Customer Ratings & Reviews

Good build, metal hinges beats Sony for me. Although Bose needs to get into hi res like Sony.

Gift for spouse who has always been a Bose fan and it did not disappoint. He loves the sound, the fit and comfort. No complaints

I've been a longtime owner of Bose QC35 headphones. While I've had several headphones since then, I keep coming back to the QC35 headphones for ease of use and steady performance. One of the things I just kind of lived with for a while now is the charging port of the Bose QC35 headphones. It's a Micro-USB connector where most of my modern devices are USB-C. It doesn't really affect my overall travel packing when I'm traveling with my family as I've got older Kindle tablets that require Micro-USB. But it's still a luxury that I'd like in new headphones. In comes the QuietComfort Ultra 2 Headphones. I haven't gotten Bose headphones since my QC35 headphones so this will be a decent jump. Taking it out of the box, the new QC Ultra 2 is about 30 grams heavier than the QC35. What strikes me off the bat is that the QC Ultra 2 has metal forks which is a welcome upgrade since I've had other branded headphones that broke after 1 year of use. I noticed that the QC Ultra 2 only has two buttons. A labeled Bluetooth button and a non-labeled button. After looking through the quick start guide, both of these buttons are multi-function. There is also an embossed bar that is a capacitive touch volume control. The other cup has my coveted USB-C charging port. The USB-C port also allows USB audio. It also has a headphone jack for connecting to older planes and other audio devices. I've had several Bose devices that work well with the Bose Connect App, but now these QC Ultra 2 Headphones utilize the Bose App. After connecting to the Bose App and then connecting to my PC, I found it very easy to switch Source from within the App or by pressing the Bluetooth button. However, the Bluetooth button is a multi-function button that also controls the Power On/Off. So it took a little trial and error to press and hold the button for the right amount of time to jump between switching sources, power or go into Bluetooth pairing. That's where another function tries to help. The On/Off is also controlled by placing the headphones on your head. Within 5 seconds of placing on your head, the headphones automatically turn on and I suspect similarly when you lay them down, they take about 5 seconds to turn off. This is where I like the QC35 with the physical on/off slider and when you push past the On detent, it switches the Bluetooth. The EQ in the app is somewhat disappointing. While the out of the box sound profile is great, I want more EQ channels than just the 3 (bass, mid, treble). Immersive Audio in the App is kinda fun. When you have it in Still mode, it sets the sound stage virtually in front of you, but as you turn your head, the sound is virtually stationary and you get more sound to the 'closer' ear and less sound to the 'farther' ear. While it's fun, I don't see myself using it very often. Noise Cancelling. Bose has always been very good with Noise Cancelling. Even with the QC35, white noise is tuned out very well. With the QC Ultra 2, they take it a step further and try to tune out sudden noises above the white noise for a more pleasant experience. I really enjoy this. Add to it, I've been reading comparisons of the QC Ultra 2 against the XM6 and they are neck and neck when it comes to Noise Cancelling. Audio performance. Despite only having the ability to EQ 3 channels in the app, I have to say, I really stuck with the out of the box settings. Bose starts you off in a really good place. I was listening for hours before I realized how much time had passed. If you don't mind getting used to multi-function buttons, these Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 headphones are top notch contenders. They are light, have good battery life, provide solid ANC performance and are great on the ears.

My favorite headphones ever, best color available, unbelievably comfortable and incredibly crisp audio, love them so much

I love these headphones! I already had a pair of QuietComforts, but these are a step up. I haven't gone wrong with purchasing a Bose product yet!

very good noise canceling and a very tight fit does show fingerprints

Great for phone calls! Voice quality is outstanding. Very comfortable for long flights.

Love the soundstage, ANC, and comfort of these headphones. Tried a bunch of different headphones and these were far and away the best for my purposes.

Came from a pair of Airpods Max and am very happy with these. Lightweight, great bass, and exceptional noise cancelation for my noisy work environment.

Excellent sound and crisp reproduction of music. Very adaptable to different head widths. This new model is also lighter than the past models. Battery wise, very long hours of continuos use.

These headphones are just awesome. I had them on for a 4.5 hour flight straight! Very very comfortable! Best bluetooth device I've purchased. No wonder why Bose is the best!

These new bose headphones are great. I love the color combo black and gold. Looks very classy. The sound quality and ANC are excellent.

The noise cancellation and the audio is superb. Very easy to connect and very versatile; use at the gym, at school, studying, or for relaxing. Overall an amazing product would recommend!

These headphones are awesome, I would recommend them to my family and friends. Love the comfort and style.

The quality of sound this produces and the efficiency of its ability to cancel noise at the price point, fantastic

Amazing quality and sound, I actually smiled when I first tried them on. Many features I still don’t know them all

SUMMARY: I’ll get straight to the point and say that true audiophiles will not be satisfied with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 headphones. The EQ settings offered in the app are minimal and limited at best; there’s still not enough customization options to give you full control over the sound tuning which was the same issue as the first-gen model. If you don’t like headphones with heavy emphasis on bass or sub-bass, these might not be for you. However, if you can get past that, or if you are the average listener on the market for your first pair of high-end, noise canceling, over-the-ear wireless headphones, I recommend giving these a shot. For my needs and purpose, the Bose QC Ultra are more than fine with some quirks I can ignore. DESIGN & SPECIFICATIONS: The Bose QC Ultra 2 are lightweight, attractive, and comes in a minimalistic design in different colors. Each pair comes with a matching-colored case that is small and easy for traveling while completely protecting the headphones. The Bose QC Ultra 2 weighs the same as the first-generation QC Ultra headphones. A minor design difference between the two is that the QC Ultra 2 comes with a metallic, polished plastic on the arms of the earcups, whereas the first-generation have a matte uniform finish. The Bose QC Ultra 2 claims to give you 30 hours of battery life in between charges; this is with the ANC feature turned on. With ANC turned off, you can get an estimated 45 hours of battery life. After using these headphones with ANC on for approximately 17 hours over the course of four days, I was left with 50% battery. They come with 60% battery straight out the box, and I’ve only charged them once since I’ve had them (on the first day). Another difference between the second-gen and first-gen models is that the Ultra 2 allows USB-C audio connectivity (cable included), so you aren’t limited to just Bluetooth wireless connectivity. Audio mode options include quiet, aware, immersion, and cinema; I hear little to no difference between immersion and cinema. I personally do not care for immersion audio features; I find that it works best outdoors and when listening to something with lots of horns, trumpets, piano, cymbals and other band instruments. I keep it off half the time because sometimes, particularly when indoors, it can distort the sound of my music. PROS: These are very, very comfortable to wear. Are they so comfortable that you forget that you’re wearing them? Nope, but as far as over-the-ear headphones are concerned, these are probably the most comfortable model on the market right now. If you’re a glasses wearer like me, take comfort (no pun intended) in knowing that wearing the Bose QC Ultra 2 doesn’t add any extra pressure on your ears. The reason being is that the earcups don’t just sit on top of the ears unlike most headphones but rather cover the entire ear. The Ultra 2 also doesn’t put too much pressure on my head, which matters when you wear them for more than an hour. There’s also plenty of padding on the earcups and decent padding on the headband. The noise canceling feature on the Bose QC Ultra 2 works very well to the point that I may need to turn it off or lower it to avoid being hit by a car when I’m walking. That is how solid the noise cancelling works on these headphones. Thankfully, you can easily adjust the strength of the noise cancellation within the Bose app; you can lower it, or, unlike the previous model, you can turn it off completely. There is also a transparency option. This is a small pro, but I love that you can turn off the Bose QC Ultra 2 just by laying the headphones down with the earpads flat on the surface. You don’t have to push a button to physically turn them off. This helps conserve the battery life of the headphones. CONS: The placement of the volume button bothers me and is still taking some time to get used to despite having these for almost a week now. I must search and feel for it every time, and until I get used to it, the volume button feels awkwardly placed. It’s one long bar in an odd location that responds to touch gestures; it is not a physical button but a surface touch control you slide your finger on to maneuver it, or you can long-press on it to generate other configurations. Which leads to my other con: the Bose QC Ultra 2 has weird controls. I realize this falls under personal preference, but I much prefer having physical buttons on my headphones that don’t do too many things at once. The few buttons it has are multi-function, multi-purpose keys, which I find confusing. The power button is also the pairing button. The play/pause button is also the ANC button. I prefer dedicated physical buttons. I don’t like the call quality of the Bose QC Ultra 2. I get that the main purpose of these headphones is casual audio listening while commuting, traveling, or lounging, but since they do have the capability to be used while on a call, I expect the feature to work well. I thought they had poor audio during phones calls. Specifically, I was told the volume of my voice was not consistent during the call; one minute my voice is perfectly audible, the next it’s too low. Both the person calling me and I heard an echo of our voices during the call which became distracting at times. Also, the person calling me said my voice was cutting in and out at times during the call. This is something to keep in mind should you decide to use these headphones for work calls and meetings. The Bose app itself gets on my nerves for several reasons, but it’s especially apparent when I am trying to pair the Bose QC Ultra 2 to multiple devices simultaneously. Bose calls it multipoint connection, and when it works, you can easily alternate between two audio sources. The problem is that it works very inconsistently. I find that it frequently drops connection with one of my devices. If I have it paired with the phone and my tablet at the same time, it is always losing connection with the tablet the minute I pause the video on it. It rarely loses connection with my phone. Sometimes it drops connection with my tablet while actively in use. This is extremely annoying and disappointing, as this could’ve been a convenient feature to have. This is not the first time I’ve experienced this issue with a Bose product, but it’s particularly bad with the Bose QC Ultra 2. Hopefully, a software update can fix this in the future. CONCLUSION: These headphones aren’t for someone who listens to music with the same precision and scrutiny as a sound engineer, music producer, composer, songwriter, musician, etc. For this price point, audiophiles may want to look elsewhere. This is not what you use when you want to feel like you are live in the recording studio watching your favorite song get created in front of you. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 headphones are for consumers that prioritize comfort and noise cancelation above all else, and that are also not picky about sound quality. It would make a great holiday or birthday gift for the casual listener, someone looking for a pair of comfy headphones to take on a flight, train ride, bus commute, etc. that has effective noise cancelling features, decent sound quality, and that won’t hurt their head or ears if they wear for more than an hour. If you are like me and are an average consumer, and if you never tried the first-gen Bose QuietComfort Ultras or the older Bose QuietComfort model, you will enjoy using these. If you already have the first-gen Bose QC Ultra, you might not be able to justify upgrading, as the Ultra 2 is very similar to their predecessor with only minor enhancements.

Great device, a little too tight for my head. Love the form factor compared to other headsets.

Excellent headphones!! The sound is nice and clear, not tinny requiring lots of bass. I highly recommend them!!

I absolutely LOVE these headphones! I use them both for gaming and listening to music. they last for a while without needing to be charged.