Bose
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
About the product
The best noise cancellation, but is that enough?
Bose has been at the forefront of active noise-canceling headphones for a long time, having introduced the technology to the market back in 1989. With the QuietComfort Ultra headphones, Bose returns to the tried-and-true design and sound that’s won it scores of devoted customers, with class-leading active noise cancelation (ANC) and an impressive, if imperfect, foray into its virtual three-dimensional sound.
The BestReviews Testing Lab has tested the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones for sound quality, noise cancelation, comfort and battery life. While its ANC beats competitors, it suffers from a few drawbacks that don’t match its high cost.
What are the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones?
Product specifications
Battery life: 24 hr (28 hr tested) | Noise canceling: Yes | Bluetooth: 5.3 | Driver size: 40 mm | Travel case: Yes
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones are flagship full-sized circumaural wireless noise-canceling headphones from pioneering noise-canceling inventor Bose. They have an understated design that combines plastic and metal with elliptical earcups and soft earpads and headband. They connect via Bluetooth 5.3 and support codecs, including AAC and LDAC. They also support wired audio via an included 2.5-millimeter TRS plug to 3.5-millimeter stereo miniplug cable. They come with a hard-sided travel case and a USB-A to USB-C charging cable.
The QuietComfort Ultras offer active noise cancellation and ambient transparency like its competitors do. They also offer an innovative Immersive mode that transforms any music track into virtual three-dimensional audio even if it wasn’t encoded with 3D effects such as Dolby Atmos. The QuietComfort Ultras have a 30-hour advertised battery life, which is somewhat shorter than competing headphones.
See how it compares to other products in its space — check out our reviews for the best headphones.
Price and where to buy
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones cost $429 but can often be found on sale. They’re available from major retailers, including Amazon.
Why we like them
- Noise cancellation: When we tested the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones, they edged out competitors in noise cancellation, erasing single voices in quiet rooms and reducing engine noise on a bus.
- Audio quality: While unimpressive at first use, the QuietComfort Ultras eventually delivered an articulate and enjoyable sound.
- Comfort: The QuietComfort Ultras were generally comfortable to wear for long periods and were stable during head movements.
What we don’t like
- Battery life: The Bose QuietComfort Ultras had a tested battery life of 28 hours with ANC turned on and 20 hours 45 minutes with ANC and Immersive audio on. While long enough for an intercontinental flight, it’s almost half the battery life of competing headphones.
- Connectivity: We had a lot of trouble setting up the QuietComfort Ultras with our Bluetooth devices, and more trouble switching between connected devices.
- Design: The Bose QuietComfort Ultras don’t have a design that stands out, and we experienced some discomfort with the hinges and creaking in the earcups.
- Price: At an MSRP of $429, the QuietComfort Ultras are among the more expensive noise-canceling headphones.
Bose QuietComfort Headphones setup
We encountered issues with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones during setup. They come partially folded in their hard-sided travel case, wrapped in paper in an all-cardboard product box. The setup process is straightforward and typical of any Bluetooth device. We removed the headphones from the case, unfolded them, put them on and pressed the Power/Bluetooth button to power them on and enter Bluetooth pairing mode.
The first time we attempted this, we followed the instructions that told us to use the process in the Bose smartphone app, which we downloaded. This process didn’t work and we had to force-quit the Bose app and restart. Then, we went instead to our device’s Bluetooth settings and successfully paired the QC Ultras from there.
To test setup again, we performed a factory reset on our test unit and tried again. This time, the headphones paired from the Bose app but paired as a Bluetooth LE (low energy) connection. We had to delete them from our device’s Bluetooth list and re-pair them again directly from the Bluetooth settings.
Design and comfort
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones return to the classic, businesslike QuietComfort design after the elegance of the Bose 700 Noise-Canceling headphones they replace. They won’t catch any eyes, although their aluminum headband arms are subtly premium. The earcups are plush and soft, as is the padding on the bottom of the headband.
We experienced only a moderate clamping sensation while wearing the QC Ultras and found them stable even while moving or bobbing our head to music. After about two hours, the edges of our outer ears started to feel slight discomfort, but this is nothing new with over-ear headphones.
However, during our testing period of several days, a creaking noise developed in the left earcup, exacerbated by head or jaw movement. While not a major issue, we were somewhat disappointed that such a premium-priced set of headphones exhibited this phenomenon, which we associate with much cheaper headphones. Then again, we also dropped the headphones 5 feet onto carpet to test its build quality, so this might have been a belated sign of damage.
Sound quality
The QuietComfort Ultras exhibited night-and-day audio quality during testing. Out of the box and freshly paired, they sounded dull, closed and unexciting, except when the new Immersive mode was activated. This unpromising sound profile persisted through the first day of testing.
On the second day of testing, the sound started to open up. We found this sound to be articulate, precise and enjoyable, although still somewhat interior as opposed to spacious. We’re not sure what caused this change; it could have been the setup issues we experienced leading to the connection using an inferior Bluetooth profile, or the QuietComfort’s feature that checks and adjusts its audio according to a user’s specific ear shape, or just our ears adjusting.
The Immersive Audio feature is the most marketed feature of the QC Ultras and simulates a three-dimensional soundstage for all audio, not just tracks encoded with spatial info. We enjoyed the spaciousness this feature added, but on some songs, individual voices or instruments would wander from a side to center channel and back. It’s not as accurate as true spatial audio like Dolby Atmos.
The Bose app offers a three-band equalizer and a handful of presets. We would have liked presets for each major music genre and a five-band EQ or better.
Battery life and charging
The QuietComfort Ultra headphones have an advertised battery life of 24 hours with Immersive Audio off and ANC on, and 18 hours with both Immersive Audio and ANC on. We obtained better results during our testing with 28 hours of ANC on, Immersive off, and 20 hours and 45 minutes with both features on. This battery life is long enough for even the longest commercial airline flight, but it’s a third to half the battery life of some competitors.
The Ultras use a USB-C connection to recharge. They are fast-charge capable and regained two hours of battery life after a 15-minute charge on a 15-watt power adapter (not included). On the same adapter, it took two hours to recharge fully to 100%.
Active noise cancellation features
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones have possibly the best noise cancellation of all the headphones we’ve tested. They were most impressive in a quiet room, where they almost completely eliminated the sounds of a speaker playing music and a TV playing a show at normal volume only a few feet away. They also drastically reduced the engine and brake noises on a public bus and reduced the voices and chatter of other passengers.
In a crowded, busy cafe they did not eliminate all the noises of patrons and staff, but they did eliminate the background music and noise. On a busy sidewalk they reduced the noise of passing traffic. In all these situations, the QuietComfort Ultras beat other tested noise-canceling headphones, sometimes only slightly, other times significantly, but beat them nevertheless.
The Awareness mode was effective, although the resulting external audio was somewhat artificial. Awareness mode was also not ideal for windy conditions, but the default Quiet mode eliminated most wind noise automatically. The Bose app allows for customized settings of ANC strength and wind noise elimination.
Controls and connectivity
The controls of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones should be familiar to longtime fans of Bose. There are only two buttons (both on the right earcup), a power/Bluetooth button and a multifunction button. The multifunction button controls track-skipping and noise cancelation and can be programmed with other combinations. It takes a while to get used to, but once we learned it, it became convenient.
The right earcup also has a touch-sensitive control strip to raise or lower the volume. We had trouble with this strip. Its location made it easy to reach when we groped for the power or multifunction button, and it’s sensitive enough to change volume with even a glancing touch. We inadvertently raised the volume to unpleasant levels briefly while trying to use the multifunction button. This strip can also be programmed with a custom function to activate at a touch.
The power/Bluetooth button needs to be pressed twice quickly to switch between Bluetooth devices. The Ultras can maintain a multipoint connection to two sources at a time. However, we couldn’t get switching to work smoothly during testing, as the double-press action wasn’t obvious. We also had minor interference on a laptop when the Ultras were paired with it and a smartphone.
The QuietComfort Ultras maintained a solid connection within the advertised 30 feet/9 meters of Bluetooth range. They can also connect to a wired source via a 2.5- to 3.5-millimeter cable (included), but does not support USB-C Audio, unlike some competitors. They worked acceptably for phone calls but wouldn’t replace a dedicated headset.
How does it compare to other headphones we’ve tested?
The Bose QuietComfort Ultras excel at some things but not at others. Their noise cancellation was superior overall to other wireless noise-canceling headphones we’ve tested: slightly better than the Sony WH-1000XM5, marginally better than the Apple AirPods Max, significantly superior to the Soundcore Space Q45s and Space Ones, and much better than the Beats Studio Pro or Sennheiser Momentum 5.
In audio quality, it seems to us slightly inferior to the Sony, Sennheiser and Apple headphones. Its battery life is half that of the Sennheisers and significantly less than the Soundcores, but its materials feel as premium as the Sonys and Sennheisers and almost as premium as the heavy Apple AirPods Max. The QuietComfort Ultras are second only to the Apple AirPods Max in price.
Testing the Bose QuietComfort Headphones
We tested the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones on comfort, build quality, battery life, audio quality and noise cancellation capability. We took note of packaging and timed how long it took us to set up the headphones successfully. We examined their construction, noting materials used, weight, fit, padding and ability to fold, as well as the nature of its travel case and what accessories it may have come with. We wore them nonstop for at least three hours to assess comfort over time and any fatigue we might experience.
To test audio quality, we used a standardized playlist composed of songs from the major genres of music, from rock to hip-hop to opera, the same playlist we used to test other headphones. We listened for clarity, fidelity, soundstage, separation and tone quality. We noted any controls that changed audio quality, such as an equalizer or EQ presets. We also made sure to test the Immersive Audio feature for quality, utility and enjoyment.
To test noise cancellation, we used the QuietComfort Ultras in different noise environments: a quiet room with one or two sources of audio; a crowded cafe; a public bus and a sidewalk with traffic passing by. We noted which frequencies and noises they blocked well and which they struggled with. We also noted the effects on sound quality, any awareness modes and wind noise.
Should you get the Bose QuietComfort Headphones?
We had our issues overall with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones. Their noise cancellation was top-notch, and they had good audio overall. But our difficulties with setup, connection and build quality were disappointing, given the QuietComfort’s high price tag, and the Immersive Audio mode was not as polished as we’d hoped. If noise cancellation is your top concern, there’s no other headphones that do it better than the Bose QuietComfort Ultras, but there are other headphones that sound better and offer better value.