Customer Ratings & Reviews

In the box: • QuietComfort Ultra (2nd gen) earbuds • USB-A to USB-C charging cable (12-inch) • Large, medium, and small ear-tips and stability bands • Charging case Note: The product comes with no instructions other than a QR code. Setup: Initial pairing of the QuietComfort Ultra 2nd-gen (QCU2) with iPhone 15 was straightforward with the Bose app. Pairing with other devices (i.e., without the Bose app) requires that the earbuds be in the case with the lid open. A long press on the button at the back of the case puts the buds in pairing mode (indicated by a blue flashing light on the inside of the case). An update for QCU2 was available and I went through the installation process. The app takes you through the process and warns that it may take up to 45 minutes to complete. This turned out to be a reasonably accurate estimate. The update must be done with the earbuds out of the case until the very end. Placing the earbuds in the case before the progress indicator reads 100% pauses the update. The QCU2 can be used normally during this time. At 100%, the app tells you to put the earbuds back in the case with the lid closed and indicates that the light on the front of the case should blink rapidly until the update is final. I did not see any flashing light but checked the app to confirm that the update was successful. Design: Despite their relatively bulky size, the fit and comfort were good for me. The included ear-tips and stability bands should provide the same for most users. The earbuds fit easily into the charging case but their slick exterior and rounded contour make them difficult to remove. I have not had them slip out of my grasp but can imagine them doing so (and at the worst possible moment!) Operation: The Bose app includes some advanced controls: • Modes: Quiet, Aware, Immersive, Cinema modes are available by default. Customized mode settings can be created with varying degrees of noise cancelation. • 3-band equalizer: +10 to -10 in increments of 1.0 (dB?) and 4 pre-sets • Bluetooth pairing was simple on iOS phone using the app. Instructions for pairing without the app are buried in an online Help Article rather than under Manuals & Downloads. After finding the instructions, pairing with other devices was straightforward. The app retains a list of paired devices and can be simultaneously connected to any two of them simultaneously. • Touch controls: The touch-pad on both earpieces can be customized to control the listening mode and playback and telephony functions. • Wear sensor. When enabled, playback is paused when earphones are removed and restarted when put back on. However, when music is paused, it begins playing again when one earphone is removed. Telephony: Phone calls were excellent on both ends. The QCU2 is a great choice for teleconferences and videoconferences. ANC: ANC performance is exceptional! The QCU2 generates a series of tones each time they are inserted to determine the acoustic properties of your ear and tunes ANC accordingly. The result is a jet black background. Pass-through works well in Aware mode. Audio Quality: Frequency response and sound stage were assessed with a Hi-Res DAP with LDAC codec, flat equalization, and sharp roll-off filter (on the DAP). I prefer an uncolored frequency response without thumping bass or sibilant highs. The QCU2 sound signature is V-shaped and tends to favor the bass and treble at the expense of the mid-range. Unfortunately, the app only provides 3-band equalization limiting the extent to which fine adjustments can be made. The QCU2 audio performance is not what I had hoped for from Bose. Bass notes were thick and muddy (featured tracks 1, 2, 7, 11, 15, & 21). Mid-range and vocals were overshadowed by the bass (featured tracks 3, 4, 5, 6, & 14). Hi-hats and cymbal brushes were well represented and easy to hear (featured tracks 11, 12, 13, 15, & 18) but, like the bass, tended to distract from the mid-range. The sound stage was very good. Binaural recordings, jazz, and orchestral recordings were well-presented and spacious. With the notable exception of the bass, the QCU2 had good instrument separation (featured tracks 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, & 24). The Immersive and Cinema modes use crossover (and other acoustic wizardry) to provide a more spacious sound stage and can improve the presentation of some older stereo recordings. This effect was most notable (and welcome) for tracks on Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue (see featured list below) where it also tempered the V-shaped sound signature a bit. For more modern recordings, the sound signature was improved but at the expense of some substantial distortion in the mid-range (e.g., featured track #3). Battery: The charging case can be used with either a magnetic charging base or by USB-C. Magnetic charging may be convenient for users with the proper base. I have not worn them continuously for the advertised 6-hour battery life but battery levels for the earphones and case are consistent with published technical specifications. Overall: Bose is known for their first-class ANC and the QCU2 meets all expectations in that regard. Telephony is also excellent. The V-shaped sound signature may be fine for some users and applications but I will use something else for listening to my music collection. Immersive and Cinema modes can improve the sound stage and instrument separation on older stereo recordings but add distortion to more modern tracks. This is my first set of Bose earphones so have no reference for noting differences between 1st and 2nd generations of the QCU or other products in the QuietComfort line. Featured tracks: 1. Laurence Juber: Guitar Noir: Blues De Luxe 2. Miles Davis: Kind of Blue: Flamenco Sketches 3. Nora Jones: Come Away with Me: Don’t Know Why I Didn’t Come 4. Hoff Ensemble: Quiet Winter Night: Dronning Fjellrose 5. Hoff Ensemble: Quiet Winter Night: Ville fjellgutt 6. Bonnie Raitt: Road Tested: Matters of the Heart 7. Joe Satriani, Surfing with the Alien: Echo 8. Julian Webber: Elgar Cello Concerto - Saint-Saens Cello Concerto No.1: Adagio Moderato 9. Vladimir Horowitz: Rachmaninov Piano Concerto #3: Finale: Alla breve 10. 2L Test Suite: Concerto Fantastico: Allegro Affetuoso 11. Antoine Dufour: Back & Forth (Side B): Air Ground (electronic) 12. Bill Evans: Everybody Digs Bill Evans: Minority 13. Miles Davis: Kind of Blue: Freddie Freeloader 14. Tori Amos: Crucify: Smells Like Teen Spirit 15. Dr. Chesky: Dr. Chesky’s Sensational, Fantastic, and Simply Amazing Binaural Sound Show!: Westside Blues 16. Dr. Chesky: Dr. Chesky’s Sensational, Fantastic, and Simply Amazing Binaural Sound Show!: Dancing Flute & Drum 17. Oslo String Quartet: The Shubert Connection: Schubert String Quartet No. 14 in D minor D810: III Scherzo. Allegro molto 18. Miles Davis: Kind of Blue: All Blues 19. Yoyo Ma: Elgar Cello Concerto, Op. 85; I. Adagio – Moderato (Elgar) 20. Yoyo Ma: A Gathering of Friends: John Williams Cello Concerto: Theme & Cadenza 21. Stevie Ray Vaughan: Couldn’t Stand the Weather: Tin Pan Alley 22. Yoyo Ma: The Goat Rodeo Sessions: Attaboy 23. Los Angeles Guitar Quartet: Spin: Turn to the Sea 24. Los Angeles Guitar Quartet: Spin: Night Furniture Suite

I received my new Bose QuietComfort (QC) Ultra Earbuds, 2nd generation recently. First task, charge them to ensure that I’m working with a full battery. If you don’t have the Bose app already, which is necessary for the proper running of the earbuds, you can find it available in the Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store. I didn’t need to install the app as I already had it installed for my previously purchased QuietComfort and QuietComfort II earbuds. The Bose App has some handy built-in features, like showing you the battery levels for each of your Bose devices. The App is also necessary to perform the installation process of new Bose products, like these new Ultras. The App walked me through adding the earbuds and pairing the buds to my phone. Once the earbuds were installed on the app and paired to my Phone, a newer version of the Ultra’s software was automatically installed (this happened transparently). In addition to installing and pairing new devices, the App provides tools to control how the earbuds function. For example, adjusting the built-in Equalizer. The Equalizer has three controls, one for Bass, one for Mid, and one for Treble. Each control can be changed individually. On the Equalizer page, there are preset buttons for Bass Boost, Bass Reducer, Treble Boost, and Treble Reducer. The Bose app also has a Mode function, with four modes preconfigured. They are 1) Quiet, 2) Aware, 3) Immersion, and 4) Cinema. Performing a Tap & Hold on an earbud toggles between Modes. Of the four Modes already configured, only two (Quiet and Aware) are initially enabled. With only Quiet and Aware being enabled, performing a Tap & Hold moves the earbuds from Aware Mode to Quiet Mode. Another Tap & Hold will move the earbuds from Quiet Mode back to Aware Mode. If you enable Immersion in the app, for example, then Tap & Hold will move the earbuds from Aware to Quiet to Immersion, then back to Aware. I also tested wearing the Ultra’s during a phone call. By the end of the call, I asked the caller how their experience was talking to me. They indicated that they had no issues at all – which was my experience as well. What’s in the Box • 2 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) • Bose Fit Kit: • 3 pairs of ear tips (S, M, L) • 3 pairs of stability bands (1, 2, 3) • Wireless charging case • 12" USB-C® (A to C) cable • Safety sheet If you’re interested in purchasing a pair of Ultra’s, they come in White, Deep Plum, and Black colors. In my opinion, Active Noise Cancellation is truly excellent. The Ultra’s seemed to do an outstanding job blocking out street traffic noise than my Quiet Comfort and QC II buds. I only hear outside noises when a car or motorcycle comes racing by. Battery life for these buds with a full charge is 6 hours. A full recharge takes around 2 hours. Maximum talk time is 4 hours, which is identical for Immersive Audio. While a USB-C charging cable is provided in the kit, the buds can be charged wirelessly. The case supports up to 3 full charges. These buds have a water-resistant rating of IPX4 – which means that the buds are protected against water splashes from any direction, but not against direct immersion or submersion. Wireless connectivity supports A2DP Bluetooth Audio Streaming and HFP BT. BT version is 5.3. Multipoint connectivity, a built-in feature, lets you pair to multiple devices at the same time, and switch between the paired devices easily. All in all, the Bose Ultra earbuds work great! As such, I am giving them a 5-star rating.

TLDR: These are probably the best sounding earbuds on the market, no matter what you’re listening to. The noise cancellation is amazing, but drains the batteries pretty quick. Comfort is good, not great, and I had some issue finding the right fit. I admit it: I’m a big fan of Bose products. Ever since my first GMC SUV came with the upgraded Bose audio system, I’ve had a soft spot for the audio company. I’ve owned two over-the-ear headphones from Bose and loved them both (one was wireless, one not), but these are the first earbuds I’ve tried from the company. I was not disappointed! First, the sound: I was truly impressed with the sound. They really put the “Ultra” in their name. Everything sounds better with these buds. If I had to describe it, I’d say the sound is ‘livelier’, it has more ‘pop’ and ‘umph’. With a high-quality audio track, you can really hear the crispness of the electric guitar strings. Bass was good for earbuds too. Not earth-shattering, but solid, musical style bass. My music of choice tends to rock and more rock-ish country music, with lots of electric guitars and some bass. The earbuds excelled with this. If you’re looking for bass-heavy music, well, you’re probably better off with over-the-ear headphones, but these will make your rap tunes sound good regardless. Podcasts also sounded great. Voices were clear and background noise is nil. I don’t feel like podcasts or audiobooks are really worthy of these earbuds though, since most headphones can handle a podcast aptly. Speaking of noise, how about that well-loved Bose Noise Cancellation! That tech is amazing. I don’t always use it, but it works great. I work next to a downstairs window with lots of grass just outside. When the gardeners are mowing the grass, the earbuds stop the mower noise in its tracks. I feel the mower more than I hear it. It’s crazy. I haven’t taken a flight with these yet, but I’m sure it’ll deaden any airplane noise easily. To be honest, this is why you buy high-end Bose products. Other tech was a mixed bag: I loved having the ability to adjust tracks by touching the sides of the earbuds, but man was that annoying when you didn’t mean to change tracks. This is especially true if you’re adjusting the earbud’s fit or comfort (more on that later). Like most other higher end earbuds, Bose offers an app to tailor the sound via various equalizer settings, as well as lets you change what the outer controls do when you tap the earbuds. This is solid. It even allows you to summon your favorite assistance (I used the standard Google assistant with the Samsung phone). The fit is where I had some issue with the earbuds. But I should preface this by saying that I often have issues with earbud fit: These certainly aren’t the first pair that gave me grief. One set of ear tips is too big to fit inside my ear canal, the next smaller is too small. I guess I’m just that guy. Joy. With my left ear, I had issues with the earbud worming its way out. I could weightlift with the buds but certainly couldn’t jog or do active cardio without that side falling out. Again, this isn’t uncommon for me, so I might not be the best example. My odd ear canal certainly shouldn’t be the reason you don’t purchase these. Overall, I found these QuietComfort Ultra (2nd gen) earbuds to be honestly be the best I’ve ever used. I don’t say that lightly either. The sound and noise cancelling tech place these are a tier that not many can match.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) are some pretty great earbuds. I have a lot of different earbuds. Each of them has benefits. I would say the biggest plus of these earbuds would be their superior noise canceling. I have other noise canceling earbuds that I thought were good but they have nothing on these earbuds. To get the best noise canceling and sound, you need to use the largest eartip that will comfortably fit in your ear. These Bose earbuds come with a Bose Fit Kit that includes three pairs of eartips (S, M, L) and three pairs of stability bands (1, 2, 3). I used the small sized. I would usually wear a medium but they were a little too big. There is an app where you can choose a basic style for the sound and then adjust it by raising the treble, bass, vocals. I really like being able to control my sound like this. I can also choose the noise canceling or have awareness to enable a safer situation. I listen to all lot of audiobooks and podcasts while I work. But no matter how I adjusted the sound profile, the sound for the speaking sounded empty. It didn't echo but it sounded like it was in an empty room. When I listened to music, the sound was good but not the best I've heard. But noise canceling is most definitely where these earbuds excel. I could barely hear anything going on around me. And they totally blocked my husband's snoring. That makes them worth their weight in gold. I did get a lot of wind noise from wind blowing across the earbuds on walks. I also had a lot of extremely loud feedback type noise when I used the lawn string trimmer. I had to disconnect the earbuds because it was so painful. The earbuds come with a wireless charging case which I think is great. I can put it on the bottom of my wireless charger, right under my watch and phone. The earbuds go for six hours and charge in two hours. A USB-C cable and instruction pamphlet is included. Each earbud weighs 0.016 lb and the wireless charging case weighs in at 0.132 lbs. They also have IPX4 water resistance. All in all, these are decent earbuds that truly excel at noise canceling.

Fit perfectly in my ear. They never fall out. The quality of the sound is on par with Bose quality.

So far they have been good. Noise canceling is top notch. The only downside is the battery doesn't last long enough.

Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds are the best in sound quality. Bestbuy location in Morrow provided exceptional service.

Recently converted to these from UE Fits. I can’t believe what I’ve been missing! Clarity, comfort and a clear microphone for calls on the Bose are second to none!

Great product, i have owned several pair of Bose ear buds over the past several years and they are a quality product with great battery life

Bought one for my Grandaughter she loves them and uses them often

The sound that comes out of the headphones is amazing. Use them for taking walks or just around the house. Feel good in the ear as well and don't fall out.