Review of Bose QuietComfort Ultra

Bose has finally woken up from its slumber and decided to expand its headphone lineup: they added Bose QuietComfort Ultra to the large models and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds to the small ones. What’s the main trick, you might ask? Well, both models now support “immersive audio,” “surround sound” — call it what you want. Moreover, this very “surround sound” works for any apps and devices, meaning the feature can be turned on or off at your convenience. Is that not enough immersive audio for you? Then enjoy enhanced noise cancellation, gorgeous signature sound, comfort, and magic. Let’s tear off the plastic and open the boxes!

Design

If you’ve seen the latest Bose headphones, you’ll instantly recognize elements from the Ultra, QC35, QC45, and Noise Cancelling Headphones 700: they took a little from each and resulted in… a controversial design. My main complaint is about the materials: I’d want aluminum cups, leather, I’d want more weight. But then the Ultras would stop being so comfortable and pleasant to use: yes, there’s little metal here, but I carry them around the office all day without pain and suffering.

By the way, do you know what Bose calls the material of the ear cushions? The material is called Protein Leather. It would have been better if it were fabric like on the AirPods Max.

On the other hand, why nitpick? The build quality is excellent, the headphones look neat, futuristic, and the controls are entirely straightforward: here’s your touch strip for volume adjustment, and here’s a pair of buttons. It’s all clear. They even kept the “mini-jack” for plugging in an audio cable! And there’s a cable in the box! Wonders.

Overall, the bundled accessories are fine: besides the carrying case, there’s also an audio cable, USB-C to USB-A for charging.

Don’t forget to install the Bose Music app, where you can set up the audio mode with immersive effect (and you should do that) and a secret touch button capable of doing various interesting things: I taught it to launch Spotify.

The app also includes a very decent equalizer, software updates, voice volume control, and other features — without the Bose Music app, you’ll miss some functions, so install it right away.

The cups have sensors: if you take off the headphones, playback pauses. This function can be disabled if desired. The cups are plastic, but the base is aluminum, which should positively affect long-term use.

The claimed battery life is 24 hours, but this depends on the selected operating mode, volume, temperature, and other factors. You can use any USB-C cable for charging; I didn’t have any problems with any of the cords at the office and at home.

Currently, the headphones are available in two colors: cream — beautiful, black — practical, choose wisely. There will surely be more options over time.

What’s annoying — the AirPods Max somehow understand when they are working and when nothing is happening. If I feel like watching YouTube or listening to music, I just pick up the Max from the table, turn on the content on the device, and that’s it: in Apple’s ecosystem and under one iCloud account, the headphones quickly auto-connect where needed. It’s cool. The Bose QC Ultra lacks this magic: they are either always on or off, and you have to turn them on. That is, press a button and wait. The same goes for turning them off. I hope I’m explaining my pain clearly? If AirPods Max are home slippers that you just slip your feet into and go, then Bose are lace-up shoes: you sit down and tie them, there’s no other option. Yes, you can learn to do this quickly, but switching on-off-reconnecting to different devices is annoying every time. And going back to the AirPods is easy and pleasant.

The call quality is excellent; you can and should talk on the phone. Noise cancellation works wonderfully, in general, Bose always makes benchmark large headphones in this regard: you hear nobody, nobody bothers you, the studio is full of people shouting, and you sit there smiling. Just top-notch. The transparency mode seemed weaker than that of the AirPods Max.

An unobvious advantage of Bose is the foldable design, the arms retract into the headband, and the cups can stack on top of each other. In this form, the headphones easily fit into a jacket pocket or a small bag. And you understand — these are big headphones, comfortable to wear for hours. An ideal option for those who like to change their surroundings and sit somewhere in a café to work, outside the office or home: headphones — in your pocket or around your neck, laptop — under your arm, and there’s your top-notch work setup. Here, Bose clearly surpasses the AirPods Max: the latter don’t fit in any pocket.

Sound

Cozy, very pleasant sound, bright, awesome. Of course, I don’t recommend buying headphones without listening to them first, but if you’ve had Bose models before, you’ll surely enjoy the Ultra. It seems to me that, unlike the AirPods Max, they have more bass, but that’s quite normal for Bose.

I’ll say this: the “surround sound” is there, and it’s very nice to play with familiar tracks, YouTube, and other services. Spatial audio is implemented on its own engine and is not dependent on the device or app, meaning you can just turn it on or off, and there’s a choice between two settings. It’s an interesting feature, Bose, thank you very much. Moreover, there are two modes of Bose Immersive Audio: stationary, where it feels like you’re listening to two large speakers on the left and right, and mobile — in this mode, the speakers also track the position of your head. The effect is unusual, but I preferred the first stationary setting; it’s really good. And why is it good? Well, it’s like listening to one soundbar, and then they add a subwoofer, rear speakers, and extra speakers to it. However, there’s a certain feeling of deception, but that depends on you. Will you want to play these games or not.

I eventually turned off the Immersive Audio and used the headphones without any tricks — noise cancellation is our everything.

Comparison with AirPods Max

Let me remind you, the AirPods Max were released in 2020, a respectable age for headphones, yet they are still great. I use them daily; I recommend them to all my friends who don’t want to fuss over choices and live in the Apple ecosystem. Oh, and the Max can and should be connected via cable to DACs or expensive players.

So why are the old AirPods Max still good? There are several reasons: easy reconnection between Apple devices, pleasant sound quality, the signature “surround sound” in several applications, excellently executed transparency and noise cancellation. And there’s also the now-iconic design: just look how many fake “Maxes” are sold worldwide, it’s in the tens of millions. I like the reliable materials of the AirPods Max, predictable battery life, and the ability to replace some parts of the headphones myself. As for the price — now it’s both 76,000 rubles in retail and 56,000 rubles at online retailers.

In the USA, Bose QuietComfort Ultra are a hundred dollars cheaper than the Max while offering “surround sound” for any devices. Additionally, the Ultras are lighter, more comfortable for long wear, and they also have a wonderful noise cancellation system. I really like the signature Bose sound, it’s just super. However, I’m sure many people will just weigh the metallic Max and the plastic Ultras in their hands and pay for the more robust-looking item, meaning they will choose Apple.

For an example, I won’t have to look far: I flew recently on vacation, and almost every third person in the cabin was wearing their headphones. And guess what — it was either Sony or Apple, or some exotic brands like Bowers & Wilkins. It felt like only my wife and I chose Bose, and for long flights, I always opt for the old QC35: they may look scary and worn-out, but they still serve faithfully. By the way, I need to buy new ear cushions. Why Bose? Because they are simply lighter and do not tire me out like the aluminum AirPods Max.

Therefore, although I strongly recommend the AirPods Max to everyone, there is one exception: if you have regular/long flights, trips, or need to sit all day in the office and escape from noise, in such cases, try the Bose QC Ultra. You’ll certainly thank me.

Verdict

Of course, the headphones are not officially available in Russia, but that doesn’t stop them from slowly appearing on marketplaces and “Avito,” with prices around 65,000 rubles; I believe in a month or two, it will be around forty to forty-five thousand (I hope this is true).

What can I finally say about the Bose QuietComfort Ultra? I expected the company to try to create luxury headphones to compete with Bang & Olufsen and Bowers & Wilkins. But in fact, the Ultra are the familiar Bose headphones, packed with all the latest features. If you are ready to pay for that, go ahead. If not, you can easily buy the Bose QC45 and enjoy life.

Nevertheless, I am thrilled with the comfort, sound quality, spatial audio, and noise cancellation system — these are traditionally the strengths of the brand, and in the Ultra, all of this is multiplied. Bose fans, here’s your reason to finally upgrade your old Quiet Comfort.