So right now, Bose is kind of in a low where they aren’t innovating too much, but some of their products are still really good like lets say their mid sized smart sound bar… but their speakers are very underwhelming when compared to the rest of the competition like the Bose Soundlink Max or the Flex 2 or the Micro 2. But still, Bose’s headphones are perhaps some of the best headphones to travel with cause they’re super comfortable. And now we have the Bose QC ultra Headphones 2, and this is what the Original Bose QC Ultra headphones should have been when they first came out.
Regarding pricing, the Bose QC Ultra Headphones 2 have a retail price of $450… which is a price increase from the originals which retailed for $430 when they first came out. But it looks like bose is already putting these headphones on sale, and overall, I still think these are a great option is comfort is your main priority. Nonetheless if you want to pick these headphones up they’ll be linked down below or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button. And if you want to further support the channel then you can always watch some of the related videos in the description below.
Now first there’s the case, and well, this is the same case as before. This is a nice hard shell case that’s going to keep your headphones well protected even if you throw them into a cramped back pack or carry on. But more importantly, this hardshell case has a decently small foot print and its relatively thin as well, so this hard shell case isn’t going to take up too much space in your bag, making it a great option for flying. And overall, bose has always done very well when its comes to their carrying cases, there’s nothing to hate here.
But now lets talk about the headphones themselves. Now the most notable design difference between the original and the Ultra headphones 2 is that the Ultra 2’s have polished arms where as the originals have a brushed metal look to them. But besides that, both of these headphones look the same. They both have a fully collapse design, their ear cups pivot and swivel a good amount, these headbands glide in and out, but personally I prefer when my headband clicks cause its easier to find your fit, but more importantly, both of these headbands are well padded so hot spots aren’t an issue and the leatherette on these headphones feels very nice as well, so they dont get itchy or your hear doesn’t get tangled.
However, I can’t help but feel that the Bose QC Ultra Headphones 2 have slightly better build quality than the original. Now I sincerely hope that this isn’t a placebo affect cause I have no problem calling companies out… But I can’t help but feel that the leatherette on the Ultra 2’s feels a little nicer cause it has a slightly better grain to it, the padding feels a little softer as well, and I also notice that the hinges pivot and swivel a little smoother as well. So if bose did this on purpose, well that’s a very nice touch, or maybe I just got lucky and I got a really good pair from the factory.
Now when it comes to fit, just like the originals, the Bose QC Ultra Headphones 2 have a neutral amount of clamping force to them, as in they aren’t too tight but they also aren’t too loose, Now these headphones are big head approved, and if you like to wear hats, they will have you covered, but if youre looking for something with a looser fit then you’ll still want to go with the Bose QC Headphones instead. But more importantly, these headphones sit very naturally on your head and their ear cups apply an even amount of pressure all around your ears. And looks wise, the Bose QC Ultra 2 headphones have an understated design to them, with a headband that isn’t too bulbous… but the new polished chrome arms on these headphones does call more attention than the brushed aluminum on the originals. But more importantly, since the headband on these headphones is well padded, hot spots aren’t an issue, and when it comes to the ear pads on these headphones, they are very spacious just like the originals, so these ear pads are going to have no problem fitting large sized ears or ears that stick out a lot. And since these earpads dont have a lot of surface area coming in contact with your skin, they do a really good job of staying cooler for longer.
But then there’s their weight, now the Bose QC Ultra Headphones 2 weigh in at 262 grams, which is good for a pair a premium ANC headphones, and this is fairly light weight cause most premium ANC headphones weigh in between 280 to 300 grams… and there are some super heavy boys like lets say the AirPods Max which weigh in at a staggering 387 grams. But with the Original Bose Ultra headphones, these weigh in at 252 grams, 10 grams less. And the Bose QC’s which are super light weight for premium ANC headphones weigh in at 235 grams. So overall, the Bose QC Ultra Headphones 2 are very light weight, so you dont notice them shifting around too much when you’re walking around with them on and they are easy to forget that you’re wearing them when you’re sitting at your desk or while on a plane… but the original Ultra’s are a little less noticeable cause they’re a little lighter, but I dont think its a huge deal.
But overall, just like before, the Bose QC Ultra headphones 2 are super comfortable to wear cause they sit very naturally on your head cause their ear cups have a lot of range of motion, their earpads are also super spacious, so even if you have larger ears or ears that stick out a lot, they will have you covered, their headband is well padded so hot spots are not an issue for these headphones, they’re fairly light weight so that aren’t super noticeable when you’re walking around with them on and they have a neutral amount of clamping force so they should fit most people just fine. However, the Ultra 2’s are 10 grams heavier than the originals, which I dont feel is a huge deal… but if you do want something with a looser fit, then you do want to go with the Bose QC’s instead.
But now lets talk about tech specs, Now battery life has always been an issue for Bose’s headphones, but thankfully Bose has addressed this with their new headphones, cause the Bose QC Ultra 2’s now have an advertised battery life of 30 hours with their active noise cancellation turned on… cause with the originals, these have an advertised battery life of 24 hours with their active noise cancellation turned on.
But another thing that is new here is that you can finally turn off the ANC on these headphones… so you can extend their battery life that way. Now I know this sounds super basic, but you can’t turn off the ANC on either the Bose QC’s or QC Ultra’s… which does drive me crazy… and even with the latest firmwares, you still can’t turn off the ANC on these headphones. So believe it or not, one of the big upgrades on the Bose QC Ultra Headphones 2 is that you can now turn off their active noise cancelation.
Now to charge these headphones, they charge via a USB C port as they should, but you can now use this USB C port as a wired connection if you want and you can now use these headphones while they are charging as well… so Bose really expanded the capabilities of the USB C port on these headphones so you can use them for gaming if you want… and they still have an audio jack so you can also use them with a wired connection that way, which I feel is super important if you plan on flying with these headphones. However you can’t use these headphones passively, so even if you want to use them with a wired connection, they have to be powered on.
But when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, these headphones can be connected to any two bluetooth devices at the same, making them a great option for any power user out there that likes to hot swap between lets say your PC and iPhone… and latency is not an issue for these headphones so you can use them to watch videos with on your phone. And when it comes to audio codecs, they have support for SBC, AAC and Snapdragon sound… but in order to use Snap dragon sound you do have to be an android user cause iPhones top out at AAC.
But now lets talk about sound, cause there’s a lot to say here. So for starters the Bose QC Ultra 2 sound the same as the original Bose QC Ultra. These headphones are going to be better suited for someone that like a more neutral sound signature or a more vocals focused sound signature cause these headphones just dont have a lot of kick in their bass. You can hear the bass, but you can’t feel the bass. And even if you were to go into their EQ and raise their bass all the way up, you’ll be able to hear it, but you’re not going to get too much of a resonance or kick from your bass. So they might not be as fun. And this goes for both of these headphones.
However, the Bose QC Ultra 2’s do sound very different from the Original’s when you use these headphones with their ANC turned off. I feel that the Bose QC Ultra 2’s sound better with their ANC turned off , cause with their ANC turned off they sound a lot more open, the bass is a little more present and the mids and vocals aren’t over emphasized like with the original Bose QC Ultra which you can only use with their ANC turned on. And this is a big deal, cause ANC changing the sound of your music, that’s something that happens on older headphones, cause with newer headphones, their sound doesn’t change all that much whether their ANC is on or off. So with the Bose QC Ultra Headphones 2, for the best sound quality, you do want to use them with their ANC turned off… but still these are going to be better suited for someone that likes a more neutral sound signature.
And then there’s the immersive audio on these headphones… and this is a feature that I never use for two reasons. For starters, immersive audio is going to take a toll on you battery life cause the Bose QC Ultra 2’s will go from 30 hours to 23 hours… but more importantly, I dont like immersive audio cause it adds a lot of reverb to your music, making it sound very unnatural. And with cinematic mode, which is an all new feature for the Bose QC Ultra headphones 2… its another version of immersive mode which adds a lot of reverb to your audio, but it also amplifies the vocals.
So overall, i do not touch immersive mode or cinematic mode cause it makes your audio sound very unnatural cause of all of the added reverb and it also takes an additional toll on the battery life. Also keep in mind, the Bose QC Ultra 2’s sound very different with their ANC turned on or off… I feel that for the best sound you want to use them with their ANC turned off cause your music is going to sound more open. The Bose QC Ultra 2’s sound good enough to get the job done, but these are still better suited for someone that like a more neutral or vocals focused EQ cause you’re not going to get a lot of kick out of their bass.
Now when it comes to your media controls, these headphones have a hybrid system, they have a physical button so you can play and pause your music and you can double tap to skip through your music, but to adjust your volume they have a touch pad that you swip up or down on. But honestly, I dont like this touch pad cause it very hard to get the volume that you actually want. I just really wish they had a physical volume rocker like on the Bose QC headphones, so anytime that I need to adjust my volume on these headphones, I usually just use my phone cause I dont want to deal with their weird touch pad.
But another new feature on the Bose QC Ultra 2’s over the originals is that these headphones now have wear sensors, so whenever you take these headphones off or put them on, they’ll automatically play and pause your music. Now I dont really care for wear sensors on my headphones so thankfully you can turn them off… but more importantly, wear sensors are something the original Ultra’s should have had, cause they have been very standard on premium ANC headphones for awhile… but now they’re here.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancellation on these headphones, now just like before, the ANC on the Bose QC Ultra 2’s blocks out a lot of noise with very minimal cabin pressure, which is really good especially for flying… but the awkward thing here is, the original Bose QC ultra’s are blocking out a little more noise than the Bose QC Ultra 2. But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into the ANC test.
ANC Test
So like you may have just seen, I feel that the original Bose QC ultras are doing a slightly better job of blocking out low frequency sounds like road noise, and the originals are doing a noticeably better job of blocking out higher frequency sounds like chatter. Now overall, the Bose QC Ultra 2’s are still a good option to fly with cause they still block out a lot noise, but the originals are still blocking out a little more noise… so hopefully the Bose QC Ultra 2’s will get a firmware update that improves their ANC… or hopefully the ANC on the original Bose QC Ultra doesn’t get downgraded.
But then there’s the ambient mode on these headphones… now its a lot easier now to adjust how much noise these headphones let in than before cause with the original Ultra’s you would have to go digging through the menus, but overall this ambient mode sounds fairly natural… its not as natural as the ambient mode found on the AirPods Max, but it gets the job done. And more importantly, this microphone array does a great job of rejecting wind noise when out doors. Now the Bose QC Ultra 2’s also have active sense just like before, but this is another feature that I dont use cause active sense is a little to sensitive and its going to block out things like cars which is exactly what you’re listening for when you’re using your ambient mode when outdoors. And also people’s voices get a little more difficult to hear. So I just turn active sense off.
Mic orignal Quiet
But finally here’s the microphone test, and thankfully bose did manage to improve the Mic on the Bose QC Ultra 2’s.
Mic Ultra 2 quiet
Now while in a quiet room, both of these headphones sound good… however I do feel the Bose QC Ultra 2’s do a slightly better job of focusing on your voice. But its a very slight difference.
Mic Ultra 2 road noise
But more importantly, the bose QC Ultra 2’s do a better job of dealing with noise pollution. Cause when it comes to blocking out road noise, these are doing a better job of reducing this noise pollution, cause for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clealery hear all of this road noise, but if we were to switch back over to the Bose QC Ultra 2, it is reduced.
Mic Orignal Road Nosie
Cause with the original Bose QC Ultra headphones, you can still understand me, but there is a lot of road noise in the back ground by comparison.
Mic Orignal chatter
And when it comes to blocking out chatter, you can still hear a lot of noise pollution in the background, but also my voice does sound a little hollow as well.
Mic Ultra 2 Chatter
Where as with the Bose QC Ultra 2’s these are going a much better job of reducing that noise pollution, however my voice might not be as front and center. But regardless this mic is doing a better job of dealing with noise pollution, cause again for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clearly hear all of this chatter, but if we were to switch back over to the Bose QC Ultra 2’s it is reduced. So overall, the Microphone on the Bose QC Ultra 2’s is better and its doing a better job of dealing with noise pollution… but there are still plenty of other earbuds and headphones out there that have better sounding microphones on them like for example the AirPods 4’s or AirPods Max.
But with all of that being said, the Bose QC Ultra headphones 2 are still a great pair of headphones to travel with cause they are still very comfortable and you can easily wear them for multiple hours on end. Bose does comfort very well on their headphones, and it can be the main selling point for a lot of people, I know it is for me. And tech specs wise, they get the job done. However there are plenty of other headphones out there that block out more noise, or have a longer lasting battery life, or they have better sound quality, or they have a better sounding microphone for phone calls. I appreciate the upgrades found on the Bose QC Ultra 2’s but there no need to upgrade if you have the originals. However you can’t go wrong with the Bose QC Ultra 2’s cause they are very comfortable, cause no matter how amazing your headphones perform, if they dont fit right you’re not going to want to wear them, but bose’s headphones fit right.