After six years, I’ve just upgraded from the XM3s after trying out the XM4,5,6 in store and borrowing a friend’s Ultra Gen 1.

The driftwood sand colour is beautiful, isn’t nearly as pink as I thought it would be based on the photos.

Comfort: I’d say these are the most comfortable I’ve ever worn, slightly beating out the Ultra Gen 1. Noticeably weaker clamping force than all the Sonys. The comfort was night and day between this and the Sony XM6, and this is the biggest reason I went with the Ultra Gen 2.

Sound Quality: didn’t sound perfect out of the box on all songs, I’m no audiophile and am still playing around with the EQ. Sounded great on vocal tracks however EDM and bass heavy pop sounded a bit muddy for my taste. Some tracks sound wonderful and some still need a bit of tweaking. For now I think the sound isn’t clearly better than the Ultra Gen 1 or the XM6. But also not clearly worse. Need more time to test this category. Lossless audio over USC is one of the main reasons I bought these over the XM6 alongside comfort so will be looking forward to testing that.

Looks: Love this colour, case and overall design. The shiny bands look really good in person at least on this sand colour. Feels alright, doesn’t attract as many fingerprints as expected.

ANC: not in depth testing but my initial thoughts were that the ANC is significantly better than my old XM3 which isn’t surprising. Seems to be slightly better than the Ultra Gen 1 and on par with XM6.

Cons: Personally really hoped the Bose app would have 5 band EQ instead of just 3. The controls and buttons are lacking compared to Sony XM6.

Overall, happy with spending $699 AUD on these for my birthday after 6-7 years on the XM3. Let’s hope we get some good reviews on sound quality and ANC from actual audiophiles soon.

I live in the US and haven’t received them early like other reviewers have. I was just curious for those who have them.

Told myself I wouldn't get the Gen 2, but could not resist at least checking them out. Still quite unsure whether or not to keep and replace my Gen 1. My very quick initial impressions:

• Gen 2 feel slightly softer and with even lower clamping force already straight out of the box (even though I had no complaints on Gen 1). They really are super comfortable (still).

• Gen 2 has noticeably less hiss/white noise during ANC mode. There is some hiss during the first few seconds, but then for me it goes down to an (almost?) imperceptible level.

• ANC I just tested around the house so far and struggled to find any clear differences. They might be there, sure, but at least not immediately apparent.

• With Gen 2 you can now turn ANC on/off and set ANC strength from 1-10

• Sound quality I could not discern any noticeable differences (disregarding the cinematic mode)

• Microphones/call quality I did not test yet

• Gen 2 sand color is gorgeous, but I am quite partial to the darker sandstone tone of Gen 1

• They are really very similar headphones (well, obviously), this is nowhere near the XM5 -> XM6

So absent any call testing (where I am hoping they will have improved), imo the most noticeable upgrades are on ANC customization and the hiss reduction, otherwise not a WOW!-impact upgrade.

EDIT:

• Also, I have not been able to reproduce the thumping/popping sound with stronger movements on Gen 2, but I really wouldn't want to give any guarantees it is fixed. Just did some very brief tests indoors.

Hi all,

I thought I'd share a few impressions of the new Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra 2nd Gen which were delivered to me yesterday afternoon (I am living in Germany). This is the opinion of someone who has owned Airpods Max, Airpods Pro 1st and 2nd generation, B&W PX8 and, most recently, Sony WH-1000XM4, and has used each of them for quite some time.

First of all: I'm going to send the Bose back. But more on that in a moment.

So, what are my impressions?

• Very decent workmanship, in my opinion better than the Sony XM4. Also feels better than the XM5 and XM6 variations I've held in my hands.

• Comfortable, but only to a certain extent. The Bose is lightweight and the headband is well padded, but the pressure on my ears is a little too high for me. The XM4s felt more comfortable – and the B&Ws too, of course.

• I can't detect any noise when walking, as was sometimes mentioned here for the predecessor.

• Noise cancelling: basically the best I've had so far. The rather loud white noise in the predecessor has been reduced a little here, but it is still audible in quiet environments if you really focus on it. However, it is definitely noticeably lower. Nevertheless, there are still some issues, which I describe below and which mean that the headphones will be returned.

• Sound: good, bassy, not very adjustable in the EQ, but pleasing. I like the sound, but of course it can't compete with the B&W. Few can. For those who are interested: I am a fan of electronic music, with a certain focus on all subgenres of house, and for relaxing and working I like to listen to binaural beats or similar meditative music. The Bose headphones are well suited for this.

• Microphone quality: better than in the first generation (which I also owned for a day, but sent back because of the high ANC white noise at the time), but still not great. The XM4s weren't good either; the Airpods Max were by far the best in this regard of all headphones I owned. Since I use either EarPods or a Sennheiser headset (with cable) for phone calls and don't make many calls outside the office anyway, this suits me – but may be a deciding factor for some people when making a purchase.

So, why am I sending them back ? Well, so far, no ANC has managed to defeat the final boss: the announcements on the Berlin S-Bahn. Probably no ANC can do that – even friends with Sony's XM6 (which seems to be the natural contender to the Boses) complain about this. No a reason to send the Bose back; they still make a reasonably decent impression.

However, what was tolerable with the XM4s I used to wear is absolutely unbearable with the Bose: the dull banging sound I hear in one of the headphones (the right one for me) when the train doors close. I'm not sure what causes this – a change in pressure, perhaps? The door closes and immediately there's a muffled bang (don't know how to describe it better) in my ear that really hurts, at least for me. People may think I'm oversensitive, but it bothers me so much (especially considering the high price of the headphones) that today – after just one train journey – I decided right while standing on the platform to take advantage of the Bose satisfaction guarantee and return the headphones.

What happens now? I'm not really sure yet. What is clear is that I will buy the AirPods Pro 3 for sports anyway. However, the sound quality may not quite meet my expectations. I just ordered the B&W PX7 S3 because I want to test them. The ANC probably won't be as good as with the Bose, but at least the first reviews give me reason to hope that the ANC has improved. We'll see!

Feel free to ask questions – I'm not sending the headphones back until tomorrow.