Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) review

Bose has something of a storied history when it comes to active noise cancelling headphones. Back in 1989, the company became one of the first to commercialise noise-cancelling headphone technology after its founder allegedly developed a mid-flight gripe with the noise of an aeroplane’s engine.

As such, Bose kicked things off with noise-cancelling headphones designed for pilots. It wasn’t until the year 2000, with the dawn of the QuietComfort series, that the technology made its way into the consumer market on terra firma.

The current flagship model from the series, the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) were awarded four stars by our review team for a smart folding design, superb noise cancellation and effective spatial audio. The headphones missed out on a fifth star, beaten by sterner competition with better sound quality and battery life.

We now have the updated standard over-ear models, the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen), in for testing. Can these deliver a more appealing performance at a more appealing price?

Price

The Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) are priced at £300 / $359 / AU$550, sitting under the flagship Ultra (2nd Gen) model that originally cost a more premium £450 / $450 / AU$700. Having been on the market a while longer, we have seen the Ultra (2nd Gen)’s price drop to around £320 / $399 / AU$494, which puts some pressure on the performance of the new standard model.

Turning up the heat yet further, the headphones’ closest price rival outside of the Bose family are the five-star Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless (£330 / $400 / AU$750), which we praised for their “comfortable design”, “impressive battery life” and “refined presentation”. At a slightly lower price point, Sony has also recently introduced the WH-1000XM4C, a reborn version of the Award-winning original WH-1000XM4, which have just gone on sale for £219 / $300 / AU$450.

These formidable rivals mean the QuietComfort headphones (2nd Gen) have their work cut out for them, if they wish to stand out from the crowd.

Build & comfort

There is good sense behind making a pair of wireless headphones light and compact. Whether they are being chucked into a tote-bag, worn around your neck, or packed into a rammed suitcase, generally the smaller and lighter a pair of headphones can be, the better. In this area, the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) excel, weighing just 230g in a neat, foldable design.

They are a comfortable pair of over-ear headphones to wear, with soft pleather lining the headband and earcups. Across our test team, we found these headphones fitted firmly, without becoming constrictive, even on the very largest and smallest of What Hi-Fi? reviewers’ heads.

Additionally, the earcups are satisfyingly roomy and make our ears feel nicely isolated from the outside world. The sloped interior of the earcup means our ears don’t rub up against the internal grille, as we find happens with the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless.

These headphones feel breathable compared to rivals, and we find that even on a hot summer’s day, we are quite comfortable wearing them for extended listening sessions.

Our test pair arrive in the Dewdrop Mint finish, with a satisfyingly colour-coordinated headband and earpads. But if a minty-fresh look isn’t your thing, there are four other finishes available: Black, White Smoke, Rosewood Mauve and Eucalyptus Green.

By price standards these wireless headphones look a little basic, and lack the visual flair of rivals like the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless. Details such as the Sennheisers’ fabric headband and metallic badges go a long way to give an impression of luxury, which is something that these Bose headphones lack.

Unlike the Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), the standard model doesn’t feature capacitive touch controls, but we enjoy the simplicity of the built-in buttons, as well as the fact that we don’t accidentally end up skipping songs while brushing our hair out of the way or readjusting the headphones.

The right earcup features three buttons: a central button for playback and call controls, flanked by buttons for increasing and decreasing the volume.

The left earcup has a button for controlling Bluetooth as well as a ‘shortcut’ button, which can be assigned to cycle through immersive modes, access voice assistant (on compatible devices) or control Spotify via the Bose control app. Buttons are responsive and easy to find, so after a while, we find ourselves using the controls instinctively.

The right earcup also has a USB-C input for charging and wired audio playback (up to 24-bit/48kHz), alongside a small LED indicator showing Bluetooth, charging, and battery status.

It is worth noting that because the USB-C connection is slightly inset on the side of the earcup, larger-fingered members of our review team find the provided USB-C cable somewhat challenging to unplug.

In terms of battery life, the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) can run for 24 hours with ANC enabled – less than half the 57-hour battery life of the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless. Switching on the QuietComfort’s immersive modes will reduce their runtime further to 18 hours. After which, a full charge will take three hours.

While 24 hours of battery life isn’t an insignificant figure, it is clear now that Bose lags well behind the best of the competition.

Features

The QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) support Bluetooth 5.4 for standard AAC and SBC codecs, as well as Bluetooth Low Energy, which uses significantly less power than regular Bluetooth for short-range connectivity.

At this price, we are a little disappointed to find that Bose hasn’t included support for hi-res codecs such as aptX HD or aptX Adaptive.

Bluetooth multipoint connectivity is supported, alongside Google Fast Pair for Android users, and we find that connecting to devices and switching between them is a breeze thanks to the Bose app.

What’s more, our connection to our smartphone remains stable throughout testing, and we experience no dropouts, even when passing through busy areas such as train stations and shopping centres.

Bose’s immersive audio settings have by now become something of a hallmark of the more up-to-date QuietComfort Headphones, offering access to the company’s take on spatial audio.

There are three immersive audio settings – ‘Still’, ‘Motion’ and ‘Cinema’ modes – that can be explored via the Bose control app.

‘Still’ and ‘Cinema’ fix audio in place, keeping your music in position even as you move your head (‘Cinema’ provides an extra boost for voices, clarifying dialogue in dense film soundscapes), while ‘Motion’ lets your music move with you, tracking head motions and reconfiguring the stereo field accordingly.

We find that ‘Still’ mode works well, adding a sense of depth to our music, despite a slightly more processed sound. ‘Motion’ mode, on the other hand, becomes distracting due to a slightly laggy response to movement, causing us to feel disorientated while listening to music on the go.

We end up switching all immersive modes off, as they ultimately distract us from enjoying our music.

Through the Bose app, which is intuitively laid out and easy to use, you can also create and save your own personalised ‘modes’, with modifiable features including the amount of ANC, enabling/disabling wind blocking and immersive settings.

A three-band equaliser is also accessible within the app, with +/- 10 points of treble, mid and bass control. The range of adjustment is subtle, but large enough to be practically useful. Even at the equaliser’s upper bounds, we find that tonal changes avoid becoming unpleasantly extreme.

ANC & call quality

Between the first and second generation of QuietComfort Headphones, Bose says it has made subtle active noise cancellation improvements, as well as including the option for ANC to be switched off.

With ANC switched on, users have access to two settings: ‘Quiet’ and ‘Aware’.

‘Quiet’ is the fully-fledged noise-cancelling option. Using a six-microphone array to detect and cancel unwanted external sound, the Bose do a sterling job, effectively countering the low-frequency rumble of trains, as well as the hubbub of traffic and ambient chatter.

Even in a bustling city centre, music takes centre stage, and podcasts, too, are delivered with only minimal interruption from the most shrill of nearby voices.

The engineers claim to have made improvements to the headphones’ noise-cancelling array in order to compensate for gaps in the earcup’s seal when wearing glasses. Bespectacled members of the What Hi-Fi? review team agree that the ANC remains highly effective with glasses on, and we notice no discernible difference in performance with or without glasses.

If the heavy hand of ‘Quiet’ mode isn’t your cup of tea, selecting ‘Noise Control’ lets you toggle how much ANC you want to apply. We find that dialling the noise cancellation back alleviates the suction-cup feeling that Bose’s intense noise-cancelling processing can cause.

The headphones’ ‘Aware’ mode does what it says on the tin, letting external sounds in, so you can remain aware of your surroundings. Nonetheless, Bose has taken pains to ensure that sudden environmental sounds won’t deafen us using their ActiveSense technology, which allows the ANC to kick in automatically to soften sharp spikes in ambient noise.

We find that the setting works well, and even the slam of a car door doesn’t overpower our music. Compared to the Momentum 5 Wireless’ version of Aware mode, the Bose headphones let more sound in, keeping us well aware of the wider world.

Testing the QuietComfort Headphones’ call quality, we find that the built-in microphones do an excellent job of filtering out environmental noise and wind sounds, even while standing near to a busy main road.

Compared with the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless, which deliver voices with a more full-bodied, natural sound, the Bose leave our voices sounding somewhat tinny on the other end of the line. But despite the slight tonal imbalance, our voices remain clear and comprehensible.

Sound

Like the premium QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), these wireless headphones sound a little uptight right out of the box. But given some time to warm up, they offer a smooth and well-balanced sound. Indeed, the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) handle even the very most extreme test tracks in our Tidal music library with a cool, mature hand.

We begin testing with Geese’s 100 Horses and find that overdriven bass and shambling drums are rendered with pleasing low-frequency weight, richness and a good degree of texture. Guitar parts and percussion, meanwhile, are appropriately detailed and capable of sparkle without overwhelming the sonic balance.

Further into the song, when Cameron Winter’s vocal harmonies fill the soundfield, the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) showcase their tightly controlled but nonetheless expressive midrange, and we feel every last drop of emotion in Winter’s warbling tone.

We know that these headphones will be used wirelessly most of the time, but we enjoy the uplift in dynamics and clarity that comes with using a wired connection to our source device.

These headphones also provide pleasing separation between instruments. In the dense, funky arrangement of Superman's Big Sister by Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Wilko Johnson’s jagged rhythm guitar remains sharply defined against a busy backdrop of saxophones, slapped bass and orchestral strings, which all occupy their respective places with clear-cut authority.

We feel that the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) could provide a greater degree of dynamic subtlety and nuance. Listening to Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 in D Major, large jumps in volume are convincingly rendered and arrive with impact, but the composition’s finer dynamic details feel less explicit than we would expect at this price.

In terms of rhythmic drive, we feel that the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) could do a little more, too, with a performance that is somewhat less propulsive and energetic than price competitors. In a piece such as 100 Horses, which should carry you along with its rhythm, we find ourselves feeling somewhat left behind.

Verdict

Bose has tackled its second generation of QuietComfort Headphones with an ambitious attitude that sees features of the flagship Ultra model trickle down to the standard model. In terms of functionality, this approach has expanded the QuietComfort Headphones' horizon, with a truly impressive feature set for the price.

Despite missing out on a class-leading sonic performance, these wireless headphones are nonetheless capable and articulate. Paired with their ergonomic, foldable design, they are worthy of consideration for music fans on the move.

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review

Also check out our Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) review

Our pick of the best wireless headphones for every budget