Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds

The Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds take the legendary line into the world of true wireless earbuds, where they go toe to toe with some established rivals, such as the Sony WF-1000XM3, Apple Airpods Pro and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2. Bose has launched noise-cancelling in-ears and true wireless headphones before, but this is the first time it has combined the two technologies.

With plenty of tech to pack into the Quietcomfort Earbuds, the buds are pretty stocky in appearance. The earpieces don’t protrude massively from your ears, but the main body of the headphone is curved, so it blends in easier to the side of your head.

Our review pair came in a creamy Soapstone finish, but there is also this Triple Black option. Even some premium wireless earbuds can feel a bit cheap, but not these Boses. The smooth outer surfaces of the earpieces feel tactile, while the glossy plastic used for the driver enclosure is robust. The winged eartips boast a smooth, matt finish, which helps the impression of quality.

There’s a choice of small, medium and large tips, but the edges are generously sized, so it’s easy to get a good seal. The Boses feel lightweight and we have no issues listening for a few hours at a time. For the commute or exercise session (the Quietcomforts are sweat and weatherresistant) they are great to live with.

Battery life is a claimed six hours from a single charge, with an extra two charges from the case making 18 hours in total. A 15-minute quick-charge should give you a couple of hours if you’re caught short, and there’s the option of using the supplied USB-C cable or any Qi-certified wireless charging mat.

The charging case is a chunky affair, but at least it feels solid and built to last. You need to press a button on the front to gain entry and a row of LEDS on the front of the case shows you how much battery life is left inside.

When first using the Quietcomfort Earbuds, open the case and have the Bose Music app to hand. You’ll be prompted to pair and guided through all the key features. By default, you touch and hold your finger on the touchpad of the right earbud to access voice assistants or decline a call. Double-tap to play/pause and answer. Touch and hold your finger on the left earbud to skip a track or check the battery level. You can control volume by swiping up or down along the right earbud.

The Quietcomfort Earbuds use four mics to help with call quality and they work well to keep your voice sounding clear. But do they deliver Bose’s trademark, excellent noise-cancelling?

Bose has designed these in-ears to be as flexible as possible, so you can set them up to cancel noise based on your personal preferences. In the Bose music app, you’re presented with a noisecancelling sliding scale from zero to ten. You can assign three different positions as ‘Favourites’ and cycle through them by double tapping the left earpiece.

Experiment with the different levels and you’ll hear them cutting out huge swathes of background noise when on the maximum setting. Conversely, if you want more of the outside world to seep in, the headphones adapt perfectly. Take an earbud out to have a conversation and the Bose buds don’t just pause playback, they automatically cut the noisecancelling in the earbud left in your ear so you can hear more clearly.

That excellent noise-cancelling also allows the Bose’s superb sound quality to shine through unmolested. We kick things off with a spot of uplifting drum and bass in Delta Heavy’s White Flag VIP, and from the first beat we are captivated.

The sense of enthusiasm and excitement conveyed by the Bose buds is highly infectious. There’s power, poise and a fantastic sense of dynamism. Bass notes go deep but the Quietcomfort Earbuds still squeeze out lots of detail. The Bose sound is full of natural warmth and richness, but the music never sounds smothered – even with the noisecancelling on its highest setting.

Life and soul of the party

The Quietcomfort Earbuds can be the life of the party when the track warrants it, but they’re also versatile enough to allow the emotion and more subtle elements of a track to leave their mark.

Play Dave’s BRIT Awards 2020 performance of Black and the Boses convey the drama and emotion of the occasion perfectly. The vocal sounds pained and poignant while the strings and piano are natural and believable. There’s a richness to the sound that draws you in, and lyrics flow effortlessly as the Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds keenly extract every last ounce of detail. The Sennheiser True Momentum Wireless 2s have a slight edge in terms of dynamics and timing, however the Bose headphones boast superior noisecancelling, which could swing things in their favour. The pressure was on Bose to produce something special – and it hasn’t disappointed. The Quietcomfort Earbuds are great all-rounders, capable of impressive musicality and topped off with excellent noise cancelling. They’re more than a match for any rival.