BOSE Quietcomfort Ultra Headphones Noise Cancelling Black

After four rewarding years with the Bose NC700s, I’ve stepped up to the Bose QuietComfort Ultras, and they’ve quickly become my go-to for navigating the hustle of London transport network. These headphones outperform in comfort and noise cancelling, a real boon on the noisy London Underground.

I found the NC700s a cinch to keep in top shape with their replaceable cushions, and I’m hoping for a repeat with the Ultras over time. While I miss decking out my NC700s with a full shell skin from XtremeSkins UK—more for saving them from scratches than just for kicks—I’m eager to see what companies like Dbrand or XtremeSkins roll out for the Ultras.

The QuietComfort Ultras bring the audio quality up a notch with Snapdragon Sound-certified Lossless Audio, which is a serious step up from the NC700s and I can confirm having owned them for years. The sound, particularly the bass, feels richer and fuller, even though they’re working with the same drivers as the NC700s. I believe that fact Bose already had a lot of experience with them and they proven to be very reliable alongsite the feedback from the online community has helped Bose make this my favourite sounding, comfortable to wear day to day over-head headphones I keep using, even thought I still remain carrying Quietcomfort IIs as a back-up or when I was to be a little bit discreet in Central London for my safety.

Spatial Audio is more than just a fancy new trick—it’s genuinely refreshing when you re-listen to all your favourite tracks with these, and the ‘Aware Mode’ nails the balance between being lost in your music and staying alert to your surroundings which is now in pair with what Apple offers in their headphones. The newly added head detection feature which was absent on my Nc700s cleverly avoids any accidental pauses and it seems to work primarly on the right hand side cup, so when you need too you can still take one cup off your ear for a second without any disturption to your music and the overall music immersion. Moving from NC700s I was missing the assistant button and threw me off at first, however simplified control scheme grew on me over time and now it feels a bit like a testatment to physical buttons on Bose Quietcomfort headphones with a toutch of a modern design which I started to like very much.

In a world where options like the Sony WH1000Xm5, Sennheiser Momentum 4, and even a bit more expensive and much heavier Apple AirPods Max these are definitely varying for attention to potential buyers. Quite a big disctinction from the competition is that they keep tge Bose USB Link compatibility which was a known feature on NC700s and being able to use the same USB dongle really sets QuietComfort Ultras apart from the convienence standpoint for me in this price range for seamless video calls which started to be an important part of our every day life ever since the pandemic. Having owned Bose USB Link since its release I was very much pleased that I continue using this addon every day at work.

I use Bose USB link primarly for work and other online meetings. However when I pair these Creative W5x USB-C dongle oj my personal laptop for that sweet Aptx Adaptive sound listenining to maxed-out Lossless Hi-Fi music without a cable, it’s clear I these leave my NC700s in the dust and feel like a future. Considering that Ultras use the same drivers that my old NC700s had the sound has been tuned to perfection and you just need to experience your favourite track with APTx Adaptive codec and Snapdragon sound to really hear it.

I’m nudging Bose to keep the updates rolling, like they did with the dual-bud feature for the QuietComfort Earbuds II. And hey, adding APTx support to Quietcomfort Earbuds IIs knowing that they have capability of having that would be a cherry on top—lots of chatter about that on the Bose subreddit after it was initiqlly believed that it would happen this year. As a happy Bose Quietcomfort II, owner I was a bit dissapppointed with the release of nearly identical Quietcomfort Ultras with same drivers at a very similar retail price to your existing more than capable earbuds. I can only hope that this wasn’t just a marketing decision and I hope you can make this up Bose!!

All in all, the QuietComfort Ultras are a solid bet for anyone eyeing the premium headphone market, ready to compete with the big names. Having them since day one in the UK, thanks to a prompt delivery just past October 10th, I’m set for the long haul. They’re the kind of upgrade that makes a long-time Bose fan like me nod in approval and recommend without a second thought. I would be keeping these for years ahead as my go-to headphones for commuting, flying, work meetings and overall day to day use all things considered and will be assured that they will keep working and if anything I can always reach out to Bose’s amazing customer support directly to resolve any potential problems in pair with customer service Apple offers.