Dreading your noisy train ride? These earbuds have turned our commutes into a silent sanctuary

Bose QC Ultra Earbuds Gen 2 being held up in a train station with a train in the background — (Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

Unless you're one of the lucky few to be working at home, most of us will have to endure a commute at least a few days a week.

And whether you travel by bus, train or tube, there's one constant when it comes to commutes: noise.

We've found the perfect fix, however: the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), now £249 at Amazon.

Bose has long been the king of active noise cancellation (ANC), initially inventing the technology for use by pilots before bringing it to consumer headphones.

So when Bose announced a new flagship pair of earbuds, we were keen to see if the noise-cancelling tech employed on planes could withstand the horrors of a London commute.

Our testing team were mightily impressed. Whatever noises TFL chose to throw at us on the day – screeching sirens, beeping horns – dissolved into near insignificance.

"The second-generation in-ears are excellent at adapting to whatever we throw at them, softening those harder, harsher sounds as they intrude while keeping lower-level rumbles and chatter at bay," our Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) review reads.

If anything, it was maybe too quiet, enveloping you in a cocoon of complete and utter silence. Still, this was far better than the usual commute chaos – and rivals such as the Sony WF-1000XM6 offer a lesser, more natural effect if you'd prefer.

That's not to say that Bose forgot about the all-important sound quality. The more we listen, the more we like Bose's flagship buds, with a craftily balanced sound complete with ample detail and impressive cohesion.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) may have a price befitting flagship earbuds, but this one purchase could be a genius trick for erasing the roar of trains and planes alike. They're now at their lowest ever price of £249 at Amazon.

MORE:

Read our full Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) review

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) vs QC Ultra Earbuds (1st Gen): which noise-cancelling buds are better?

And the best wireless earbuds on the market right now

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Daniel Furn is a staff writer at What Hi-Fi? focused on all things deal-related. He studied Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield before working as a freelance journalist covering film, TV, gaming, and consumer tech. Outside of work, he can be found travelling far-flung corners of the globe, playing badminton, and watching the latest streaming sensation (in 4K HDR, of course).

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