones I have ever put on my head by far. It feels like you're wearing a cloud. It's crazy. The clamp force is so low that I can wear these for hours and hours on end and they just feel insanely comfortable the entire time.

Even just holding these headphones physically, they feel like a million bucks. Like they've got these buttery smooth moving collapsible cans, yet they feel solid and durable, and they have this lovely smooth feeling to them.

These are the things you're really paying for when you pay $400. It's just all those little details and luxuries that really make it. They put a lot of luxury into the things outside the actual speakers, and it shows. They feel super premium in your hands, they're a beautiful shape, they're insanely comfortable to wear, they have this elegant simple design to them, and their case is outstanding. Seriously, if you hold the case and headphones of any of the other noise cancelling headphones in your hands, they just don't feel as nice as this.

Overall, I really wish they hadn't rolled off the treble. That's its one major flaw. However, these are so good that I can't go back to anything else (other than my open back audiophile sennheisers for serious listening). These are like the ultimate casual headphones for every day use. Watching TV? Use these. Going on an airplane? Use these. Going to the gym? Use these. Going for a walk? Use these. Unless all you want to do is sit down and seriously listen to some high quality music in a quiet room with audiophile headphones, you should be using these.

These are your ultimate every day use headphones. If you're a normal consumer who doesn't care about audiophile grade stuff, these will absolutely blow your mind. Even if you're an audiophile, you'll probably end up addicted to them for every day normal use. I'm kindof addicted to them myself, to be honest.

Ok. It was Black Friday / Syber Monday 2024 and I figured why not drop some money and help everyone else figure out which headphones are the best. I did not test anything $600 or more. These headphones were mid level, where most buyers are. With incredibly pricing, some of these were downright a steal!

I am going to break them down into a few categories (Sound Quality, price value, bluetooth app Connection, comfort, style) and give you the results on each category. I could not test longevity since I just got them all, so I will leave that for other reviewers.

The headphones I tested were the:

Beats Studio Pro X

Sony WH-1000XM5

Technics Wireless

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e

Bose QuietComfort Ultra

The overall winner for those who don't want to read why is............. Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e

Sound Quality

Winner: Bowers and Wilkins PX7S2e

Runner Up: Technics Wireless

Comments: This one was hard to pick a winner. Bowers and Technics were dang near neck and neck. You can't go wrong with either. I had to go back and forth 10X to finally figure it out with all the songs I played. Some songs, Technics was better, some Bowers better. What it came down to was the immersion of sound. I felt Technics had the better highs and crisp voice sounds so if you are going for vocals, I would say Technics, but Bowers had a better feeling of overall broad balance of sound, lows and immersion.

The Bose and Sony were 3rd and 4th. Beats last. Beats are great headphones, but they just didn't have the stable / predictable sound that Bose and Sony had.

Price Value

Beats Studio Pro X ($159)

Sony WH-1000XM5 ($298)

Technics Wireless ($172)

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e ($249)

Bose QuietComfort Ultra ($329)

Winner: Technics Wireless

Runner Up: Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e

Comments: For $172 the technics are hands down the best value / bargain of any headphone I have ever had. I have heard they have issues breaking on the hinge, so I can't comment on longevity, but for sound quality and price, there is nothing close to the Technics. I got them on sale, so not sure if they are going to be that price forever. My review on this would change if the price went back up.

Bowers and Wilkins at $249 was unreal for the winning headphone. What a great deal. Beats are nice gifts, but nothing I would own now after reviewing these others. Sony was way overprices. Bose, utter disappointment for their pricing. Bose is a solid 8 across the board but never a 10.

App

Winner: Technics Wireless

Runner Up: Bose QuietComfort Ultra

Comments: I felt the Technics were the best overall app. Super easy for the normal user. Lots of easy sound options to choose from like bass+, vocal, treble+, dynamic. No weird screens. Just easy. I felt Bowers really dropped the ball on the app here and their app seemed a bit complicated with no pre settings to choose from. This was a bummer. Bose is always a steady 8, but never a 10. Good app, but not incredible. Just good and dependable. Sony, meh. they should change their name to always over complicate everything, but if you get it figured out they rock. Beats did a decent job.. Nothing I will remember.

Bluetooth Connection

Winner: All of them. I had zero issues with any, so they all get at least one spot on the winner podium.

Comfort

Winner: Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e

Runner Up: Bose

Comments: Bowers felt the best for sure. They just fit awesome. No doubt about it. Clearly the winner. Bose is a distant second. Beats felt really good actually so it took 3rd place. Technics is fourth but a bit stiff. Not quite as comfortable as the others. Sony was shallow so your ears hit the speaker cloth, which dropped to last place. If not for that, Sony would be number 3.

Style

Winner: Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e

Runner Up: Beats

Comments: Bowers hands down looks and feels like quality. Winner for sure. Beats colors are rad and they look amazing. Everyone compliments beats colors so they take runner up. Technics looks kind of cheap but they are not and this frustrates me as they have such a great brand, why cheapen them with such a cheap looking stainless design. Everyone loves the new flat colors and quality builds, not a headphone that looks like an outdated stainless steel refrigerator from the 2010 era.

Final thoughts. Overall, Bowers is the best overall headphone, but dang, Technics is really an audio guys headphone if you want to hear certain highs and distant lows that should be your choice. Bose is a 8 out of 10 on everything, never a winner on anything. Sony was a disappointment to be honest. Beats is fine for style but lacking in the areas that matter the most.

Long live Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e this time around. Good job.

I own the Bose QC45 and have recently tried comparable headphones in this class including the B&W PX7 S2 and Sennheiser Momentum 4. The Bose QC Ultra are probably the best among this group when it comes to my top three priorities - sound quality, comfort, and ANC. Here are my relative rankings in these categories:

SOUND QUALITY

I was a bit skeptical at first that Bose's new Immersion Mode would amount to a mere marketing gimmick, but it's really unlike anything that I've ever heard. It's hard to describe (you have to listen for yourself!). Immersion Mode somehow gives the sense that the audio source is in front of you (almost like speakers), which ultimately creates a more expansive, 3D-ish effect that makes the music "come alive." I now listen exclusively in Immersion Mode and don't know that I can go back to the more traditional, "closed-off" sound of other headphones. The QC Ultra is a definite step-up from the QC45.

I was also impressed with the B&W PX7 S2's balanced and clean sound signature; however, I had to return my pair because the left ear cup suddenly and inexplicably went dead after only a week of gentle use. I contemplated repurchasing because of how good they sound but don't want to take the chance on receiving another dud.

While the M4 has a loyal following, I was personally disappointed by the Sennheiser sound signature. The M4 was too bass-heavy for my taste; moreover, the clarity/separation for vocals and instruments was muddy and often overpowered by the bass.

Rankings: QC Ultra >= PX7 S2 > QC45 > M4

COMFORT

Both the QC45 and QC Ultra live up to the "comfort" in their names. Their light weight and plush padding are second to none, with perhaps a slight edge to the QC45. The PX7 S2 is also quite pleasant to wear but a little heavier compared to Bose. I was not a fan of the M4, which felt a bit cheap to me; the material used for the ear pads was not breathable (think hot ears), and the clamping force was tighter than Bose and B&W.

Rankings: QC45 >= QC Ultra > PX7 S2 > M4

ANC

Bose has earned a reputation as the "King of ANC", a title that is well-deserved IMO. Both the QC45 and QC Ultra are noticeably more effective at drowning out ambient noise than the PX7 S2 and M4.

Rankings: QC Ultra = QC45 > PX7 S2 = M4

Hope that my observations help you if you're trying to decide between these headphone options. I plan to keep the QC Ultra as Bose has made substantial improvements to the QC45, namely the Immersion Mode, that justify the price differential for me. I do wish that the battery life were longer, but its other distinguishing features make up for it. Overall, I'd give the QC Ultra 4.5 (rounding up to 5) stars!

I don't know where to start, the comfort?! the sound quality?! Ok I'll talk about the sound quality and features - Wow, wow, wow!! I REALLY love the Immersion setting. Basically, the Immersion setting means the noise cancelling option is to the highest level so the sound is REALLY crisp and no outside sounds interferes with whatever you are listening to. I was really blown away by the musical theater video I was listening to. The noise cancelling feature is REALLY superb. I was also in my room with an air purifier on - which is loud by the way. The Bose noise cancelling feature REALLY dimmed the sound of my air purifier. I would say it blocked 85 - 90% of the air purifier sound. Next are the controls. I've only been using the volume controls and it is the right side of the headphones. It's really cool that it's touch sensitive. There are no buttons - you just slide your finger up and down. The volume control is VERY responsive which is really cool. When I take the headphones off it automatically pauses the video or song (neat!) I like the fact that I won't be "wearing out" any buttons. As for comfort I love the fact that it DEFINITELY fits over my ears. I have no fear of pinched ears and lack of blood flow. The headphone pads is very soft, plush and comfortable. I stretched the headphone to its maximum length and it was good for my head. The feel of everything was just slick and smooth . I haven't tested the battery yet. I will update once I do. the case is great and easy to use. It has a hole for the pads which is pretty convenient. I will be using the case because this Bose headphone costs a few dollars. I don't have to mention that this uses USB-C and they provide the cord. I also like the fact that I can connect two different devices. I have android and there were no issues connecting to it but I made sure to download the Bose app. There is an IMMERSION DEMO which sounds VERY cool and you really get to hear the high quality audio features. I had no problems connecting it to my Windows computer. Very happy with my headphones. I plan to bring this to swim competitions where it can get very loud.