As earbuds become more capable and packed with sophisticated features, it can be a laborious task to find which earbuds will work best for you. Choosing from different shapes, sizes, and capabilities leaves you with a sea of options.
Also: Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra are some of the most comfortable, best-sounding headphones I’ve tested
But the latest from Bose, the new QuietComfort Ultra earbuds promise improved noise-canceling, higher-quality sound, all-day comfort, and an interesting take on spatial audio, and may just be the all-encompassing pair that shoppers have been waiting for.
I spent a week with the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds and took a deep dive into its very best features. Are these the top earbuds you can buy? How do they stack up against the competition? And are they worth the $299 price tag? I answer all of those questions below.
The QuietComfort Ultra earbuds, which I’ll refer to as the QC Ultra earbuds, come with Bose’s Fit Kit that includes three pairs of ear tips, three pairs of stability bands, a charging case, and a 12-inch USB-C cable.
The charging case is quite bulky; It’s larger than my JBL Tour Pro 2 earbuds and my roommate’s AirPods (2nd Gen), but has a sleek finish and has a nice, reassuring weight to it. Scuffs and scratches are also very visible on the White Smoke case that the earbuds came in, so I’d recommend picking up the Black or Moonstone Blue colorways if you want your accessories to look pristine.
As far as audio performance goes, the QC Ultra earbuds deliver impeccable noise cancellation — the best I’ve tried yet — and robust sound. With the strong ANC, I was able to dig into my work by listening to my morning classical playlist and blocking out the noisy office chatter around me.
More spherical than circular, the shape of the ear tip suctioned well to my ear, and I never had trouble with it falling out as I moved around. I appreciated that the touch controls on either ear were incredibly receptive, as other earbuds I’ve tried have had difficulty mastering capacitive touch controls.
Also: Forget Sony and Bose: These JBL headphones are my sleeper…