By aspect — in detail
Isolation
Strong consensus9 srcThe headline strength and the clearest point of agreement: the active noise cancellation is rated best- or near-best-in-class, with fine-grained adjustable levels and a well-liked transparency mode. Two caveats recur. You can't switch ANC fully off — only lower it — and a vocal minority report a faint self-noise hiss, an eardrum-pressure feeling, or 'popping' clicks when walking on the strongest setting. But on raw quieting power, sources line up.
“noises like bus engines, train screeches, and airplane whines will have their loudness reduced by about 87%”
SoundGuys (Christian Thomas)
“we think the Bose actually have the edge over the Sony WH-1000X5 in this department, which is no mean feat.”
What Hi-Fi?
Measured
SoundGuys measures outside noise reduced by ~87% (ANC sub-score 8.5) and rates isolation excellent. Bose offers 11 ANC/transparency levels but no true off; What Hi-Fi notes the system occasionally emphasised a sudden door clunk instead of subduing it, and owners on r/bose describe ANC hiss and pressure/popping while moving — real-world quirks the static cancellation figure doesn't capture.
Comfort
Strong consensus9 srcBose's signature, and the second pillar of agreement: light (~250–254 g), plush and well-clamped, with reviewers repeatedly calling it the most comfortable over-ear they've worn — ahead of the Sony XM5 and AirPods Max for long sessions. The clamp is a touch firmer than Sony's (some prefer that); a small minority find the ANC pressure or grip tiring, but comfort is essentially uncontested.
“easily some of the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever worn, out-comforting the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM5 or the AirPods Max.”
Tom's Guide
“I think the QuietComfort Ultra is deserving of no less than a perfect score when it comes to Comfort.”
RecordingNow (ODi Productions)
Measured
~250–254 g (SoundGuys measures 253 g) with wide cups, angled drivers and a well-judged clamp that What Hi-Fi notes is slightly stronger than the Sony's. Pleather pads seal well without running hot for most; the recurring discomfort reports are about ANC pressure, not the fit itself.
Broad agreement on the shape, with the valence living in the bass and value below: a warm, rich, full-bodied consumer voicing that's a genuine step up for Bose and, courtesy of CustomTune, leans on a good seal. Against the Sony XM5 the trade is consistent — the Bose sounds weightier and more entertaining, the Sony leaner and more transparent — so 'best-sounding ANC can' vs 'still behind on neutrality' comes down to taste and how much you reach for the 3-band EQ.
“Highs and lows are painted with a sense of richness and refinement which we think will be hugely appealing to potential buyers.”
What Hi-Fi?
“the music sounded remarkably clean, nicely balanced”
TechRadar (Lee Bell)
Measured
CustomTune auto-calibrates the sound to each listener's ears, so there's no single static tuning; the out-of-box voicing is warm and bass-elevated, and the app's 3-band (bass / mid / treble) EQ is the main shaping tool — narrower than rivals' multi-band EQs.
Genuinely split, and it tracks your reference point and EQ habits. Out of the box the low end is elevated; one camp hears it as excessive and boomy — overpowering the mix until you dial it back — while the other hears clean, tight, well-controlled bass that finally sheds the bloated 'Bose bass' stereotype. The 3-band EQ (a few dB of bass cut) is the repeated fix, and reviewers who EQ tend to land in the second camp.
Measured
The stock voicing is bass-elevated (SoundGuys notes the cans suit a bass-head and EQ presets exist specifically to reduce bass); RecordingNow and Tom's Guide both reach for a bass cut, after which the low end reads as full but controlled. How much sub-bass you get also depends on pad seal.
Where it splits
Excessive and boomy out of the box — a 'wall of bass' that overpowers the mix until you EQ it down.54%
“It has a habit of running rampant, like a bull in a china shop.”
Tom's Guide
Clean, tight and well-controlled — textured and defined, not the bloated 'Bose bass' of old.46%
“Every note is tightly defined and they have no problem painting texture and giving them shape.”
What Hi-Fi?
Quietly well-regarded: vocals and instruments come across clean, present and well-bodied, a range Bose has long handled well. The main caveat is indirect — with the stock bass lift, the midrange can get a little buried until you tame the low end.
“The mids are well defined for guitars and vocals, with loads of lovely acoustic body”
Tom's Guide
“Vocals and instruments are extremely detailed and fairly dynamic.”
RecordingNow (ODi Productions)
Consistently called smooth and detailed without turning strident or sibilant — crisp highs, clean cymbals, no obvious hot peaks. Not the airiest or most resolving top end you can buy, but the kind of inoffensive, non-fatiguing treble that suits long listening, and uncontested in direction.
“The highs are detailed and crisp”
Tom's Guide
“Bose did a great job of smoothening out the treble frequencies, so they never sound too strident or sibilant”
RecordingNow (ODi Productions)
Rated resolving and refined for a wireless ANC headphone — clean, layered, with reviewers noting they heard more in familiar tracks (RecordingNow's strongest praise lands after EQ). It isn't open-back transparency, and there's measurable distortion in the mix, but detail is a clear plus rather than a point of contention.
“The detail and resolution in these (after EQ) is simply incredible.”
RecordingNow (ODi Productions)
“Richly detailed, hugely enthusiastic performer.”
What Hi-Fi?
Measured
SoundGuys flags some distortion (MDAQS distortion ~3.2 of 5) that it judges inaudible to most buyers; resolution is DSP-tuned and best over wireless, since the analog wired mode bypasses the tuning.
Lightly covered but positive where raised: a punchy, enthusiastic delivery with a real sense of drive, which is part of why several reviewers call the sound 'entertaining.'
“Punchy, dynamic delivery”
What Hi-Fi?
The debate here is really about Immersive Audio, Bose's spatial mode, and it splits sharply. One camp finds it genuinely expansive and well-engineered — more than the usual spatial gimmick; the other finds it thin, over-processed and distracting (with audible phase shifts on head movement), and leaves it off. It also costs battery (24 h drops to 18 h), and even fans say they rarely use it day to day.
Measured
Immersive Audio cuts rated battery from 24 h to 18 h; What Hi-Fi hears delay and phase issues as the processing tracks head motion, and finds it track-dependent (great on some songs, 'overly processed' on others). The non-spatial stage is ordinary for a sealed ANC headphone.
Where it splits
Immersive Audio genuinely widens the stage — closer to Apple's spatial audio than a gimmick.43%
“I found it quite good and totally comparable to Spatial Audio on Apple headphones.”
RecordingNow (ODi Productions)
A thin, over-processed gimmick that's distracting and ends up switched off.57%
“it only serves to make things sound thinner rather than more immersive”
Tom's Guide
Imaging
Thin evidence1 srcBarely discussed in its own right — most reviews fold placement into the spatial-audio question. The one measurement-minded note is that head-tracking processing and slight channel imbalance can nudge spatial cues off. Too thinly covered to call.
“some of the spatial cues can be a little off”
SoundGuys (Christian Thomas)
The most argued non-sonic axis. One camp sees a premium, metal-accented design that feels a step above the all-plastic Sony XM5; the other finds it creaky and rattly, with thin pleather, a fingerprint-prone finish, and worrying durability reports (squeaking hinges, pads and headbands wearing or cracking within months). The metal yokes and arms are real, but so are the owner complaints about how it feels and lasts for the money.
Measured
Metal yokes and arms with pleather over the headband and cups; no ingress (water/sweat) rating, and a gloss finish that shows fingerprints. Owner threads repeatedly cite creak/squeak from the hinges, thin-feeling pleather, and earpad or hinge wear within months — the source of the build split.
Where it splits
Premium and metal-accented — feels a step above the all-plastic Sony XM5.36%
“The Bose feel a bit more premium than the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM5”
What Hi-Fi?
Creaky, rattly and thin-feeling for the price, with real durability worries.64%
“Shake them and they rattle like a bag of bolts”
Tom's Guide
The $429 price is where the verdict forks. One camp judges it premium-but-fair: nothing matches the ANC-plus-comfort package, and it looks better on discount. The other calls it overpriced next to the Sony WH-1000XM5 and Sennheiser Momentum 4 — which often cost less and sound as good or better — especially given the build gripes and trailing battery. Owner ratings are high but carry a larger one-star tail than Bose's reputation suggests.
Measured
Launched at $429 / £449.95 / AU$649.95 — the priciest Bose headphones at the time. The Sennheiser Momentum 4 typically sells ~$100 less and the Sony WH-1000XM5 often undercuts it too, which is the core of the overpriced argument; the counter is that neither matches the Bose on ANC and comfort.
Where it splits
Premium but fair — class-leading ANC and comfort justify the price, especially on discount.59%
“Overall performance, features and build justify the price, even more so when on a discount”
What Hi-Fi?
Overpriced next to the Sony XM5 and Sennheiser Momentum 4, which cost less.41%
“there are better-sounding headphones for the same money”
Tom's Guide
