A new pair of headphones ready for travel is on the way from Bose, as the ANC innovator boosts cancellation with a new algorithm, and a little more, too.
It must be the year of headphone updates. Sony had a major update to its WH-1000XM headphones in the WH-1000XM6, and Apple is expected to refresh its AirPods Pro shortly, as well.
Bose already gave us a taste of what’s to come with the new QuietComfort Ultra earbuds 2nd-gen, and it appears it’s time for the headphone equivalent to get an update, too.
This week, Bose has announced what’s coming in the QC Ultra Headphones (2nd-gen), an aptly-named follow-up to the last generation of Bose headphones, an impressive pair that this reviewer still wears at times.
Two years later and now in its second generation, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra are getting minor changes to the look, but major changes on the inside, as Bose turns to algorithmic updates and better battery life being chief amongst them.
The big change on look is the change to the metal yokes holding each ear-cup, with polished metal replacing the matte look from last time. That’s about it for design changes, but there’s more on the inside.
The battery life is getting an update, going to 30 hours with noise cancellation turned on and up to 23 with immersive mode powered up, the latter of which is also being improved with a “Cinema Mode” that aims to balance background sound and other effects to create a more spatial movie experience.
Bose also notes this mode could be ideal for podcasts, improving the audio to make it appear as if the speaker was talking to you instead of at you.
Bose is also making tweaks to the sound, providing improvements to bass at louder volumes while cutting back on the background noise in the active noise cancellation system. The “CustomTune” system still automatically adjusts the sound based on a small listening test as they switch on, but that process to power on is now reportedly faster, too.
The active noise cancellation mode also gets an updated ANC algorithm, boosting things there, as well.
And now there’s USB-C support, as well.
The change here means you can plug the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd-gen headphones into a computer and listen to high-res audio, though it will only max out at 48kHz we’re told, a little lower than the 192kHz mode the Focal Bathys can handle.
However, Bose’s pair also happens to be around half the price of the Focal,. With the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 2nd-gen set to land in Australia soon for $699.95.
Locally, Bose has marked September 11 as when Australians can expect to find the 2nd-gen QC Ultra headphones, giving you an idea of just how quickly they’ll land in retail.
