Bose QuietComfort Headphones Wireless vs QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)

Which Headphones Are Better?

Products

Bose QuietComfort Headphones Wireless
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)

Tested using Methodology v2.0

Updated Oct 30, 2025 02:35 PM

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Tested using Methodology v2.0

Updated Nov 05, 2025 08:49 PM

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Our Verdict

Bose QuietComfort Headphones Wireless

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) are the next generation flagship after the Bose QuietComfort Headphones Wireless, which belong to the step below the flagship in the QC line. The QC Ultra (2nd Gen) have a more premium build, a considerably longer battery life, USB-C audio, and somewhat better noise isolation performance. Their mic sounds better, too. On the other hand, the QC Headphones have an in-line mic, so you can still use the mic when you plug them in, which is useful for gaming. Their slightly smaller frame takes up a little less room in your bag, and the smaller ear cups contribute to considerably more consistent sound between listening sessions and different people. They share many of the same app features (like three-band EQ), except for Immersive Audio, available with the QC Ultra (2nd Gen), too. Depending on your tastes, you may prefer the warmer top-end of the QC Ultra (2nd Gen) or the much more excited, V-shaped tuning of the QC Headphones.

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Variants

  • QuietComfort Headphones (Chilled Lilac)
  • QuietComfort Headphones (Cypress Green)
  • QuietComfort Headphones (Moonstone Blue)
  • QuietComfort Headphones (Sandstone)
  • QuietComfort Headphones (Steve Lacy)
  • QuietComfort Headphones (Triple Black)
  • QuietComfort Headphones (Twilight Blue)
  • QuietComfort Headphones (White Smoke)
  • QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) (Black)
  • QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) (Desert Gold)
  • QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) (Driftwood Sand)
  • QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) (Midnight Violet)
  • QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) (White)

Check Price

Chilled Lilac
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Cypress Green
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Desert Gold
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Moonstone Blue
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Driftwood Sand
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Sandstone
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Midnight Violet
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Steve Lacy
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Triple Black
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
Twilight Blue
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
White Smoke
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 

Main Differences for
Sports And Fitness

Threshold 

0.10

Sports And Fitness 

7.5
7.5

Bluetooth Connection 
 

8.5
7.6

Full Comparison

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Sound Profile  

See details
See details

Normalization Frequency 
 

1,200 Hz
700 Hz

Bass Amount 
 

Very Emphasized (5 dB)
Emphasized (3 dB)

Treble Amount 
 

Balanced (0 dB)
Underemphasized (-4 dB)

Sound Signature 
 

Warm
Warm
Show Text 

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

7.8
6.8

Consistency L  

See details
See details

Consistency R  

See details
See details

Std. Deviation 
 

0.90 dB
1.14 dB
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details
See details

Raw FR R  

See details
See details

Bass Profile: Target Compliance 
 

7.8
9.1

Bass Profile: Target Compliance  

See details
See details

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

4.9 dB
2.8 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

20 Hz
20 Hz

Low Bass 
 

5.79 dB
3 dB

Mid Bass 
 

4.39 dB
3.04 dB

High Bass 
 

3.21 dB
1.69 dB
Show Text 

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance 
 

9.6
9.2

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance  

See details
See details

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

0.72 dB
1.25 dB

Low Mid 
 

0.11 dB
-0.69 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-0.61 dB
-0.22 dB

High Mid 
 

-0.13 dB
0.72 dB
Show Text 

Treble Profile: Target Compliance 
 

9.1
7.0

Treble Profile: Target Compliance  

See details
See details

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

2.37 dB
4.29 dB

Low Treble 
 

-0.59 dB
-3.76 dB

Mid Treble 
 

0.03 dB
-3.91 dB

High Treble 
 

-4.36 dB
-6.02 dB
Show Text 

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.7
8.0

Peaks/Dips Graph 
 

See details
See details

Peaks 
 

1.27 dB
1.1 dB

Dips 
 

1.83 dB
1.54 dB
Show Text 

Stereo Mismatch 
 

7.7
8.1

Frequency Response Mismatch  

See details
See details

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details
See details

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.56 dB
0.26 dB

Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch 
 

0.92 dB
1.40 dB

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

0.9°
1.8°
Show Text 

Group Delay 
 

4.2
7.9

Group Delay  

See details
See details

Weighted Group Delay 
 

1.8 ms
0.8 ms
Show Text 

Cumulative Spectral Decay 
 

CSD  

PRTF 
 

4.3
7.2

PRTF  

See details
See details

PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation) 
 

3.44 dB
2.55 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

5.99 dB
4.38 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

3.64 dB
10.88 dB
Show Text 

Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.1
9.4

Harmonics Levels  

See details
See details

THD Ratio  

See details
See details

WHD @ 94 dB SPL 
 

0.20%
0.07%

WHD @ 104 dB SPL 
 

0.46%
0.09%
Show Text 

Electrical Aspects 
 

Impedance  

See details

Sensitivity @1kHz-1V 
 

114.5 dB SPL
N/A

Bluetooth Max SPL 
 

106.0 dB
104.9 dB
Show Text 

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
3.3

Virtual Soundstage  

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
On/Off

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
Adjustable

Virtual Surround 
 

No
Immersive Audio
Show Text 

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

1.0.6-80+f5f219b
5.0.20

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Bluetooth
Bluetooth

Codec 
 

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz

Test Instrument  

Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B

EQ 
 

No EQ
No EQ

ANC 
 

Quiet
Quiet

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Integrated
Show Text 
Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show Text 

Comfort 
 

8.5
8.5

Comfort Picture  

Weight  

0.52 lbs
0.58 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0.7 lbs
0.8 lbs
Show Text 

Controls 
 

8.1
7.6

Controls Picture  

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Decent

Feedback  

Good
Good

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

Mute/Unmute
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

On/Off
Presets

Talk-Through 
 

On/Off
On/Off

Additional Controls  

Voice Assistant
Shortcut
Show Text 

Portability 
 

6.4
6.4

Portability Picture  

 

7.1" (18.0 cm)
7.4" (18.8 cm)

 

5.4" (13.8 cm)
5.7" (14.4 cm)

 

1.7" (4.3 cm)
1.7" (4.3 cm)

Volume  

65.17 in³ (1,068.00 cm³)
71.03 in³ (1,164.01 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show Text 

Case 
 

8.0
8.0

Case Picture  

Type  

Hard case
Hard case

 

8.3" (21.1 cm)
8.4" (21.3 cm)

 

5.7" (14.5 cm)
6.2" (15.7 cm)

 

2.2" (5.5 cm)
2.2" (5.6 cm)

Volume  

102.64 in³ (1,682.00 cm³)
114.28 in³ (1,872.70 cm³)
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

7.5
8.0

Build Quality Picture  

Show Text 

Stability 
 

7.0
7.0

Stability Picture  

Show Text 

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Side Picture  

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Rear Picture  

Top  

Top Picture  

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Show Text 
Isolation

Noise Isolation - Full Range 
 

9.3
9.5

Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph  

See details
See details

Noise Cancelling  

Yes
Yes

Overall Attenuation 
 

-25.80 dB
-26.46 dB

Bass 
 

-19.74 dB
-18.55 dB

Mid 
 

-27.05 dB
-27.49 dB

Treble 
 

-31.77 dB
-34.94 dB
Show Text 

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios 
 

9.1
9.5

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph  

See details
See details

Airplane Noise Attenuation 
 

-20.95 dB
-22.46 dB

Airplane Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Office Noise Attenuation 
 

-21.22 dB
-21.01 dB

Office Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Street Noise Attenuation 
 

-22.79 dB
-25.35 dB

Street Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Show Text 

Noise Isolation - Voice Handling 
 

Female Voice 1 
 

Male Voice 1 
 

Female Voice 2 
 

Male Voice 2 
 

ANC Wind Handling 
 

ANC Wind Handling Graph  

See details
See details

ANC Wind Noise 
 

Show Text 

Leakage 
 

6.7
7.4

Leakage  

See details
See details

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

41.02 dB
37.07 dB
Show Text 
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

Yes
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Recording Quality 
 

7.4
7.2

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details
See details

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

302.04 Hz
91.1 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.89 dB
2.29 dB

HFE 
 

6,736.4 Hz
6,001.45 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.773
5.349

Gain 
 

15.08 dB
-11.52 dB
Show Text 

Noise Handling 
 

5.3
7.2

SpNR  

See details
See details

SpNR 
 

46.49 dB
26.28 dB

Noise Gate 
 

No
No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

5.5
7.0

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

5.0
7.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

8.6
8.7

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

26.1 hrs
37 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

26.1 hrs
37 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2 hrs
2.15 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Auto-Off Timer
Auto-Off Timer and Standby Mode

Audio While Charging 
 

No
Yes

Passive Playback 
 

Yes
No

Charging Port  

USB-C
USB-C
Show Text 

App Support 
 

8.0
8.0

App Picture  

App Name  

Bose Music
Bose

iOS  

Yes
Yes

Android  

Yes
Yes

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets

ANC Control 
 

Adjustable
Adjustable

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

Yes
Yes

Button Mapping  

Yes
Yes

Surround Support 
 

No
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired Connection 
 

7.5
7.1

Cable Picture  

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
USB-C

Detachable 
 

Yes
Yes

Length 
 

3.28 ft (1.00 m)
3.28 ft (1.00 m)

Connector 
 

1/16" TRRS
1/16" TRS

Latency - Analog 
 

15.8 ms
30.6 ms

Latency - USB 
 

N/A
37.1 ms

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Connection  

Analog
USB
Show Text 

Bluetooth Connection 
 

8.5
7.6

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.1
5.4

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
2 Devices

Quick Pair (Android) 
 

No
Yes

Quick Pair (iOS) 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

334.65 ft (102.00 m)
334.65 ft (102.00 m)

Latency - SBC 
 

183 ms
291 ms

Latency - aptX 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality) 
 

N/A
373 ms

Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency) 
 

N/A
89 ms

Latency - LDAC 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Codec  

SBC
aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)

AAC Support 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Wireless Connection (Dongle) 
 

0.0
0.0

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - Dongle 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No
Audio Only

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
Audio Only

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
Audio Only

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

Check Price

Chilled Lilac
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Cypress Green
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Desert Gold
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Moonstone Blue
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Driftwood Sand
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Sandstone
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Midnight Violet
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Steve Lacy
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Triple Black
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
Twilight Blue
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
White Smoke
QuietComfort Headphones
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 

Bose QuietComfort Headphones Wireless

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)

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