Bose QC Ultra 2 Review: Worth It?

Comfort is the best part

I've tried the Sony XM6 and AirPods Max. Each is comfortable in its own way, but each also has a compromise I don't love. The Bose are the best, most comfortable all-around headphones I've tried.

Three things make the difference. First, the soft faux-leather ear cushions feel like clouds on my ears. They're deep enough that my ears don't touch the drivers, and surprisingly breathable, so my ears don't get super hot. Second, the wide, flat headband distributes the weight nicely. It has a thick layer of soft padding underneath, so I don't feel pressure on the top of my head. Third, these are much lighter than AirPods Max, closer to the Sony XM6. They feel well built while staying lightweight. Comfort matters because you want headphones you'll actually want to put on.

Design and build quality

Bose have kept the familiar rounded, oval ear cups and flat headband. The logo looks good, and the silhouette doesn't stick out much on your head. I think they look modern, elegant and sleek.

The metallic yoke now has a shiny finish, rather than the first generation's matte gunmetal look. I know opinions are divided, but I like it. It contrasts nicely with the plastic and helps distinguish the Ultra model. The downside is that the shiny parts pick up fingerprints and dust.

Most of the exterior is matte plastic, but it feels like high-quality, soft-touch plastic. The sliding headband, yoke and internal moving parts use metal. My old Bose 700 ear cushions started peeling after about three years, or potentially closer to two with gym use. At the time of this review, Bose offered replacement cushions for $34. I expect these headphones to last a long time if you take care of them. They include a zippered hard-shell carrying case with pockets for cables.

Controls: mostly good, with two complaints

All the controls sit on the right ear cup. There's a power/Bluetooth button, a multimedia/noise-control button and a capacitive volume slider. The Bose app lets you assign a press-and-hold shortcut to that slider. Mine triggers Spotify Tap, which starts playing new music for me.

The buttons are big and easy to find, and I got used to them after a day or two. My main complaint is how much the multimedia button has to do: play, pause, skip, go back and switch noise-control modes. Switching modes requires a press and hold, then cycling through each mode to get to the one you want. A separate noise-control button that changes modes with one press would be faster.

You can remove modes from the cycle in the app. I turned off Cinema mode, but kept Immersion because I like it. If you only want Quiet and Aware, you could remove Immersion too. My smaller complaint is the volume slider's lack of feedback. Sony and AirPods give you an audible indicator when the volume changes. On Bose, swiping up or down is silent.

Sound and immersive audio

The Bose surprised me with their sound quality. The best part is the bass. It's not just a lot of bass; there's deep sub-bass that lets me feel the music. To my ears, it extends even deeper than AirPods Max and gives music a concert-like feel. The mids are good, while the treble is less pronounced, so these have a warmer sound signature than I'm used to.

Bose's Immersive Audio creates a spatial listening experience. I like it for music and movies, but I turn it off for YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. With it enabled, spoken content can sound like it's coming from an echo chamber, which doesn't feel natural.

Noise cancellation and transparency

In my testing, the Bose cancelled noise better than AirPods Max. The Sony XM6 performed slightly better in my airplane test, but noise cancellation in this class has matured so much that I think most people will be happy with any of these options.

The first-generation Ultra headphones had a white-noise or hissing issue with noise cancellation on and no music playing. On my second-generation pair, that issue was pretty much fixed.

Transparency mode also impressed me. Previously, I felt most headphones were far behind AirPods here. This time, voices sound natural, and I can pinpoint little sounds to my left and right. It's a transparency mode I'd actually use.

USB-C audio, battery life and everyday features

These support lossless audio over USB-C. I tested wired listening with my iPhone and Spotify and noticed more detail than over wireless. Was the difference enough to make me use a cable all the time? Definitely not.

The battery figures discussed in this review were 30 hours with noise cancellation, up from 24 hours on the first generation. A 15-minute charge gives three hours of listening. With Immersive Audio on, the figure drops from 30 hours to 23, so keep that tradeoff in mind.

Low Power mode is a useful addition. When I take the headphones off and lay them ear-cup-side down, they detect that and effectively turn off. When I put them back on, they reconnect to my phone within about five seconds. It saves battery without needing much thought.

The microphones sound fine. They're not amazing, but they get the job done, and people understood me without any trouble in meetings. The Bose app is simple and easy to use, with EQ controls and support for connecting two devices at the same time. I connected a phone and laptop, and switching audio between them was pretty seamless.