Bose QuietComfort Ultra Bluetooth Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones for music with Spatial Audio, Over-the-Ear Headphones with Mic, Up to 24 Hours of Battery Life, Black

I tested these headphones in comparison with the Sony WH-1000XM5, Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 and Sennheiser Momentum 4. Despite the cons below, I chose the QC Ultra over the others based on sound quality and ANC effectiveness. It was a very close run thing with the Sennheiser.ProThe sound quality is outstanding, with sparkling, punchy dynamic sound. Vocals and guitars sound great, treble is smooth and bass is deep. I think the sound is easily a match for the Cambridge Audio and Sennheiser phones and streets ahead of the Sony. I hear something new in every one of my favourite tracks, which makes me want to re-visit them all.The ANC is the best I have experienced, it blocks out almost everything - TV in the same room only just makes it through, but not enough to distract from podcasts at normal listening levels. Once, I was listening to a podcast while using a cordless stick hoover and I didn't even notice that it had run out of battery - the ANC is that good! There are no strange artifacts when moving around a room.I found the headphones very comfortable - the clamping force is just right for me and my ears did not get too hot. In terms of weight, they are about the same as the Sony and much lighter than the Cambridge Audio.ConI find the controls fiddly - I can never find the main button for play/pause/skip. There is a touch slider control for volume and custom function, which I also miss every time!*Update - I'm getting used to the controls now and can find them about 50% of the time!There is a base level of hiss which can be heard when there is no audio input - you can also just about hear it when listening to podcasts at normal levels, it does not change with the volume level, ANC level or EQ setting. You get used to the hiss over time, I hardly notice it now.The immersive audio feature only makes a small minority of my music sound better - the rest just sound strangely different. Also, it makes speech sound even stranger! The head tracking feature is a silly gimmick - they should have spent the money on designing better amplifier circuitry. I keep the immersive audio switched off.

*Please be aware this review is being written from a totally blind person's perspective. *As I’ll be one of the first to review these headphones due to how new they are, I’ll try to go into as much detail as possible. First off, upon opening the box, you are greeted by a simple layout. The box purely contains the case and the manual. The case is more of an oval shape compared to the NC700, which is more of a square. Inside the case you’ll find the headphones, USB C to A charging cable and an audio cable if you want to connect it to a wired source.Opening the case up, the headphones feel very sleek, around the same size as other pairs, but the first thing I noticed was the fact the cushions mould seamlessly with the headphones, creating a complete seal. There is not that tiny gap like on the NC700 and others. What I liked immediately though was the fact the cushions slip into place with the use of six little tabs which simply snap into place. It’s a lot easier, for me at least, than trying to line them up with a tiny crack as with previous designs.When you turn them on, they have to be on both ears to activate, so Bose can use its tuning technology to personalise to the shape of your ears. This has to be done every time you put them on, turning them on with only one earcup in place won’t work.They truly live up to their name of ‘quiet comfort,’ I am wearing them right now as I type this, and you can almost forget you’re wearing headphones, you can hardly feel them, they almost mould to your head. They truly do hug your ears. The most comfortable pair I’ve ever owned. I also like how the Bluetooth and power button is slightly indented, whereas the multi-function button is perfectly smooth. The volume strip is also able to be felt, and I love how you just swipe it with a finger to change the volume, and you can also configure a shortcut to it, in the Bose Music App.Now moving on to connecting them, it’s just the same as with previous Bose headphones. Turn them on, you’ll hear the tone, and then the voice prompt will tell you they are ready to connect. Select your device and away you go. You can also store up to 8 Bluetooth devices in the headphones, which is a nice feature.The noise cancelling is without doubt the best I have heard yet. You can hardly hear anything when it’s on ‘quiet’ mode. You can also adjust the level of ANC you want, plus in aware mode, there are also ‘active sense’ settings, which block out loud noises by briefly turning on ANC, then turn it off again when the sound stops. This is good for if you're in a restaurant and a blender starts up, for example. These also have ‘wind block’ which mutes the microphones for NC while you’re on a call, so you don’t hear the wind against them. The person on the other end will still hear it though.Now the highlight, the immersive audio. I personally think it’s incredible. I’ve heard details in my music I’d never heard before, it gives the song or other content a completely new layer of depth. Bose weren’t kidding about that. I also have the Apple Air pods Max and these knock spots off those for their spacial audio and head tracking. It really does sound like the music is coming from a speaker in front of you, it sounds like the speaker nearest you when you turn your head, whichever way you turn it. I flicked between spacial and stereo, and I tell you what, I’ll never go back. Stereo sounds bland in comparison to this. I will always use spacial now wherever possible. The base is full, as is the treble and mid-range. You don’t miss anything, just like the artist intended. If you’re like me, you won’t go back either!As soon as I heard these were coming out, I just had to get them. It’s my birthday next month and my family said they would pay for them, but I just had to have them now and wow I do not regret it at all, and neither will you! Just one final note, I researched it last night and Bose will be releasing Ultra ear cushion kits for these headphones soon so we can buy replacements, if necessary, mine will probably wear quickly the amount I’m going to use them. I’ll probably use them on my work laptop too. All in all, yes, their pricey, but your ears will thank you, for both the superior comfort and second to none sound at the same time. Worth every penny, happy listening!Edit: (Because I struggled with this too,) if you want to clear the Bluetooth list and start over, press the power and multi-function buttons at the same time for a few seconds while the headphones are on, until the voice says 'bluetooth device list cleared.'