The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphone is the latest flagship offering from Bose, known for its reputation in the audio industry for delivering top-notch sound quality and noise-canceling technology. This new model is designed to replace previous flagship models like the QC45 and NC700, promising significant improvements in comfort, sound performance, and active noise cancellation.
In this review, we’ll take a closer look at the QuietComfort Ultra’s features, sound quality, and overall performance to see how it stacks up against its predecessors and other top competitors in the market having spent more than 2 weeks with these headphones. Let’s dive straight into the review.
Overview
The QuietComfort Ultra headphones retail for $429 (around ₱27,900 locally) and are available through Eleksis Marketing, the official distributor in the Philippines. Eleksis has numerous stores across major malls in Metro Manila, where you can find these Bose headphones.
After spending over two weeks with these headphones, I’m here to give you my honest take on how they perform. Let’s dive in!
Packaging and Build
As expected, the QuietComfort Ultra comes in typical Bose packaging: a hard case, a short cable, and a USB-C charger. The build quality has improved from the older QC models. The aluminum components give a premium feel while retaining the lightweight nature of the headphones.
Weighing only 250 grams, the QuietComfort Ultra offers exceptional comfort for all-day listening. The protein leather pads are soft and pliable, adding to the overall comfort. The design maintains the signature business-like aesthetic, available in three colors: black, white smoke, and sandstone.
Operability and Features
The QuietComfort Ultra features only two buttons and one touch-sensitive volume strip for easy operation. Pairing is straightforward—just hold the power button to activate pairing mode or use Bose’s app for seamless smartphone pairing.
The multifunction button controls most functions, including play/pause, track navigation, and switching between ANC and Aware mode. The battery life is commendable, lasting about 24 hours on a full charge, which is slightly less than competing models from Sony and Apple.
The Bose app can be a bit finicky at times, with occasional delays when toggling settings. Multiconnect is supported, allowing you to connect to multiple devices simultaneously. Like previous models, the QuietComfort Ultra turns off automatically after periods of inactivity, adjustable via the app.
Lastly, the microphone quality is nothing to write home about. It’s average for wireless headphones—sufficient for Zoom calls but not as clear as a wired microphone or microphone from wired headphones.
Noise Isolation
The QuietComfort Ultra stands out as the best noise-canceling performance I’ve experienced to date. For context, I’ve previously tried the Sony XM4, XM5, all previous Bose over-ear models, the AirPods Max, and various budget-friendly Sennheiser noise-cancelers. I’ve only had the XM5 for a couple of days and based on my limited experience with them, the QuietComfort Ultra is on par with it, if not slightly better.
Data from Soundguys supports my observations, indicating that the QuietComfort Ultra excels in low-frequency noise cancellation, while the Sony XM5 shines at higher frequencies. In practical terms, any of the mentioned headphones offer sufficient noise-canceling capabilities for most listeners. However, if you seek the absolute best noise-canceling performance, your choice might depend on specific preferences and testing outcomes.
In terms of passive noise isolation (i.e. ANC mode turned off), I find the XM5 and Airpods Max to be a bit better than the QC Ultra which I can guess is due to them having bigger and possibly thicker cups. I would say the QC Ultra is identical to the QC45 in this regard but is ever so slightly better when the ANC mode is turned on.
