Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds II supply an entire new degree of silence

MSRP $299.00

“Quiet and comfortable really are the best words to describe Bose’s latest buds.”

Pros

• Very snug
• Very good sound high quality
• Outstanding noise cancellation
• Very good transparency
• Adjustable EQ modes

Cons

• No wi-fi charging
• No Bluetooth multipoint
• Poor out of doors name high quality

If there’s one firm that has turn out to be synonymous with noise cancellation, it’s Bose. And with the corporate’s newest earbuds — the $299 Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II — Bose is clearly trying to solidify that status. It claims that the brand new wi-fi earbuds aren’t simply higher at canceling noise than the first-gen product (which it would nonetheless promote whereas provides final) — they’re higher than every other lively noise-canceling (ANC) headphones or earbuds you should purchase.

That is likely to be sufficient to win the corporate numerous return enterprise within the type of upgrades, and probably some new prospects too. But there’s extra to a set of noise-canceling wi-fi earbuds than simply ANC — much more — so let’s see how the QuietComfort Earbuds II stack up, and if they need to be your subsequent wi-fi earbuds.

What’s within the field?

In addition to the QuietComfort Earbuds II (or QCE II), their charging case, and a brief USB-C charging cable, you’ll additionally discover two additional sizes of oval silicone eartips and what Bose calls “stability bands” — small silicone gaskets that match across the physique of the earbuds to present a safer match.

What you received’t discover within the totally recyclable cardboard field is any form of actual directions. Instead, Bose needs you to obtain and use the Bose Music app for iOS and Android, which is designed to stroll you thru the setup, along with offering quite a lot of settings and customizations.

Design

If you typically appreciated the design of the first-gen QuietComfort Earbuds however discovered them a bit cumbersome — as we did after we reviewed them — the brand new mannequin is a giant step in the fitting path. Everything about them is smaller and lighter, together with the charging case. The massive, locking clamshell from the primary era has been changed with a smaller, rounded, flip-top design that appears a little bit just like the Google Pixel Buds Pro case, albeit nonetheless considerably bigger.

Without the press-button latch, it’s manner simpler to open even when you run a barely elevated danger of getting it open by chance. It’s nonetheless cumbersome when in comparison with the Apple AirPods Pro, Sony WF-1000XM4, Pixel Buds Pro, and Jabra Elite 7 Pro, however now you can (simply) match it in your pocket.

Gone are the StayHear Max eartips, which built-in an oval tip with an inner ear fin — the brand new design separates match and stability into two items, letting you combine and match till you discover the fitting mixture.

Bose saved the lozenge-like form of the earbuds themselves, so that they nonetheless protrude out of your ears a bit, however nowhere close to as a lot as earlier than, and it additionally preserved the first-gen’s contact controls — you may faucet and swipe wherever on the elongated outer floor.

Another constant characteristic is the IPX4 score. That means the QCE II are able to dealing with sweat or some rain, so long as you wipe them clear after a exercise.

But the QCE II lack wi-fi charging, an odd omission contemplating the first-gen mannequin had this characteristic and price much less too (Bose launched them at $279). When I requested why, a Bose spokesperson instructed me it was partially due to the smaller case design, and since wi-fi charging doesn’t matter to many individuals.

Both of these factors really feel odd, nevertheless, not solely as a result of merchandise just like the AirPods Pro and Pixel Buds Pro handle to do wi-fi charging in instances which are smaller than the QCE II but in addition as a result of if wi-fi charging doesn’t matter, why does each different set of flagship wi-fi earbuds supply it?

Comfort, controls, and connections

For me, with the default ideas and stability bands put in, the QCE II are extremely snug. If you don’t like the sensation of in-ear buds, they received’t change your thoughts, however they do an outstanding job of a typically tough balancing act: getting a superb seal whereas preserving a superb match, and staying put whenever you stick them in.

If you’re undecided in regards to the seal, the Bose Music app has a match take a look at that can affirm whenever you’ve obtained it locked.

Being capable of swipe your finger up and down for quantity is extra intuitive than utilizing a single button.

I took them to the fitness center, out for walks, did a couple of video conferences, and customarily saved them in place for a number of hours at a time, they usually by no means bothered me. They aren’t as rock-solid and safe because the ear-fin-based first-gen earbuds, however I’m OK with that — I discovered the soundness bands to be a wonderfully acceptable substitute, they usually have been safe sufficient for all of my every day wants.

The controls are also superb. I typically want bodily buttons, however I admit that having the ability to swipe your finger up and down the QCE II’s floor is a far more intuitive course of for adjusting quantity than utilizing a single button. Apparently, Apple thinks so, too, because it has added the identical characteristic to its second-gen AirPods Pro.

Bose doesn’t allow you to modify primary controls like play/pause, observe skip ahead/again, or name reply/finish, however you may resolve what the long-press (Bose calls {that a} shortcut) does on every earbud. You can choose between altering ANC modes and activating your voice assistant.

There is, nevertheless, wonderful management over the wear and tear sensors. By default, they’ll auto-pause and resume your music (which works very well) or you may flip them off completely. You may also select to allow auto call-answer, so in case your cellphone rings, you may merely insert an earbud to choose up the decision.

The QCE II use the most recent chips from Qualcomm, with the most recent Bluetooth model, and the connection could be very steady, effectively previous the 20-foot level indoors and as much as 30 toes exterior. That’s the great half. The not-so-good (or maybe simply odd) half is that Bose is barely using what Bluetooth 5.3 can do. There’s no assist for LE Audio and its corresponding new codec, LC3, there’s no Bluetooth multipoint for simultaneous machine connections, and no Google Fast Pair or Microsoft Swift Pair. There is a workaround for multipoint, nevertheless it’s not as elegant: the Bose Music app permits you to swap between beforehand paired gadgets with out having to dive into your machine’s Bluetooth menu.

Granted, the earbuds’ firmware may be up to date, and Bose hasn’t dominated out including these options sooner or later. But there’s no phrase on if or when that can occur.

Sound high quality

The massive new technological innovation on the QCE II versus the primary gen is a characteristic referred to as CustomTune. As quickly as you pluck the earbuds from their case and put them in your ears, they carry out an almost instantaneous take a look at of your ears, measuring how they channel sound to your eardrums. According to Bose, this lets the QCE II successfully reply to the small variations in everybody’s ears, each time you put on them, and also you don’t need to create an account, undergo a listening take a look at, or carry out any duties in any respect as a way to profit from it. It simply occurs.

You get 4 useful presets (Bass Boost, Base Reducer, Treble Boost, and Treble Reducer), to fit your tastes.

CustomTune is meant to enhance ANC and transparency (extra on these in a second) in addition to sound high quality.

Does it work? I can’t let you know, and I believe nobody else can both as a result of there’s no technique to disable it as a way to do an A/B comparability. Should you care? I don’t suppose so, as a result of the underside line is that these earbuds sound actually good, whether or not CustomTune will get the credit score or not.

As with the primary gen, Bose has given the QCE II a enjoyable and vibrant sound signature that balances heat, resonant bass with clear highs and fairly detailed midtones. I feel there have been enhancements too (possibly it’s the CustomTune?), with much less noticeable distortion at decrease volumes. What hasn’t modified is that these buds probably received’t have audiophiles singing their praises — I feel you’ll get a extra correct efficiency from different fashions just like the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3, the Sony WF-1000XM4, the Technics EAH-AZ60, and the Astell & Kern AK UW100.

The incontrovertible fact that Bose hasn’t ventured past SBC and AAC codec assist reinforces that it’s not after that crowd anyway.

But what’s new, and what I feel makes all of the distinction, is that Bose now consists of the flexibility to regulate the earbuds’ EQ contained in the Bose Music app. You get 4 useful presets (Bass Boost, Base Reducer, Treble Boost, and Treble Reducer), however you can even modify every of those (or begin from a impartial EQ) to fit your tastes utilizing a three-band set of sliders. Unfortunately, there’s no technique to save these customized settings, one thing I feel Bose ought to think about including now that it has come this far.

With these changes, you now not want to only settle for the manufacturing unit tuning, so bass-heads get extra of what they like, whereas followers of podcasts or diva vocalists can emphasize the sounds they like. I nonetheless discovered myself sticking with the impartial EQ more often than not, nevertheless it was good figuring out I might swap it up if the temper struck me.

Noise cancellation and transparency

Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro weren’t out there on the time of this writing, so it’s attainable I might want to re-evaluate this assertion. But as of proper now, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II supply the very best noise cancellation I’ve ever skilled. Better than the first-gen QC Earbuds, higher than the first-gen AirPods Pro, and higher than Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM4 earbuds and WH-1000XM5 headphones. It’s actually excellent.

While on a brief flight from New York City to Toronto aboard a De Havilland Dash 8 — a reasonably noisy twin turboprop plane — I obtained an opportunity to place the QCE II in a direct comparability with the Sony WH-1000XM5 and the just lately launched Google Pixel Buds Pro.

The Sony providing, whereas wonderful for a set of ANC headphones, couldn’t contact the QCE II. They let in what I perceived as roughly twice the quantity of sound. The Pixel Buds Pro faired higher, as you may anticipate from earbuds that absolutely seal your ear canals, however they too couldn’t fairly obliterate these engines the best way the Bose might.

That was earlier than making an attempt to play music. Once I added in some tunes, even at average volumes, I used to be blissfully unaware of any cabin sound in any respect. Curiously, you may typically detect the ANC algorithms doing their magic as new sounds turn out to be a part of your surroundings — they could be extra noticeable at first however then recede into the background over the subsequent second or two.

As superior because the ANC is, you may need to benefit from the flexibility to scale back its energy underneath sure circumstances. First, at most energy, I discovered that I used to be conscious of the “sucking” sensation that some of us are delicate to. Backing it down a degree or two eases that feeling. Second, when you’re already in a comparatively quiet place and also you’re not listening to any music or different content material, you’ll hear a slight background hiss.

Transparency mode, or “aware” mode as Bose calls it, additionally is excellent. It nonetheless falls simply shy of the not-wearing-any-earbuds sensation you get from the first-gen AirPods Pro, nevertheless it’s completely able to letting you hear the skin world. With Bose’s optionally available ActiveSense system, any sudden loud sounds that happen whilst you’re in conscious mode might be robotically diminished. This can save your listening to, but in addition your coronary heart fee — as I used to be strolling previous a building website final week, a sudden, very loud bang made me nearly bounce off the sidewalk. I want I’d been carrying the QCE II.

An enormous enchancment over the first-gen is the flexibility to cycle between ANC and conscious modes with out going by way of a 3rd mode. You can nonetheless do that if you need — the Bose Music app really permits you to outline as much as 4 modes of noise cancellation — however you don’t need to,

Call high quality

Before I focus on the QCE II’s name high quality, I want to handle what we mentioned in our authentic evaluate of the first-gen earbuds, as a result of it wants some context. When Caleb Denison carried out his name high quality take a look at of the QCE, he did it indoors solely. At the time, it appeared like the fitting, ahem, name.

And after I examined the QCE II for this evaluate, I additionally discovered the indoor name high quality to be wonderful. However, I then took them exterior and repeated the take a look at, with very completely different outcomes. Outside, relying on the quantity of noise from visitors or wind, your voice can sound distant, compressed, and at instances very tough to listen to. Worse nonetheless, these background noises are nonetheless fairly audible.

I used to be shocked by this (particularly earlier than I spotted Caleb’s feedback have been primarily based on indoor utilization) so I grabbed the first-gen QCE buds and took them exterior as effectively. They carried out extra poorly than the second-gen, so a minimum of Bose has achieved some enchancment in out of doors high quality, however definitely not sufficient that I can advocate them for out of doors use. In truth, I’m undecided they are often reliably used for any scenario with numerous background noise — a fairly large disappointment given each their value and their excellent ANC.

Battery life

Historically, Bose hasn’t positioned a heavy emphasis on battery life. The firm’s flagship Noise Cancelling 700 Headphones solely get 20 hours of use (inserting them close to the underside of the headphone heap together with the AirPods Max) and the first-gen QC Earbuds solely possessed as much as six hours per cost and a complete of 18 hours whenever you included their charging case capability.

There hasn’t been any change on the earbuds’ facet of the equation (the QCE II nonetheless solely stand up to 6 hours) however the charging case now holds three full expenses as a substitute of two, for a complete of 24 hours, which a minimum of brings them into AirPods Pro territory for complete time.

But surprisingly, it really takes longer now to quick-charge them: 20 minutes will purchase you two additional hours, whereas, on the first-gen, that solely took quarter-hour.

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