Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds 2 are one of the best noise-cancelling earbuds available, but not a must-upgrade

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Where do you go once you've (almost) reached the peak?

It's a problem frequently seen in the tech world, on everything from Sony headphones to Apple Watches and robot vacuums. Whether it be an expectation for year-over-year turnarounds or reaching a threshold in the available technology, it's not uncommon these days to see devices' designs remain consistent, and their upgrades minor.

Yes, that's largely the case with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd gen) earbuds, but that's not exactly a knock against them. After all, the first-generation Ultra earbuds were excellent when we first tested them and have remained our favorite noise-cancelling earbuds since.

Considering Bose did bring some quality of life improvements, and introduced the earbuds at the same price as the previous generation, I'm still impressed with the result, and wouldn't be surprised if these remain one of the best — if not the best — noise-cancelling earbuds of the next few years. So are they worth investing in? Let's get into it.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen): Specs and price

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 earbuds will run you $299, the same as the first generation (which are now discounted). They are one of the more expensive pairs of noise-cancelling earbuds on the market, but here's what you get for the price:

• Adjustable active noise cancellation

• Immersive Audio for spatial listening experience

• Custom equalizer with four audio presets

• Three sizes of stability bands and ear tips with wax guards

• Six hours of battery life (four hours with Immersive Audio), and up to 24 hours with the case

• Wireless charging for case

• 20 minutes of quick charge for two hours of playback

• Toggle touch controls on/off

• Bluetooth 5.3, Google Fast Pair

• Bose SpeechClarity, an AI-powered technology to promote better voice quality on calls

• Improved adaptive ANC, especially in Aware Mode

• IPX4 water- and sweat-resistance

So what's upgraded from the previous generation? Three main features: the wireless charging case, the inclusion of Bose SpeechClarity for improved call quality, and improvements to the transparency mode of their adaptive ANC. These earbuds also get a small design change in the form of a wax guard and some more customization in the ability to toggle touch controls on/off.

Still the best for noise cancellation

Bose has long been known as the noise-cancelling class leader in the consumer headphone space, and these earbuds are no exception. I found their noise cancellation to be even more seamless than that found on the first generation, where I occasionally dealt with some louder hissing, and occasionally even crackling noises (though I could've been using a faulty unit).

Though a small amount of hissing still persists on these earbuds, it's really only noticeable when you have no other audio playing. Beyond that, the eight microphones packed into the buds make putting these earbuds on feel like turning down the volume knob on the world. I'm not going to claim pure silence, because I've yet to encounter that with any noise-cancelling headphones or earbuds, but the QC Ultra buds get you as close you can get to that standard.

Everything from my air conditioning humming to planes flying over my apartment all day to my partner working and taking calls in the other room is essentially silenced, even with minimal or no audio playing. Maybe the best test was the afternoon I spent working in a large coffee shop with plenty of patrons, concrete floors, and not a rug in sight — the perfect spot for music and conversations to amplify and echo. Still, with just ANC and no music, these earbuds brought the noise level from a nine to a five — I could still make out the conversation of a couple of friends a few tables down from me, but I had to focus to make out their words clearly. With music, their talking became a hum of background noise, and I was able to make my peace with the tastefully modern, but acoustically nightmarish, space.

Sound quality: Really good, but not the absolute best

Out of the box, you'll get a relatively balanced sound with the QC Ultras, which is great, considering the equalizer is a little lackluster. Yes, it's customizable (which is more than we can say for the AirPods Pro), but the fine-tuning is more limited compared to Sony's audio companion app, with only four presets.

Still, these earbuds can handle the bounce and weight of Doechii's "DENIAL IS A RIVER" as deftly as they let singer-songwriter dodie's dulcet vocals shine on her song, "I Feel Bad For You, Dave." K-pop and pop hits like NewJeans' "Ditto" and Sabrina Carpenter's "Manchild" generally sounded well-rounded and full, with only the slightest bit of the mid-tones sounding fainter than I'd prefer, even with some equalizer adjustments.

As for the spatial audio, I wasn't blown away — but as a personal preference, I tend to not love spatial audio. Bose goes for a distinctly "live" sounding audio, with plenty of resonance, and with classical pieces like Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Piano Concerto No. 2" and Maurice Ravel's "Piano Concerto in G Major," I found that the soundscape actually completed the fullness of both pieces, letting both the orchestra and piano breathe and come alive.

Still, I wish that for $299, Bose's sound offered something a little more — whether it be more presets, a true plug-and-play experience, or the option for the app to really help you fine-tune your equalizer settings — all of which can be found on Sony's companion app.

On the topic of call quality, one of the main improvements of these earbuds is Bose's SpeechClarity tech. I used both the first-gen and second-gen buds to call my partner and friends, and everyone said the second-generation earbuds sounded noticeably clearer.

Bose kept things comfortable on the design

Let's start with the good: These are possibly the most comfortable and secure earbuds I've ever worn. Thanks to the three sizes of separate ear tips and stabilizers, it's easy to get these earbuds to fit just right, without causing any ear soreness. They're snug enough to work out in, or to wear for an entire workday.

However, I would've said that about the first-generation Ultras, as these essentially have the exact same design. The only real difference is the addition of a wax guard on the ear tip, for easier cleaning and ideally, less damage to the audio quality with prolonged use.

Like the first-gen Ultra earbuds, these have a slightly bulky case and earbud design — the touch panel functioned as intended most of the time, but occasionally I'd have to press more than once to pause or play my music. If you find touch controls particularly annoying, the second-gen earbuds do come with the option to toggle them off completely.

Battery life stays the same

There's not too much to say here, other than I'm a bit disappointed Bose stayed with the six-hour battery life per charge and 24 hours in the case found on the first-generation earbuds. It's not that I ever found myself truly annoyed at the battery running out, but it does limit these earbuds somewhat for use on long-haul flights, where their noise-cancelling and comfort would otherwise make them an excellent option.

Plus, with the new Apple AirPods Pro 3 boasting a newly improved eight hours of battery life (and 30 hours with the case) for $249, it's hard to make the case that the battery life is justified at this price point.

All of that said, the addition of wireless charging for the case is a nice one and (somewhat) helps soften the blow of the unchanged battery life.

Connectivity is better, but still not on par with the price point

As much as I love Bose headphones and earbuds, my longstanding issue with them is that their multipoint connection isn't the most consistent. Sometimes, I can connect to two devices just fine with a pair of Boses, but more often than I'd expect, I'd experience audio skipping with devices connecting simultaneously, or difficulty getting Bose headphones or earbuds to connect to my intended device. Usually, my fix was just to toggle off multipoint pairing, which isn't ideal.

However, the second-gen QC Ultra earbuds are somewhat improved on this front. I only experienced minor skipping once during my testing period while connected to my phone and using my laptop in clamshell mode. I would say 90 percent of the time, they connected and switched flawlessly between two devices, only "streaming" from the incorrect device a couple of times.

While it's definitely an improvement over past Bose earbuds and headphones I've tried, this is certainly one of my bigger gripes with the brand — for $300, easy connection should be a given. Thankfully, there are workarounds, and it's not the biggest deal, but it's a quirk to be aware of before purchasing these earbuds.

Are the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds (2nd gen) worth it?

As a premium option, you'd be hard-pressed to find earbuds with a better combination of comfort and noise cancellation than the Bose QC Ultra earbuds (2nd gen).

However, if you already own the first-generation buds, I can't say the changes for the second generation really justify the upgrade, especially considering the cost. More of a revamp with heavily used aspects of the earbuds, like the sound quality, battery life, or noise cancellation maybe would've changed my mind here — but I get that in most categories, Bose is already excelling.

It's also hard to justify a $300 price point when there are genuinely great budget noise-cancelling options out there, and when cheaper earbuds, like the new AirPods Pro, are coming packed with excellent ANC and features like heart rate monitoring and live translation.

Still, if my top priority was noise cancellation, and I didn't already own a pair of premium earbuds, I could see myself being very pleased with the QC Ultra 2 earbuds.