Testing Out Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds: Can They Keep the Peace?

I’m someone who finds it easier to concentrate when wearing noise-canceling headphones or earbuds, especially when working in a communal space or traveling on an airplane, train, or bus. As a freelance journalist, I often write and conduct phone interviews in busy places including parks, airport lounges, restaurants, bars, and bustling city sidewalks. In my other career as a film and television tailor and pattern maker, my workspace changes depending on which show or film I’m working on. Productions tend to set up shop in large industrial buildings with makeshift walls constructed from divider screens which, obviously, do nothing to mask surrounding noise.

For my peace of mind as well as my cognizant abilities, I wear wireless earbuds. I’ve tried a variety of different ones over the years. My criteria for finding the best ones hinges on battery life, sound quality, and noise-canceling abilities—and the Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra Earbuds promised to deliver, especially regarding the latter.

Unboxing and first impressions

The Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra Earbuds arrived in a small, all-paper and cardboard box with an FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) seal that means the packaging was made responsibly without molded plastic or foam; something I appreciate.

The earbuds are larger than I’m used to, as is the charging case. Initially, I was concerned they would feel too heavy in my ears and pop out unexpectedly, rolling under furniture, and into dusty corners. I own Bose stereo speakers (old wired models) and a Bose soundbar, though, and have always appreciated the sound quality—so I was still excited to try out these earbuds.

My thoughts during my first use of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds

When I insert the earbuds into my ears, each one emits a stereo, musical flourish, then significantly mutes the world around me as the noise-canceling feature kicks in. My Droid easily connects to them when I open the Bluetooth settings. I remember that I already have the Bose app and open that where I’m able to try out the different noise-canceling settings as I listen to music. So far, the sound is full and rich, and ambient noise is pretty much nonexistent.

Pros and cons

Pros

The pros of these earbuds include their different levels of noise cancellation, that they can be paired with multiple devices easily, and despite being larger than many other earbuds, they provide a comfortable—and even more importantly—secure fit. The latter is achieved with the help of a rubberized stabilizer band that seals around the opening in your ear. To me, it feels as if they suction into place. Removing them requires a bit of a tug. On top of that, the noise-canceling ability of these is incredible—more on that below.

I also like that they come in three colors—moonstone blue, black, and white smoke—and you get a 90-day risk-free trial.

Cons

The biggest con is perhaps the $300 price tag and that they do not come with a wireless charging case. While you can purchase a bundle that includes the wireless charging case (see below), I was unable to find the case available on its own.

Price

• $299.00 for earbuds and standard case
• $324.00 for earbuds, standard case, and silicone cover
• $348.00 for earbuds and wireless charging case

Specifications

• Active noise cancellation: Yes, adjustable
• Battery life: Six hours; case holds an extra three charges
• Weight: Single bud, 0.017 pounds; case, 0.132 pounds
• Connectivity: Bluetooth; A2DP and HFP
• Frequency range: 30 feet
• Waterproofing: Water-resistant IPX4
• Battery charge time: Two hours
• Mic: Yes

Key features

Immersive audio

The immersive audio setting makes you feel as if you’re sitting in a surround sound theater. Whatever you’re listening to sounds as if it’s coming from all around you or just in front of you, not merely through your earbuds. I find it a little disorienting at times — but in a good way.

Powered by spatial audio with head tracking, no matter which way you turn your head the sound remains in front of you. Using the immersive audio setting does impact your battery life, though, reducing it from six hours to four.

Snapdragon Sound

Using an audio and software processing infrastructure developed by Qualcomm, this feature helps maintain a clear and consistent wireless audio connection. Called aptX Adaptive, this codec (or program) automatically adjusts audio quality and latency. Latency, if you’re unfamiliar, is the time delay between, say, the sound of a live musical performance and the playback of that performance in real time. It can also refer to the delay between when an audio signal is sent from a device (your phone) to your headphones.

In other words, it prevents most audio dropouts while delivering the highest possible audio quality even in places where your Bluetooth connection wavers or varies.

I’ve been using these Bose earbuds in a large warehouse-like workspace with lots of other people, metal doors, and shoddy insulation. The sound quality remains steady no matter how much interference and physical space.

CustomTune tech

Bose’s CustomTune tech purports to analyze your ears and adapt to their unique shape, a feature that sounded a bit far-fetched to me (as well as a little creepy). But after about a month of use, I can say that these buds fit my ears better than any other I’ve tried.

Custom tuning means they also auto-adjust to personalize sound and noise cancellation based on your input and configurations. The included Bose fit kit comes with three pairs of ear tips and three pairs of stability bands to start you off on your way to a perfect and secure earbud fit.

Bose Music app

The Bose Music app allows you to control all your Bose products in one place including earbuds, sound bars and speakers. Interestingly, the app also controls my Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds.

Pairing and switching between multiple devices via the app is easy and seamless, as is adjusting the noise-canceling level and mode. You can also set up customized settings for specific environments, such as work, home, and/or commuting.

Performance

Some other notable features include single-bud use so you can listen to music or take calls with only one earbud in, sweat- and water-resistance, and Google Fast Pair for Android users.

I’ve been happy with the performance of these buds over the past month and plan to continue to use them, especially in settings where I want to escape into my own world despite being amongst other humans.

Sound

As described above in the Snapdragon Sound section, the sound of these Bose earbuds is one of the best you can find. I’ve long been a fan of Bose audio technology and own what could be considered a vintage set of wired stereo speakers, as well as a soundbar. They deliver full, rich robust sound; never tinny, and always clear even at a low volume.

Battery life

The six-hour battery life is consistent as is the quick charging capabilities. I can use these for 10 hours at a time with only sporadic 15-minute charging breaks—like when I go get something to eat from the kitchen or go down and check the mail.

Bluetooth range

Bose lists the Bluetooth range of these earbuds at 30 feet and I can confirm that they achieve that and more. I’m currently working in a warehouse space more than 100 feet in length and I can leave my phone at one end and walk all the way to the other without losing the connection—and without any audio cutting in and out. This is true even if I go into one of the offices and close the heavy metal door. Truly impressive.

Microphone

Most of my phone calls are work-related, many of them conducting interviews with sources. While I haven’t had anyone complain about not hearing my voice, a couple of people have said, “Oh, are you out on the street right now?” which means that enough background noise filters in for those on the other end of the line to recognize it.

Voice calling performance

This is the one area where the Bose earbuds don’t perform quite as well as some of the others I’ve used. While people hear me just fine, I don’t like the quality of the other person’s voice when I have quiet or immersive mode turned on; they sound as if they’re speaking through a bottle of water. If I switch the mode to Aware, they sound much clearer.

Quality of noise canceling

The Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra earbuds use both active and passive noise canceling. Passive noise cancellation works similarly to earplugs whereby there is a physical blockade to noise entering your ear. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Buds achieve this by creating a seal around your ear using the silicone stability band and rubber tips; these buds feel as if they suction into your ears.

Active noise cancellation works by creating the opposite of a sound to cancel out the noise in your environment. Noise canceling on earbuds achieves this using multi-sensor technology and microphones in each bud to generate opposite sound waves of whatever noise surrounds you.

As I’ve mentioned in other earbud reviews, I have an old friend who’s an experienced sound engineer. As he explained to me once; sound waves contain peaks and valleys. If you add a second sound wave on top of another with the same peaks and valleys perfectly aligned, the overall sound gets louder. If these peaks and valleys do not align, or specifically, if the peaks of one line up with the valleys of the other, they cancel each other out. And voila, you have noise canceling.

In Quiet mode these earbuds effectively block out all sorts of exterior noise including dryers, washers, fans, music, and someone saying your name over and over. They provide, by far, one of the most effective noise-canceling experiences I’ve ever had.

And if you want (or need) to know what’s going on around you, there’s an Aware mode. You can even create a custom blend of Aware and Quiet for a setting that works just how you want it to.

Design and build quality

I was afraid these wouldn’t be comfortable because of their comparatively large size but I barely notice I have them in. They’re also, thanks to the aforementioned suction of the ear seal, incredibly stable. I’d even consider wearing them outside while exercising. I’ve always shied away from using earbuds for running because I’m concerned they might pop unexpectedly out of my ear. While the high price tag keeps me from testing them while sprinting through the park, I can report they remain firmly seated in my ears while moving, jumping, and cleaning indoors.

A series of taps allows you to control basic functions. Swipe up to turn the volume up, and down to lower it. One tap means play or pause, double tap tracks forward while triple tap tracks backward. A long press can be customized in the app to trigger mobile device control and/or a user preset. I do have a bit of trouble performing the swipe gesture due to the small size of the earbuds themselves. With more practice, I suspect I’ll get better at it.

Like most wireless earbuds, these are extremely portable and easy to carry around.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds: Are they a good fit for you?

Yes, absolutely. If you're in the market for a high-quality set of earbuds with phenomenal noise-canceling abilities, these may just be the earbuds you’ve been looking for.

Final verdict

I’m continually impressed by the noise-canceling abilities of these earbuds—as are all my coworkers who try to talk to me when I’m wearing them. They fit comfortably and securely while delivering a clear, full sound whether I’m blasting Beethoven or the Beastie Boys or listening to Neil DeGrasse Tyson on Startalk radio, or my latest science fiction audio book.

And, Bose offers a 90-day risk-free trial period, so if you aren’t as taken with them as I am, you can return them for a full refund.