Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II review

It has been a long time waiting for the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II, but it brought Bose back to the top of the portable earbud and noise-cancelling game. Priced at USD 299 or $379 CAD, they’re priced higher than most of the other headphones in this category. With some of the best in class audio for 2023, the second-generation QuietComfort Earbuds are definitely premium and have excellent bass performance, noise cancellation and balanced audio to make it an enjoyable experience. Read on, and you’ll understand why it is our Editors’ Choice for Noise Cancelling in 2023.

Inside the Box

So despite the premium price, what’s in the box is much what you’d expect. The usual USB-C charging case, USB-A to USB-C charging cable, multiple ear tips for different ear fits and a mini-safety/warranty manual. All in all, these are all fairly standard.

For premium earbuds, perhaps the only thing missing was a charging block. At this point, it seems like everyone’s eliminated the chargers. Unfortunately, unless you’ve got a collection of space USB-C charging ports available, you will want to pick up one to make charging easy.

The charging case weighs in at 59.8g, and the headphones at a mere 6.24 g. The charging case measures 5.94 cm H x 6.63 cm W x 2.67 cm D, and the headphones at 1.72 cm H x 3.05 cm W x 2.24 cm D.

Audio Quality

Something that shouldn’t come as a surprise is that Bose has one of the most consistent audio experiences of any major brand. These headphones are no exception to that.

Overall the sound profile is balanced while being perhaps a little bass-forward. The high-frequency notes are sharp, and the lows are subtle but distinct.

Their fit-checking process during setup makes these earbuds stand out in improving audio quality. From a slight hum of a tone, the earbuds confirm the fit in your ears and tune them accordingly. This is through Bose’s proprietary CustomsTune technology, which doesn’t require much custom equalization to make the sound outstanding.

Call quality on the earbuds is the one area of this device that doesn’t stand out. The headphones perform adequately when it comes to wind noise removal; however, when it comes to processing large amounts of chatter or a noisy office – they struggle a bit.

Features

Active Noise Cancellation is where the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 begin to shine and set them apart from other less expensive devices (i.e. Apple AirPods or Pixel Buds.) Unlike previous generations, Bose has greatly improved their noise-cancellation technology. Now Bose offers additional modes like “aware” to the QC2 Earbuds. It allows the wearer to shift their listening mode to adapt to more environments when being totally isolated might not be appropriate.

The lack of wireless charging takes a toll on the overall appeal of the QC2 Earbuds. Lesser expensive devices again, like the Google Pixel Buds and the Apple AirPods both offer wireless charging, so if that feature is important to you, you will want to take a pass on these.

Independent earbud playback was identified as an issue when the QC2’s were initially released. After a firmware update in February, Bose enabled the feature and resolved a complaint from the initial release.

Price

It’s not a stretch to say that if these are going to be your daily headphones, the price is worth it. The active noise cancellation and overall extremely balanced sound make it worth the investment. Bose tends to have, albeit infrequent, sales on their hardware, but if the price is your principal concern, some reasonable competitors might strike the price balance a little better (i.e. Sony WF-1000XM4 for 249 CAD or the Google Pixel Buds Pro for 249 CAD.)

Regarding purchasing, most major retailers carry the Bose QC2 Earbuds like BestBuy or Amazon. Bose’s online store does offer first responders, medical staff, military and others attractive discounts directly and has regular sales. We are not paid for referrals to any retailer or company and recommend you shop around on various sites for the best deals, especially for premium products such as these.