Why do you think they edge out the Gen 1? They appear identical? I’m still somewhat disappointed that my QC45’s are more comfortable than my Gen 1 Ultra’s. But they both outclass every other manufacturer of ANC headphones when it comes to comfort. More on reddit.com

I recently got my QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) after having Gen 1s for a while. I primarily use them around the house from my Windows PC for work (on the go from my iPhone/MacBook I tend to use AirPods for the portability). ANC One thing I'd really like to list as a big pro is the ANC hissing is gone. I'd say "like to" because it comes back as soon as audio plays, and takes a few seconds afterward to quiet back down. I think I'll get used to this... and it is nice when you have them on for long periods with nothing playing... but I'm not ready to declare the ANC hiss problem fully solved yet either. Overall though, the ANC seems better for this type of "work from home" use case, albeit not perfected. The ANC is adjustable, and you can turn it all the way off, but I'm not sure I'd bother with these headphones anyways if that's your use case. If you have a particular reason to care though, it is there and adjusts fine. USB C On the audio side there is also another think I'd like to list as a big pro: the USB C audio. God bless it's finally here (and the headset doesn't just assume it should turn off when you plug it in to charge even if you had wired analog audio playing when you did like on the Gen 1s...). On the downside, there is something odd about it where I have to set the volume of the headset in Windows to 6/100 in USB C mode to be as loud as 20/100 in Bluetooth mode. In both modes swiping the volume on the headphones changes the volume in Windows, and both are digital connections, so I'm not sure why there is a difference (or why they are so fucking loud in USB C mode that I have to lose all granularity in my Windows volume. Microphone For another downside, they finally listened that USB C should carry audio... but they didn't bother making the headphones work as a microphone in this situation. This is really lazy to me, and means I have to have a charging USB C cable separate from the USB C cable I'd use for audio (gaming latency/audio quality after work) because plugging in the USB C cable connected to the computer during work would not only charge the headphones, but drop the microphone completely. Windows added support of Super Wideband Bluetooth LE audio recently, but these don't support LE. That means if you connect to Windows with a normal Bluetooth adapter you lose a ton of audio quality when the microphone is active. This just goes to show how big of a shitshow Bluetooth still is in this use case, and why USB C still not having the microphone sent back is such an annoyance. Fit Overall, I find this a bit more snug and comfy than the Gen 1s. This may come down to personal preference though. I don't think the average person will really care one way or the other. Overall Overall, I needed another headset in the household anyways. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have bothered. It is better than the previous generation in many ways, but often in "monkey's paw" type fashion. I'd still recommend them - QC Ultras are among the best in noise cancelling regardless of the version, but, for my use case of just wanting good noise cancelling on work for home, I'd still give them a B (the same I gave the gen 1), albeit maybe a B+ now. More on reddit.com

Hate the high gloss of gen2. It’s distracting and prone to showing every hand print, micro-scratch and mar that accumulates on it. Much prefer a matte finish. IMHO, Gen1 looks much better due to this alone. More on reddit.com

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