Bose’s QuietComfort headphones have sat at or very near the top of the heap since 2000, believe it or not. While competitors have come and gone, Bose has continued to refine and improve the QuietComfort headphones, leading to the 2023 drop of the QuietComfort Ultra Bluetooth wireless model. The latest and best version of these flagship headphones is a worthy investment now that they’re $50 below their usual price at Amazon.
The QuietComfort Ultra is Bose’s answer to the Sony XM6 and Apple’s AirPods Max. The 2nd Gen refresh keeps what made the original compelling — best-in-class noise cancellation, plush comfort, and Bose’s Immersive Audio spatial processing — while adding a handful of new features. This Amazon deal that brings them to just $399 should be the clincher for anyone looking for a high-quality personal audio upgrade.
Three Easy Modes
Put the QC Ultra headphones in Quiet Mode to experience Bose’s active noise cancellation in its purest form — airplane engines, office noise, and street ambience all fade back considerably. Aware Mode lets environmental sound pass through while your audio keeps playing, so you’re not stumbling around half-blind when you need to catch a train announcement. Immersion Mode layers spatial audio processing on top of the noise cancellation, giving music and movies a sense of width and depth that moves the sound out of the tight space between your ears.
The deal-making new addition in this generation is Cinema Mode, which spatializes video content specifically — balancing dialogue, background sound, and effects the way a theater mix would, rather than just applying a generic spatial curve to whatever’s playing. It’s a typically Bose innovation that sets the QuietComfort Ultra apart from the competition.
Pillowy Feel
Comfort — the second part of the name on the box — is where Bose has always doubled down, and the QuietComfort Ultra doesn’t break that streak. The ear cushions are generously padded, and the headband uses a refined metal construction that spreads pressure evenly across longer sessions. These are headphones designed to stay on your head for a long flight without becoming a problem. The microphone setup benefits from AI-based background noise suppression, which means call quality holds up in noisier environments.
At $399 while this Amazon deal is in place, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra still sit high on the pricing list for over-ear Bluetooth headphones. But in a category where the top Sony and Apple options have been hovering near or above this price for a while, getting Bose’s current best with spatial audio, Cinema Mode, and 30-hour battery life for $50 off makes it one of the better premium headphone deals available right now.
