on Google.
How do you convince yourself to pay $400+ for a pair of headphones that look and operate almost identically to the previous generation? That’s a question I hope to answer, and a question Bose hopes its second-generation flagship headphones will answer based on their performance alone.
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I spent two weeks working, traveling, and lounging in the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Gen 2) 
Bose QC Ultra (Gen 1) (left); Bose QC Ultra (Gen 2) (right).
Jada Jones/ZDNET
More significant upgrades lie in the smaller details, including USB-C audio support, available at up to 16-bit/44.1kHz or 48kHz. Thus, the QC Ultra 2 are better suited for gaming or more faithful listening than the first generation. Unlike the Sonos Ace and Apple AirPods Max, the QC Ultra 2 retain their 3.5mm headphone jack, which is great news for frequent flyers. And unlike the Sony XM6, which do not support USB-C audio, you can listen through the QC Ultra 2’s USB-C port, even while charging them.
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Although USB-C audio support in 2025 feels more like an expectation than a new feature to celebrate, it rounds out the QC Ultra 2’s audio capabilities.
The QC Ultra 2 have a great sound profile if you like an exaggerated bass response, slightly decreased mids, and louder treble. It makes for a great reproduction of basslines and front-and-center vocals in pop tracks, such as One Direction’s “Stockholm Syndrome,“ and ’90s rap, like Craig Mack’s “Flava in Ya Ear.”
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Conversely, the QC Ultra 2 aren’t as strong with layered, ambient post-rock like Ben Howard’s “Time Is Dancing.” Songs with more subtle musical textures aren’t as easy to hear, but decreasing the bass helps. Overall, the QC Ultra 2’s tuning is warmer and more spacious-sounding, delivering an extended, tighter bass response than the first generation. Their sound should be fun for most people.
Bose continues on with its version of spatial audio, Immersive Audio, and introduces a new spatial tuning for podcasts, TV shows, movies, and other dialogue-heavy media. The feature works — you can hear your media expand around your head. Personally, I’d rather that Bose embrace Dolby Atmos support instead.
Bose’s marketing conveys to me that noise cancellation is no longer regarded as a feature of a pair of headphones — it’s a lifestyle choice. Noise cancellation doesn’t solely mute the world around you, but helps you create a private listening space when you’re in public.
The app highlights the QC Ultra 2’s improved customization features, offering users the ability to turn off the headphones’ touch control strip, one of my least favorite features from the first-gen QC Ultra. I’ve always believed that the touch strip’s bottom-right earcup placement is awkward, and its minimal real estate is ripe for accidental control triggers. You can now also completely disable ANC, which was previously impossible with Bose’s headphones.
The only issue I have with Bose’s app is its limited equalizer. Instead of allowing users to adjust the headphones’ EQ by frequency bands, Bose only offers increases and decreases to general bass, mids, and treble without specific, granular, quantifiable measures.
The Bose QC Ultra 2 have a tighter bass response, clearer mids, sharper treble, and a more spacious soundstage. Its sound is more analytical, but it can become fatiguing after a few hours of listening.
We awarded Bose’s latest flagship headphones an Editors’ Choice award for their improvements over the previous generation’s gaps, while refining their strengths. Overall, the QC Ultra 2 deliver useful, everyday features that their competitors don’t, notably in power management, user customization, and USB-C audio support.
Most importantly, Bose offers its most valuable and premium features to all users, regardless of device generation or software ecosystem.
Source : ZDNet
