Review: Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen)

The Bose QuietComfort has been the business traveler's headphones. For many frequent fliers, Bose has been the go-to for noise-canceling headphones and has dominated the market. I’ve spotted close to a dozen of them at every airport and on every flight I’ve been on. That’s staying power for the company that pioneered noise-canceling technology in consumer headphones and has released many versions of the QC since 2000.

But with the new QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen), I just don’t know if they’re still the travel headphones to get. They improve on the first-generation version where it matters—they are more comfortable and have even better active noise-canceling (ANC). The sound quality is also among the best you can get. But noise cancellation has become one of the most competitive segments in the premium over-ear headphone market, and the QuietComfort Headphones 2 take a few missteps, namely battery life and price point, that make them hard to recommend over the competitors.

True to Its Name

Photograph: Harry Rabinowitz

At 230 grams, the QuietComfort Headphones 2 are very lightweight—far lighter than nearly every other pair of premium over-ear headphones. This means greater comfort, less tension on my head, and less clamping force to keep the headphones stable. Another comfort win is the spacious fit—I don’t feel any mesh or material brushing against my (rather large) ears. I once wore them for an entire eight-hour workday, and they didn’t feel overly clampy, warm, or heavy.

When it comes to ANC, these headphones cancel most noise effectively, and live up to Bose’s reputation for great noise-canceling. I wore them in a cafeteria full of about 60 people chatting and eating, and I could barely hear anything outside my music. They aren’t quite as powerful as $400-plus headphones like the Bose flagship QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen), Sony WH-1000XM6, and Apple AirPods Max, but they’re close.

I take sound quality in premium headphones for granted—they’re generally excellent—but it’s worth highlighting here. Bose knows how to produce a clear, detailed, entertaining sound. There is great detail across bass, lows, mids, and highs. The headphones have your typical V-shaped curve emphasizing bass and treble, but the mids aren’t lost at all—I actually found them more distinct and defined than on similar headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM4C. (Though Bose’s simple but limited three-band EQ might disappoint tinkerers.)

Photograph: Harry Rabinowitz

The design hasn’t changed drastically from the last-generation QuietComfort (2023). Both earcups have physical buttons for easy control, but the headband adjuster is new. It’s made with smooth-sliding plastic instead of the previous version's notched metal. This is more aligned with the competition—most over-ear headphones I’m testing these days have smooth, not notched, adjustments, which give you a better fit than being “in between” sizes, so to speak. This version also ditches the wired 3.5-mm port but comes with a USB-C-to-3.5-mm cable for wired, high-resolution audio; it doesn't support lossless over wireless.

Software-wise, these headphones support Bose’ Immersive Audio and Cinema spatial modes, which launched with the Ultra 2 and QuietComfort Ultra 2 Earbuds. I still don’t find either very appealing for most use cases, but the optional head-tracking does an admirable job placing sounds directionally.

Missed Expectations

Photograph: Harry Rabinowitz

These headphones get the big things right. It’s when you dig a little deeper that things start to feel a little underwhelming.

Battery life is not great: 24 hours with ANC enabled is simply not long enough. I had to charge these midweek, every week. Yes, charging is quick, but compared to headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM4C (27 hours with ANC), Nothing Headphone (1) (35 hours with ANC), and Sonos Ace Ultra (also 35 hours with ANC), I noticed how fast the Bose ran out of juice.

I am baffled that these headphones don’t have wear detection. It sounds like a little thing; you can just hit pause before you take off your headphones, after all. But after testing so many headphones with wear detection, many of which are cheaper than these Bose, I was honestly shocked at the omission and thought I needed to change something with my settings, until I remembered: This is by design.

Call quality may be the most overtly bad thing about these headphones. My colleagues have called out that I sounded oddly quiet and processed on Zoom calls, which typically shouldn’t happen with premium, $300-plus headphones. If I have to take these off and switch to the $170 Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro earbuds to take calls in a quiet room, it’s an issue that Bose needs to address.

The $370 MSRP might be my biggest issue with these headphones, since that’s pretty close to the $450 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)—which happened to be on sale for $400 on Amazon at the time of writing this review. That’s a $30 price difference for a much better pair of headphones.

Passing the Crown

Photograph: Harry Rabinowitz

Bose's QuietComfort-series headphones are iconic for a reason. This midrange option is comfortable, sounds great, and blocks out the world. But so do a lot of headphones in 2026. The $300 Sony WH-1000XM4C’s ANC isn’t as strong, but it has wear detection, better battery life, and a lower price. The $300 Nothing Headphone (1) is a bit less comfortable but has similarly great button controls and a vastly superior 35 hours of battery with ANC. Bose’s own QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) outclasses its sibling in most ways and doesn’t cost much more.

In the past, Bose could command such prices, but the competitive landscape has changed. By no means are these bad: The Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) are indeed quiet and comfortable and have great audio quality, more so than most headphones. For a lot of people, especially Bose loyalists or those who value music over phone calls, that might be enough. But at this price and with all the gripes, there are really good alternatives. I would wait for these headphones to go on sale (like they are right now, as of publication), or even consider the first-generation version if the price is right (under $200).