Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones
Shares rank 6 of 7 noise-cancelling headphones by recommenders
People recommend them for comfort and noise cancelling that beats AirPods and Powerbeats, though critics find the sound mediocre and the lack of an ANC-off mode frustrating.
People recommend them for comfort and noise cancelling that beats AirPods and Powerbeats, though critics find the sound mediocre and the lack of an ANC-off mode frustrating.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 9
- approval share
- 36%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Comfortable, lightweight, roomy earcups
“live up to their name for comfort. Very lightweight and the earcups are large enough that they don't pinch”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2” “the QC Ultra is a lot more comfortable reliable on day to day usage”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Cannot turn noise cancelling off
“You cannot have noise-cancelling off for better battery life or to cope with windy conditions”
Comment from 14 Mar 2026 in “Wired headphone sales are exploding. What's with the Bluetooth backlash?” “The sound was mediocre at best and you can't turn NC off”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them” Sound quality not as good as rivals
“a $170 pair of closed-backs sounds infinitely better than the $550 Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra nonsense”
Comment from 5 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces MacBook Neo” “Neither sound as good, even after EQing them as close to the Harman curve”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2” “The sound was mediocre at best and you can't turn NC off”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them” Expensive for what you get
“Nearly $400 headphones and they have an LED that glows while charging so I can't charge them in my room at night”
Comment from 19 Jun 2026 in “If your product is Great, it doesn't need to be Good (2010)” “a $170 pair of closed-backs sounds infinitely better than the $550 Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra nonsense”
Comment from 5 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces MacBook Neo” “not a fan of the bose qc ultra over-ear despite the cost”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “Wired headphone sales are exploding. What's with the Bluetooth backlash?” Charging LED and power-off quirks
“Nearly $400 headphones and they have an LED that glows while charging so I can't charge them in my room at night”
Comment from 19 Jun 2026 in “If your product is Great, it doesn't need to be Good (2010)” “the headphones turn off when plugged in and have to be turned back on while charging”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2”
Other noise-cancelling headphones people recommend
The four most recommended other noise-cancelling headphones, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AirPods Max | 56 | 104 | 35% | 6 | 3 yrs8 owners | — |
| Sony WH-1000XM5 | 23 | 17 | 58% | 6 | — | — |
| Bose QuietComfort headphones | 22 | 2 | 92% | 5 | 10 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| Sennheiser Momentum 4 | 7 | 1 | 88% | 3 | — | — |
| Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphonesThis page | 5 | 9 | 36% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“That's way better in terms of ANC and sound quality than AirPods or Powerbeats”
“Nearly $400 headphones and they have an LED that glows while charging so I can't charge them in my room at night”
“Best in class are the Bose QuietComfort Ultra”
“Neither sound as good, even after EQing them as close to the Harman curve”
“it is hard to convey how effortless the Max are in comparison”
“the QC Ultra is a lot more comfortable reliable on day to day usage”
“live up to their name for comfort. Very lightweight and the earcups are large enough that they don't pinch”
“the headphones turn off when plugged in and have to be turned back on while charging”
“I'm now a very happy QC Ultra 2 user. Can't recommend enough.”
“not a fan of the bose qc ultra over-ear despite the cost”
“You cannot have noise-cancelling off for better battery life or to cope with windy conditions”
“a $170 pair of closed-backs sounds infinitely better than the $550 Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra nonsense”
“are of comparatively very poor quality”
“The sound was mediocre at best and you can't turn NC off”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.