A new benchmark for noise-cancelling wireless earbuds?
In-ear headphones | £280 | whf.cm/BoseQCEarbudsII
The latest Bose claim to offer amazing, never-before-experienced levels of active noise-cancelling (ANC), but they are also one of the most expensive pairs of wireless earbuds we have ever tested. There really isn’t going to be any room for error if they want to be considered among the best-in-class.
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II are the company’s flagship wireless earbuds and they have got a price tag to match. They cost £280, which places them firmly at the premium end of the market. Their closest rivals include the Sony WF-1000XM4 which launched at £250 back in June 2021 and the more recent Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3, which can be yours for £219.
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II follow on from the hugely successful (and five-star) Bose QuietComfort Earbuds which launched in 2020. And there’s been a big design shake-up for the new pair. They are now around a third smaller than the original QC Earbuds. But we are pleased to report comfort levels haven’t been affected. Our review team find them more comfortable than bulkier rivals such as the Sony WF-1000XM4.
The new ear tips are very soft, pliable and don’t burrow in like some rivals, while the new ‘stability bands’ (which replace the old rubber wings) provide plenty of grip without irritating over long listens.
You get three sizes of ear tips and three stability bands (both come in small, medium and large) as standard, and we manage to get a great fit. Bose has done an excellent job of refining and updating the design into a more discreet package. You can also run an ear-tip fit test from the Bose Music app which will let you know if your seals are compromised.
Not only are the new QuietComfort Earbuds smaller than the originals, the new design now incorporates more of a distinctive stem which also hosts touch controls. These are consistent enough, whether for changing tracks or volume, or cycling through different noise-cancelling modes or the voice assistant on your smartphone.
Sound calibration tech
Every time the earbuds are taken out of their case and placed in your ear, you will hear a short sweeping tone. This is actually a test tone for Bose’s CustomTune sound calibration tech. When the sound is made, a mic inside each earbud measures your ear canal’s acoustic response. The audio and ANC performance is then altered to suit and is also continuously tweaked in the background as the headphones monitor what is happening around yo
