I’ve never been one for earbuds, as having little things sticking out of my ears isn’t something that paints a comfortable picture in my mind. How can little earbuds possibly block out all the noise of life’s annoyances? Well, I’ve been travelling all over the world with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds, using them in all kinds of places with all sorts of noise.
I believe I’ve been converted. Here’s why I think these are among the best earbuds, and why I’ve changed my stance on these little devices that go in your ears.
Unboxing the Bose wireless earbuds
When you first lay eyes on a box of Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds, you might feel a little underwhelmed. The box is small, compact. But remember, good things come in small packages. Once you open the box, you’ll realise you have everything you need to get started with your new earbuds.
You’ve got a charging cable, case which includes the earbuds, and rubber covers to change the size of the earbuds. These come in small and large, and include both an inner ear covering and a larger covering, designed to snugly fit on the outer part of your ear.
The case has a nice matte feel, and after taking the earbuds out, I wondered how they go back into the case. At first glance it looks like one of those difficult-to-solve metal puzzles, but instead, the earbuds are fairly intuitive to put back in the case. Everything on the case is magnetic, so the Bose earbuds naturally click into place and the lid clicks shut.
The earbuds come partly charged so you can get going right away. Once the earbuds are inside the case and the lid is shut, charging will commence. This is super convenient as you can charge the earbuds fully, and charge the case fully and you’ll have plenty of battery life. According to the specs, you’ll receive a total of 24 hours charge with the case.
In real-terms, I’ve never had an issue with low battery whilst using these for travelling, work meetings, and playing games. My longest trip was 47 hours with 22 hours total flying (one way) and I had zero issues with the battery life.
There’s a decent little bit of weight to the case, making it feel tactile. It’s really compact, so be careful not to lose it at the bottom of your bag, or leave it in an airport security tray.
Connecting the earbuds to a device
One thing I really love, is when technology just works. When things are intuitive and perform as they should. This is another reason why I love the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds. Setting up and connecting the earbuds was very straightforward. The earbuds immediately went into Bluetooth pairing mode when turned on. My phone detected the earbuds and gave me the option to connect.
Once connected, I get a fun startup sound coming from the earbuds. I also wanted to connect the earbuds to my Nintendo Switch so I could play games on the plane. Again, this was a simple process, and required minimal effort. I put the earbuds into Bluetooth pairing mode by holding down the button on the back of the case (this I worked out myself as it’s very similar to the way Bluetooth pairing works with other devices). Immediately there was a “Bluetooth pairing on” voice coming from the earbuds.
By going to the audio settings on my Nintendo Switch, I found the earbuds with ease and connected with the click of a button. I love it when I turn on my earbuds and my Switch and I get a “Connected to Nintendo Switch” voice coming from the earbuds. It’s nice to know my devices talk to me.
Comfort
Now that I’m setup, what’s it like to wear earbuds? Before the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds, I’ve always had and used over-ear headphones. I’ve never liked the thought of having things in my ears, and never found it comfortable. Having things in my ears and sticking out was less desirable.
I was therefore very surprised that when I put the Bose earbuds on for the first time, they were comfortable. I used the smaller silicon covers, and the sealing around the buds felt comfortable and not intrusive. Wearing them for hours on a plane worried me at first, but the earbuds didn’t bother me at all. In fact, they made it easier to sleep on a plane because I didn’t have a huge cup covering one side of my face, nor a band pressing down on my head.
I also like that the Bose earbuds don’t stick out too much. They are fairly inconspicuous and look stylish, rather than something out of your bathroom.
Ultra noise cancelling
My main reason for purchasing earbuds or headphones is to block out noise. I spend a lot of time on a plane or in busy, noisy environments and I want to be able to go about my business in peace. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds live up to their hype as one of the best noise cancelling devices around. When the earbuds turn on, active noise cancelling kicks in, and it makes a very noticeable difference.
Whilst you can still hear noises, the active noise cancelling blocks the majority of sound. Loud conversations and children’s screams turn to whispers. All the background noise is pretty much gone, which means general sounds in a plane—the aircon, jet engines, announcements, general white noise—all died down to a hush. On my last trip, I couldn’t even hear my husband speaking to me and he was sitting right next to me! These earbuds allow me to sleep peacefully without worrying about being woken by crying children. Even sounds that should seem really loud, sound like they are far off in the distance.
Fair warning though, when you take these off, everything will sound so much louder. As a test, I wore them whilst working at my desk for a little while. I have a beefy computer, but I usually don’t notice any sound from it, it’s just white noise. After wearing the earbuds, and then taking them off, it sounded like my computer was a jet engine. My ears had adjusted to wearing the earbuds and everything that sounded like a normal volume previously, now sounded a lot louder. Don’t worry, your hearing goes back to normal after adjusting for a few minutes.
Voice calls and meetings
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds block out tonnes of sound and have been perfect for use on planes and in loud environments. Whilst I have primarily used the earbuds for movies and video games, you can also use them for calls with the built-in microphone.
The audio quality on voice calls is amazing. When I was chatting to a colleague over video call, it was a rather busy, noisy setting. The Bose earbuds blocked everything out and I could hear him talking very clearly. In turn, he could also hear me crystal clear. The microphone picked up my voice very well and transmitted it to the computer with no problems.
That’s now three devices I have tested with my earbuds (mobile phone, Nintendo Switch, laptop). I would really love to purchase one of those airplane booth adapters so I can connect my headphones to the onboard entertainment systems and watch movies rather than from my laptop.
Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds
So there you have it. I’m converted and now using these earbuds full time. They are so much smaller for fitting in hand luggage, travelling all over the world, and stashing in your bag for meetings on the fly. If you’re looking for your next earbuds, or maybe for a Christmas present, then the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds are your go to.
There are plenty of sales going around for Black Friday and you can grab a deal heading into Christmas. JB HiFi currently has $80 off the ticket price, bringing the earbuds down to $369 AUD.
You can buy direct from the BOSE website for free shipping at $369.99 AUD each ($80 off). The earbuds come in black, blue, smoke, and white. If you’re on a bit of a budget, opt for the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds at $244.95 AUD.
The main difference here is the overall look and feel of the earbuds. The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are a little bulkier and they don’t yet have Bose Immersive Audio. The earbuds themselves have a matte finish for the Bose QuietComfort, whereas the Bose QuietComfort Ultra version has a metallic cap finish.
Treat yourself or someone special this Christmas by picking up a pair of earbuds at a bargain price.
