Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphone Review - Read Before Buying

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At the time this blog was written and at the following link, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are marked down 12% from retail

Prelude

I previously wrote about the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones in a news release article and part one of my review which can be found below.

I haven’t owned a pair of Bose Headphones since the discontinued Bose QuietComfort 25s that were sold from 2014 to 2019. So when I saw on Twitter that Bose were quietly releasing the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones without any social media push, I was taken by surprise and also intrigued.

Bose just announced a new family of headphones/earbuds, with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra replacing the Bose 700 as the flagship @Bose @tomsguide https://t.co/BFU0apDQlV
— Kate Kozuch (@KateKozuch) September 14, 2023

The Bose product page for the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones contains a lot of information but if you’re a quick scroller, you will miss some key features. After taking a look over the product listing and having the product in hand, here are some features you must know:

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones can be powered on and off with the bluetooth button
The volume can be adjusted with the touch strip
Using Immersive Audio shortens the battery life by approximately 6 hours
USB-C charging cable and Auxillary cable included
The cushions can be removed

NOTE: This review does not feature voice calling or call quality.

Battery Life

Bose rates the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones for 24 hours of battery life with Immersive Audio turned off. During my on-and-off use within my 8 hour work days, I’m listening to podcasts, twitch streams and music while cycling through different active noise cancelling modes and aware mode. I found that each day I use about 20% of the battery life. And sure enough, after starting Monday morning on 100%, at the end of Friday I was at 10%.

It’s worth saying that battery life usage will vary. If you use immersive audio for hours at a time, expect to drain the battery quicker. Also, it’s always a plus in my book when I can avoid charging a pair of headphones for a few days. If you’re worried about the battery life on this pair of headphones, don’t be. Although a short flight, I travel with these headphones from Raleigh to Newark/New York and DC and I have yet to run out of battery when I needed my headphones the most. Here are some notes from the Bose manual:

It takes 3 hours to fully charge the headphones
A voice prompt announces the battery percentage every time you turn on the headphones.
You can use a shortcut to access/ annonce the battery level percentage.
When the battery level is low, a 15-minute charge powers the headphones for 2.5 hours.

Bose QC Ultra Case

I’m not sure if this was on purpose but in the photo on the left, you can see how it appears the Bose QC Ultra Headphone case was made for the this back seat pouch.
On the other hand, Bose makes plenty of accommodations for their products to be used for travel so it wouldn’t surprise me if they took the average sizes of pouches into consideration when making their case.
In any case, I took this photo during my flight to showcase how perfect the fit was and I’m sure someone out there appreciate this.

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)

Now for the part you’ve been waiting for, right? To keep it brief, the Active Noise Cancellation on the Bose QC Ultra Headphone is powerful. These pair of headphones will take getting used to like any other pair of ANC headphones. I did experience the “sucking effect” within my ear when I had the ANC at 100% and with a few uses, my brain finally recognized the activity and normalized it.

When traveling by plane, the hums and sounds associated with them are significantly reduced. To clearly understand announcements made by the flight attendants, you will have to turn off ANC or slide your headphones down since it reduces the audio to a murmur where you know something is being said but can’t clearly understand. Conversations surrounding you are reduced to essentially nothing. If someone says your name, you will not hear them, unless they yell it of course.

I think it’s important to state that ANC does not block out 100% of everything. High pitch/loud sounds and and irregular sounds will still grab your attention but will sound muffled. I noticed people ask on social media, “how is the ANC”? It’s evident Bose didn’t rest on their laurels. If you’re familiar with their headphones, you will not be disappointed with these.

Immersive Audio

Motion and Still are the two modes you can choose for Immersive Audio. Here are some notes from the Bose user manual:

Motion

Audio sounds like it's coming from two stereo speakers in front of you that follow the movements of your head.
Use for the most consistent experience. Best for when you’re doing activities that require you to frequently turn your head or look down.

Still

Audio sounds like it's coming from two stereo speakers in front of you that stay where they are when you move your head.
Use for the most realistic and powerful experience. Best for when you’re stationary
A few seconds after you stop moving your head, the speakers recenter on your position.

You can definitely hear the difference between the two and the audio truly does “move with you” and surrounds you in the motion mode. In the Immersion Audio mode, active noise cancellation is at its highest level and the mode is set to motion. With that being said, I know this sounds crazy but I didn’t miss the immersive audio feature when I use other modes. Don’t get me wrong, the highest ANC paired with immersive audio is a very nice experience but it’s not the feature I’m excitedly telling to friends, colleagues, and you, the reader.

Aware Mode

You can hear a LOT in Aware Mode. For instance, you’ll be able to hear someone call your name, footsteps behind you, announcements being made, etc. Sometimes it feels like you have a super power because how you can hear some precise things with these headphones on. However, I wouldn’t advise using this mode if you’re in a noisy environment since that means you will have to turn your audio up that much louder to overcompensate.

TIP: If you want to walk in the city or airport with these headphones on, I recommend making a custom profile where the active noise cancellation is turned to 50%. That way you can reduce some noise while not being totally unaware of your surroundings.

NOTE: Active Sense can be turned on for Aware Mode to automatically adjust your noise cancellation based on the sounds in your surroundings.

How does Audio Sound?

I’m no audiophile but I like to gauge the sound on a pair of headphones as a general consumer and if I’m happy or not with what I’m hearing. Overall, I’m pleased. The bass is well defined but if you’re looking for a pair of headphones that mimic a subwoofer, look elsewhere. A song that provides some nice bass hit with trail offs is “Endless Fashion” by Lil Uzi Vert. In the standard audio mode, the sound is enough to get the feel of the bass but not enough to be moved by it in a way that makes you day “daaaaaammmnnnn”

The treble is amazingly balanced. When listening to “Do it Again” by Steely Dan, the audio amazingly picks up all the instruments being placed at the high pitch range. Not only can you hear and distinguish the sounds, you can actually feel the body of the audio. Would you feel let down by the Treble and Bass in the Bose QC Ultra Headphones? Not at all.

On-Head Detection

The Bose QC Ultra Headphone has the intelligent pause feature using sensors that detect when the headphones are on your head. Where, if you lift an ear cup off your ear, or putting the headphones down, it pauses. When I lifted my left ear cup several times and the audio didn’t pause, I thought I ran into a bug but take a look at this note from Bose:

“When you lift the right earcup off your ear or remove the headphones, audio pauses. To resume audio, replace the right earcup or put on the headphones.”

— Bose

Catch that? Right ear cup only. While I’m not left handed, this explains why the audio didn’t pause when lifting the left ear cup.

When lifting the right ear cup up, it takes about 1.5 seconds after the action for the headphones to pause the audio. Comparatively, Apple has a lot of cross communication benefit since their AirPod Max Headphones and phone, tablets, computers work seamlessly with each other. When lifting an ear cup off your ear with an AirPods Max, the pause is instant. But, this is not that so, I digress.

Odds and Ends I Don’t Like

I don’t like that the on-head detection is limited only to the right ear cup lifting action although that seems to be common amongst headphones. While I’m not left handed, where’s the love for the lefties?

In addition to wireless headphones, I’m still a big user of wired connections. It’s worth pointing out that once the Bose QC Ultra headphones are depleted of battery, I have not been able to use them in a wired connection with just the 3.5mm audio port. I checked the user manual and this is what Bose said:

“To continue listening to audio on your source device when the headphone battery is depleted and a Bluetooth connection isn’t available, connect both the USB cable and the audio cable ”

— Bose

I know what you’re thinking. If you have the USB cable plugged in, aren’t you essentially charging the headphones and thereby making the use of them with a depleted battery pointless? Here are a few more points that Bose made from their user manual:

The headphones won’t charge when they are on your head, powered on, and connected to an external power source.
Connect the small end of the USB cable to the USB-C port on the left earcup.
Connect the other end to a USB-A power source such as a computer or wall charger.
Power on the headphones

On one hand, I get it because traditional wired headphones are powered by the audio signal that comes out of the headphone jack. It’s the amplifier that transforms the audio waves into electricity which powers the headphones on. With the QC Ultra Headphones, the power will come from the USB-A power source.

Truthfully, this annoyed me since I might as well put the headphones down, turn them off and charge them and come back to them later. Making yet another wired connection while on the go with a depleted headphone is not “it”.

In part one of my review I covered how I don’t like protein leather on headphones because it is not breathable and they eventually crack and peel. Need inspiration? Take note of the breathable and durable material on the AirPods Max.

Lastly, it’s a mistake to not have USB-C audio support since cell phones went that direction.

Odds and Ends I Do Like

I do like and appreciate the Immersive Audio feature. I just don’t use it a lot due to the impact on battery life. When paired with ANC at it’s highest level, it is a pleasant immersive experience.

The fact that you can create up to seven (7) custom listening profiles is a nice touch. Within the Bose app, you are given profile name suggestions to help you keep your listening experience organized by location.

I appreciate shortcut customization a lot. I enabled the shortcut function within the app. This allowed me to press and hold the volume strip to use this shortcut as an announcement of how much battery is left. Note, you don’t have to touch directly in the middle of the strip. Anywhere along the strip activates your command. Alternatively, you can also use your shortcut function to operate Spotify, change immersive audio settings, or access your voice assistant.

Final Thoughts on the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones

***Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones***

Negatives
Evolve ear cushions beyond protein leather which can crack and peel
No USB-C audio usability
The Positives
Amazing Noise Cancellation
Top-tier Comfort
Foldable/ Portable
Handles Treble & Bass Well
Lightweight
Long Battery Life

The Bose QC Ultra Headphones retails at $429 which is less than the AirPods Max ($549) but more than the Sony WH-1000XM5 ($399). During the 2023 Holiday season you can find the Bose QC Ultra Headphones marked down to $379 on Amazon.While the price is not at a make or break decision point, I always advise people to look for a sale.

In terms of size, comfort, portability and active noise cancelation, I do recommend the Bose QuietComfort Ultra over the AirPods Max. You get the most the most for your money without having to spend another $100 unless you want to continue to be in the Apple ecosphere.

The Sound on the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphone is more than acceptable and there will not be any surprises if you’re familiar with Bose’s sound quality. I wouldn’t recommend Immersive Audio as thee reason to buy these headphones since it feels more gimmicky to push a sale. It’s nice that it’s a feature but it’s more of a background singer and not a soloist.