Engadget84
An all-round upgrade with better sound and noise cancelling, very light and comfortable, at an unchanged price.
Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen)
4 expert reviews#18 of 20 noise-cancelling headphones
Image: Bose3/4critics
recommend
recommend
Best for comfort and noise cancelling
Critics’ consensus
4 professional reviewers tested the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen), and 3 recommend it. Most praised: noise cancelling and comfort. Most common complaint: price.
Reviewed by Engadget, Expert Reviews, Trusted Reviews and 1 more
The catch: Battery life is average, and the price sits close to the Ultra model.
Broad agreement
Scores run from 70 to 84All 4 scores printed by the outlets
Early score: only 4 professional reviews so far. Expect it to move as more reviews come in.
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What do critics say about the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen)?
Expert Reviews80
Very comfortable travel headphones with class-leading noise cancellation and good sound.
Trusted Reviews80
Clearly better than the first generation with stronger ANC, comfy design and useful immersive modes, but pricing is tricky as the Ultra model costs little more.
Tom's Guide70
Superb comfort, physical controls and world-class noise cancelling, but the lack of wear detection, average battery and no IP rating dent them for the price.
Scores are converted to 0–100. "est." means the outlet gave no number, so we estimated one from its verdict and checked our estimates against ratings outlets print. How we check estimates
What critics praise most
Noise cancelling4 of 4
Comfort4 of 4
What critics dislike most
Price2 of 4
Alternatives
Not sure about the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen)?
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Image: Bowers
Image: Technics
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- Focal Bathys MG · 3 reviews so far
- JBL Live 780NC · 3 reviews so far
- Sennheiser HDB 630 · 3 reviews so far
- Soundcore Space One · 3 reviews so far
Common questions
Is the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) worth it?
Most critics think so: 3 of 4 recommend it. Battery life is average, and the price sits close to the Ultra model.
Do critics agree about the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen)?
Broad agreement: scores range from 70 (Tom's Guide) to 84 (Engadget), a spread of 14 points across 4 reviews. Most reviewers land fairly close together.
What do critics dislike about the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen)?
Price (2 of 4 reviews).
What is the best alternative to the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen)?
The Dali IO-8 (critic score 92), top pick, narrowly.