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For years, any time someone asked what brand of headphones they should buy for a flight, the answer was a simple one syllable: Bose. The company\u2019s QuietComfort line had long been synonymous with drowning out plane noise on long flights. But over the last several years, the question has become an increasingly difficult one, as companies like Apple and Sony have shot to the top of the category.<\/p>\n
Back in mid-September, the company planted its flag in the sand once again. The well-loved QuietComfort line was getting a shakeup<\/a>, with three new entries: the $299 QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, $349 QuietComfort Headphones and the $429 QuietComfort Ultra headphones. The latter (which, as the headline suggests, is our focus today) replaces the $379 (now $279) Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700.<\/p>\n As naming conventions go, it\u2019s certainly simpler and more streamlined. At least you know where the Quiet Comfort Ultra Headphones stand relative to the QuietComfort Headphones (they\u2019re, you know, more ultra). You\u2019ve probably already balked at the price tag, as any reasonable, non-independently wealthy person would. The premium headphone race may have heated up, but it\u2019s not making the products any cheaper. We\u2019re eyewateringly close to hitting half-a-grand here.<\/p>\n Are any noise-cancelling Bluetooth headphone worth $429? That\u2019s a question I certainly can\u2019t answer for everyone. What I can say is that if any are, these are them. Bose has created some of the most comfortable and best sounding headphones I\u2019ve ever tested, coupled with best in class noise cancelation. These things are, indeed, the real deal.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Brian Heater<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Thankfully, Bose managed to deliver the pair before a cross country flight earlier this week. Unfortunately, it didn\u2019t occur to me to double check the size of the auxiliary jack. What can I say, it\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve actually worn a pair of Bose headphones on a flight (thank Sony for that), so I\u2019d forgotten that the headphones themselves sport a 2.5mm port, rather than the more standard 3.5mm. When all else fails, just go whatever they ship you in the box.<\/p>\n So, no seatback entertainment through the new QuietComfort for me this trip. That\u2019s fine, there\u2019s was nothing good on anyway. As for the rest of the flight, you\u2019re not going to beat these things in terms of comfort \u2014 they\u2019re lightweight and well-padded with a soft lining. The active noise canceling also did an excellent job eliminating the plane white noise and even a bit of the shrieking child toward the back. Not fully on that last bit, however \u2013 the technology just isn\u2019t there yet.<\/p>\n The ANC is good enough, however, that I had to actively switch to \u201caware\u201d mode when using the headphones during a podcast. With it activated, it was honestly too difficult to hear myself speaking, which threw me off (apologies to the interviewee on that one).<\/p>\n Pricing aside, there is one notable complaint. The battery life isn\u2019t on-par with other over-ear pairs, like Sony\u2019s \u200eWH-1000XM5<\/a> and the Beats Studio 3<\/a>. It got me through the aforementioned cross country flight, and should get you through a day no problem, but be forewarned that it\u2019s the one place where the Ultras fall short of the competition.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n