Bose has built its full marque and estimation connected sound cancellation technology. The institution has been successful this crippled for decades, truthful I astir apt shouldn’t person been amazed by however soundly the caller QuietComfort Earbuds II outperform the contention successful the ANC department. But aft respective days of investigating them, that’s precisely wherever I find myself. 

Until now, the original QuietComfort Earbuds, Sony’s WF-1000XM4, and Apple’s AirPods Pro were each wrong a stone’s propulsion of each different — and each precise good. But Bose’s caller $299 earbuds person raised the barroom again — substantially. In assorted mundane situations, these are arsenic bully oregon better than over-ear noise-canceling headphones, and they’re evidently acold much compact and portable. 

The QuietComfort Earbuds II are inactive missing immoderate progressively important amenities similar multipoint, and adjacent wireless charging is absent. These oversights tin marque the precocious terms harder to rationalize. But dependable prime is excellent, and successful summation to class-leading sound cancellation, Bose has managed to adjacent the natural, lifelike transparency mode of Apple’s AirPods Pro.

Upon unboxing them, it’s instantly noticeable however overmuch smaller these earbuds are compared to the anterior generation. Bose merchandise manager Jason Brisbois told maine that they’re 30 percent smaller by volume; they besides deterioration person to your ears and caput than before. The charging lawsuit has besides been shaved down by 40 percent. It’s much pocketable but inactive the benignant of size wherever I don’t recognize wherefore Bose didn’t see wireless charging. 

Fitting the QuietComfort Earbuds II to your ears is simply a overmuch antithetic acquisition than past Bose buds. The institution has ditched its signature StayHear winged eartips successful favour of a two-piece system. You get 3 sizes of eartips (S, M, L) and 3 sets of stableness bands that usage your receptor concha to support the earbuds securely successful place. This means determination are 9 full combinations erstwhile mixing tips and stableness bands, and similar different earbud makers, Bose notes that your near and close ears mightiness beryllium antithetic capable to warrant antithetic configurations successful each. I ended up utilizing ample eartips but a medium-sized stableness set successful 1 receptor and a ample successful the other.

Bose’s extremity with this alteration was to forestall immoderate fatigue oregon discomfort portion besides making the caller earbuds acceptable a wider assortment of receptor shapes and sizes — and there’s adjacent a abstracted acceptable kit you tin bid from lawsuit enactment with XS and XL attachments if nary of the bundled options bash the job. I’ve work immoderate archetypal interest from fans of the one-piece StayHear tips that the caller attack won’t enactment arsenic good for them, but I wouldn’t beryllium worried. It’s admittedly much of a process having to experimentation with 2 pieces successful each ear, but it’s a worthwhile usage of those other minutes to find the champion fit.

Whenever you statesman a listening league by plucking the earbuds from their lawsuit and putting them into your ears, you’ll perceive a abbreviated code successful each ear. It’s the aforesaid orchestral thwomp dependable effect that Bose has utilized for years successful its headphones and earbuds. But now, it’s got a caller precise intentional purpose: CustomTune. Bose uses the little code to analyse the acoustic properties of your receptor canal. And past the QuietComfort Earbuds II set the sound cancellation and audio illustration based connected the information that comes back. This happens erstwhile each clip you usage the earbuds.

Tech companies person been putting overmuch greater accent connected tailoring the dependable of earbuds oregon headphones conscionable for you. With iOS 16, Apple tin present scan your ears for personalized spatial audio. And Sony claims it’s capable to optimize 360 Reality Audio with pictures of your ears. Bose is fundamentally utilizing CustomTune arsenic its ain reply for personalized audio. 

The drivers and underlying components successful the QuietComfort Earbuds II haven’t drastically changed from the archetypal pair. But dependable from these buds does look much nuanced, dynamic, and shaped than before, and Brisbois said that each boils down to CustomTune. Bose probe idiosyncratic John Rule said the strategy takes hundreds of measurements and past makes the resulting audio adjustments and applies filters “in little than a second.” The QuietComfort Earbuds II dependable amended to my ears than the AirPods Pro oregon Sony’s WF-1000XM4 buds.

They nutrient dynamic, textured euphony with plentifulness of bass footwear and a wide soundstage. I’d accidental Bose is lone eked retired by thing similar Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds, but those are proving much buggy and unreliable the much I usage them. And there’s nary examination erstwhile it comes to ANC: Bose wins. But it’s how the institution made specified headway this clip that’s much interesting. 

“When you’re flying connected an airplane, you tin cancel the airplane beauteous well,” Rule said of astir noise-canceling headphones and earbuds connected the marketplace today. “But you tin present perceive the radical talking 3 rows down you, due to the fact that you’ve canceled the level much than you’ve canceled the voices. You’ve unmasked things you didn’t privation to hear.”

“So successful bid to truly comprehend that you’re getting much sound canceling, there’s nary existent worth successful making the airplane immoderate much quiet. There’s lone worth successful filling successful that spread successful the middle,” said Rule. With its caller earbuds, Bose specifically focused connected bringing down those mediate frequencies — things similar adjacent voices oregon crying babies — and the improvements are significant. I tin inactive perceive a hint of adjacent chatter successful the office. But I’ve ne'er worn earbuds that travel truthful adjacent to wholly erasing the voices astir me. Play euphony astatine practically immoderate measurement and you’ll consciousness arsenic though you’re successful a private, blissful cocoon. 

“We measurement them internally arsenic amended than the QuietComfort 45s, arsenic having much sound canceling than the [over-ear] QC45s oregon thing other that we’ve measured,” Rule told me. Some insignificant asterisks remain: over-ear headphones fare amended astatine hushing higher frequencies (clanking plates and silverware, etc.) due to the fact that of their receptor cupful cushions. “We volition ever enactment connected making some of them better, but close present these are the winners,” Rule said of the QC Earbuds II. It’s impressive, particularly erstwhile Bose is inactive utilizing silicone eartips that don’t person the aforesaid isolation benefits arsenic the expanding foam connected Sony’s WF-1000XM4. 

“I would accidental it’s existent that the aboriginal looks similar personalization,” Rule said. “And we judge that this is, close now, this [CustomTune] is the champion mode based connected our measurement of competitory products to spell aft that.” CustomTune besides benefits transparency mode, which to my ears comes crossed conscionable arsenic earthy arsenic what you’d perceive from Apple’s AirPods Pro. That lifelike passthrough has been precise hard for different earbud makers to top, but Bose is close determination cervix and cervix with Apple. 

But the QuietComfort Earbuds II aren’t without weaknesses. They don’t see Bluetooth multipoint, a diagnostic that lets you brace with 2 audio sources simultaneously for easier multitasking. Google conscionable brought multipoint to the Pixel Buds Pro, and Jabra has included it for galore years. Bose’s ain headphones connection multipoint, but the institution claims it was incapable to bring the aforesaid convenience to these earbuds portion besides maintaining precocious performance.

“When we were defining the programme and truly scoping retired what matters most, azygous constituent is truly wherever you get the astir reliable transportation and audio performance,” Bose’s Brisbois told me. “And truthful that meant we had to telephone the shot and conscionable say, each right, nary multipoint, due to the fact that we don’t privation to springiness up connected that.” Multipoint tin occasionally beryllium glitchy, sure, but I’d similar having it determination regardless. 

For their premium price, the QC Earbuds II truly don’t see galore frills. The Bose Music app for Android and iOS lets you acceptable up 4 antithetic “modes,” with each blending the levels of sound cancellation and transparency to your preference. You tin besides marque basal EQ adjustments to bass, mids, and treble. And the touch-and-hold motion is customizable connected each earbud: it tin either toggle betwixt ANC modes oregon trigger a dependable assistant. The earbuds automatically intermission audio erstwhile you region 1 of them, and they activate transparency mode erstwhile this happens. There’s besides an “ActiveSense” mounting that volition rapidly reenable sound cancellation if large noises are detected erstwhile the earbuds are successful transparency mode. 

That’s astir wherever the bundle tricks end. No fancy head-tracking spatial audio similar you get from AirPods oregon Galaxy Buds. No location-based dependable profiles similar Sony’s earbuds tin provide. Bose supports the bare minimum AAC and SBC codecs. There’s thing to beryllium said for focusing connected what matters, but don’t expect overmuch successful the mode of extras. 

Battery beingness for the QC Earbuds II is estimated astatine six hours with ANC on, with the lawsuit holding 3 further charges for a full of 24 hours. The buds are rated IPX4 for h2o resistance. Those are each par for the people numbers successful 2022. Mic show has been satisfactory successful my dependable calls truthful far, but I haven’t had overmuch clip for head-to-head testing. Be connected the lookout for our adjacent Vergecast microphone trial for that. 

The QuietComfort Earbuds II are objectively the champion noise-canceling earbuds you tin buy. Bose has successfully fended disconnected Sony, Apple, Google, and Samsung and made meaningful advancement with ANC successful this signifier factor. They surely don’t travel cheap, and I can’t foretell however agelong the QC Earbuds II volition stay astatine the top; Apple is astir to merchandise its second-generation AirPods Pro and promises its ain noise-canceling advancements. But these dependable fantastic, acceptable comfortably, and bash an unmatched occupation astatine silencing the extracurricular satellite — particularly voices. Reputation vindicated erstwhile again.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge