Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) Review: Still More Quiet and Comfortable Than Most

As great as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) are, $449 is still a lot of money to spend on a pair of wireless headphones. The good news is, for those who want to keep their wireless headphone bill to a dull roar, there is another Bose option that bears the QuietComfort name, and now there’s even a new generation to choose from.

The non-Ultra QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) are here, and they boast a few small improvements that could make a notable difference for some.

The QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) are a small upgrade but still have good ANC and sound quality.

The first thing most people are going to want to know about the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) is the “Quiet” part. Bose’s QuietComfort wireless headphones and wireless earbuds are known for their active noise cancellation (ANC), and the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) continue that reputation.

Using them on the subway, I was impressed at the level of noise that they blocked out. It’s not quite as formidable as the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), but it’s still better than a lot of pairs that I’ve used over the past year, including cheaper ones like the $299 Nothing Headphone 1 .

I could hear some rumbles, especially when I was listening to quieter audio like a podcast, but it wasn’t distracting. On the sidewalk in New York, I also caught glimmers of street noise—cars, construction, anything overtly loud—but these wireless headphones are still earning the “Quiet” in the name. If they’re too quiet, you can adjust the ANC levels in Bose’s app, by the way.

I was curious about Bose’s attention to closing the gap, so to speak. In this generation, Bose says its QuietControl ANC can better compensate when there are gaps in the earcups and your ear, caused by interference from hair, glasses, or hats. All of those things have a tendency to undermine proper noise cancellation by breaking the seal of the earcup. As a test, I clocked a lot of time wearing the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) while also wearing sunglasses, and I think Bose’s efforts paid off.

Even while wearing glasses, I felt the ANC performed at a high level, though I’m sure there’s a limit to that effectiveness. If you’re wearing a thicker hat or have lots of hair, you might notice a bigger difference. For glasses, I think Bose’s “seal-gap compensation” works.

Another update is the addition of ActiveSense technology, which is meant to protect you from loud noises while in “Aware” mode, which is Bose’s term for transparency. The idea here is that ActiveSense kicks in with ANC during suddenly loud situations to protect your hearing. I tested ActiveSense by using Aware mode on the subway, and it did feel like it helped duck some train screeching while still allowing me to hear my surroundings, though it’s hard to say for sure.

Overall, Aware mode on Bose’s wireless headphones is decent—definitely better than lots of cheaper pairs—but still not quite as good as AirPods Max 2 , which are my favorite as far as transparency goes.

One thing I would not recommend doing on these wireless headphones is taking calls. In my experience, they pick up way too much ambient noise and wind.