The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones were released almost exactly a year ago, and Amazon is currently selling them in the Lunar Blue color for $329, which is $100 off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (all other colors are listed). Last week, all four colors were available at this price during Amazon’s fall sale. Lunar Blue appears to be a limited edition, which could be the reason for the discount, or it could be Amazon’s way of keeping the sale engine burning after Prime Day at the end of October.
bose
This is a return to the lowest price ever for Bose’s upgraded noise-canceling headphones.
$329 on Amazon
Engadget’s Billy Steele reviewed these when they were released last October and gave them a respectable 86 points. The difference between this Ultra version and Bose’s standard QuietComfort headphones is that the Bose version has integrated spatial audio.
Some changes have also been made to the design, adding one multi-function control instead of three buttons to handle playback and mode functions. There’s also a touch strip to adjust the volume. Some of the plastic has been replaced with metal, providing the same high level of comfort as previous Bose cans, especially during long listening sessions. And of course, active noise cancellation is still one of the best.
When it comes to immersive audio (marquee features), sometimes it’s good. It works with all content, not just content it was created to support, such as Apple Music’s Dolby Atmos and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio. However, the results are different because they rely on signal processing rather than specially designed sounds. Sometimes it sounds great, sometimes not so much. But thankfully, Bose has improved the audio across the board, so even without the new features, the sound is warmer and clearer than the standard QC.
Our guide to the best wireless headphones mentions the QuietComfort Ultra, but their inconsistent spatial audio success makes the $100 price increase over standard QC (our current choice of ANC) not worth it. It points out that there is no. But with this discount, the blue QC Ultra headphones are now $20 cheaper than the originals. Might be a good day to buy the more expensive/less expensive version.
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