Bose QuietComfort Ultra vs Bose QuietComfort 35 II: Why new isn’t always better

I bought my pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 II headphones as a birthday gift to myself over five years. I had just started my first tech job in New York making real money and they were a splurge for me at $381 after tax. It took me a couple of months to convince myself to pull the trigger and I decided they were necessary for two reason. First, they were ubiquitous in my noisy open-concept office. Sitting with the sales and marketing team meant hearing other peoples’ conversations for eight hours a day. Others wised up to that fact and had their own pairs, so I got a pair too. The second reason was because I wanted to celebrate my accomplishment of getting the job. I had worked hard and I deserved something nice.

Since then, my QC35’s have been all around the world on dozens of flights, subway trains, and gym sessions or runs. My first work trip was a month after I received them - a week-long hackathon in Bengaluru, India - where the noise-cancellation completely silenced the sounds of the airplane, from the hum of the engines to the din of conversations. I can honestly say that I haven’t boarded a flight without them since then. They’ve also gotten me through some other noisy situations such as an inconsiderate upstairs neighbor in our Brooklyn pre-war apartment. But five years is a long time to own a pair of headphones.

I’ve replaced the ear cups every two years (2021 and 2023 - $19 on Amazon) and the headband has started to deteriorate from regular wear-and-tear such as being shoved into a backpack or sitting on a thick layer of hairspray. The sound quality has remained the same as the day that I got them.

On our last trip to Puerto Rico, my wife finally convinced me to upgrade them, despite my protests. I had given her a pair of Sony WH-1000XM4s after Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse became a big deal and the headphones were being promoted all over the internet. She loves them.

I went on Amazon at the airport and bought a pair of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones, which launched last fall. They arrived the next day.

After trying them out for a full 24 hours, I decided that I made a huge mistake and processed a return. Here’s why I decided to stick with my QC 35 II and send the QC Ultra back.

The Feel and build quality

The photos above are of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra.

The headphones sit on my head for hours a day so the feel and build quality matter a lot. The original pair had the perfect head squeeze and the materials used (leatherette, metal, plastic) made the headphones feel sturdy. The QC Ultra felt very cheap and plasticky while attracting fingerprints to the headband and not doing very much in terms of aesthetic appeal when sitting on my head. All over-ear headphones look a bit goofy, but having them feel goofy is too much. My current pair has lasted five years. I would have serious concerns about the Ultra headphones lasting as long.

Controls and user experience

When my Blackberry Bold finally kicked the bucket, I was devastated. I didn’t want to switch to an iPhone because the tactile buttons were more ergonomic and comforting than jabbing my finger or thumbs at a flat piece of glass. The QuietComfort 35 II has buttons that are intuitive and pleasant to press. There’s a switch to turn them on and off (and to toggle the Bluetooth by holding it to the side), play/pause button (one press for pause, two for next song, three for previous song) and volume buttons, and a voice assistant button. Maybe it’s a generational thing, but I like buttons and switches. The new Quiet Comfort Ultra headphones have two buttons, but the volume is a touch-sensitive slider that doesn’t react well in my experience. The QC 35 II had the Bose Connect app and the Ultra uses a new app. I didn’t care much for the original one, but the new one is painfully slow to react to inputs, particularly when it comes to volume. I don’t feel like there is much use for the added noise-cancellation modes and the gimmicky mode where the sound follows you. Just let me choose between ANC, no ANC, and strength of ANC.

Sound quality and usability

The photos above are of my original Bose QuietComfort 35 II

Their app has an equalizer which lets you adjust bass, mids, and treble. I was grateful for the equalizer because the standard audio is lacking at worst, and at best has not had an improvement to the noise-cancellation or quality of sound. Despite the inflated cost, it doesn’t seem like Bose has innovated - just iterated - on what works well. The bells and whistles and chiming or whistling for me. The sound quality on the QC 35 II has held up perfectly.

Cost vs. value

The QuietComfort Ultra headphones cost roughly $430 with taxes, which is about the same as my original headphones cost after five years of inflation. However, there haven’t been enough features or improvements to warrant my buying a brand new model. The value isn’t there. In some ways, this is praise for Bose because they created a great pair of headphones with the QuietComfort 35 II. They’ve lasted so long because of the spectacular build quality, sound quality, and general aesthetics. I said that in this time, I’ve replaced the ear cups twice with third-party parts which was very easy and inexpensive. I just ordered a replacement piece for the headband which cost me $22. It’ll make my QC 35 II look good as new.

Is anything better about the Ultra headphones?

It’s said that the QC Ultra holds a charged for four more hours (though it charges a full half hour slower) and can charge up three hours of usage in only three minutes. I also appreciate that the new pair uses USB-C as opposed to micro-USB. Other than longer listening and not having to drag another cable around when I travel, I can’t think of any other benefits.

Both include a carrying case (I never use my case), both have an audio jack for when your battery dies (or you want to watch movies on a plane that doesn’t have Bluetooth or you just prefer the audio cable), and both cancel noise.

Conclusion

In summary, I was disappointed and should have trusted my gut. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones fall short of the high standards set by the headphones that preceded them by five years. There have been at least two models of over-ear Bose headphones since (QC 45, Bose 700 which are not QC), but despite all of this time, my QC 35 II headphones continue to deliver the same great performance, ease of use, and durability. The newer model’s shortcomings in sound and build quality, controls, and user experience, with the added cost in the hundreds of dollars make it an unworthy successor.

I’m returning the QC Ultra headphones to Amazon today and will happily keep using my QC 35 II.

They’re still available for around $300.