Bose is fine known for its noise-canceling headphones and earbuds, and the high-end QuietComfort Ultra (9/10, WIRED recommends) are currently marked down to just $329 at Amazon, with the same discount at Best Buy. However, you’ll need to act fast, as both sites offer countdown timers with less than 24 hours remaining as of this writing.
The QuietComfort Ultra sits at the very top of our list of best noise-cancelling headphones, and for good reason. They sound great, with top-notch clarity and detail, and our reviewer Ryan Waniata was particularly impressed with the “fabulous instrumental separation” and “wide, spacious soundstage.” The bass is a bit boomy right out of the box, but a quick adjustment of the EQ can smooth that out, and even if you prefer big bass, it remains clear and punchy. They sound just as good during phone calls, in case you really need to concentrate while you work or chat.
Noise reduction is the star here, and there are really only two companies vying for the crown, Bose and Sony. Each company offers flagship headsets that do a remarkable job of keeping out the sounds of plane engines, crying babies, and your chatty neighbor, with performance so close that we have a dedicated guide comparing the two. There’s also a great transparency mode for when you need to stay a little more alert, but still want to keep the music going.
There are other features we’re less excited about, like a spatial audio mode that attempts to “spatialize” existing stereo tracks, which is a nice trick for some songs, but less so for more produced music or watching videos. There’s also optional head tracking that attempts to keep sound coming from the same locations when you turn around. They’re both a bit gimmicky and don’t help with the QuietComfort Ultra’s already average 24-hour battery life.
Even though Bose recently updated these extremely popular headphones, the new version isn’t much different from these. That means they’re still a great deal and one of our favorite noise-cancelling headphones, even though they’ve been on the market for a few years. Its price compared to some of its bigger competitors was a drawback, so the $100 reduction makes a big difference if that was a deal breaker.
