The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones represent a major step forward for the king of noise-canceling headphones, offering a more powerful listening experience and improved battery life. The all-new design also introduces Immersive Audio technology, which aims to provide a listening experience similar to Apple Spatial Audio.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra is the company's flagship noise-canceling headphone, replacing the Bose 700. The price has gone up to $429, but it comes with many additional features, including Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint connectivity, aptX Adaptive support, and touch volume control. The modern, lightweight design is comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. A neat carrying case is also included.

For the sake of clarity, it is important to understand that I only listened to Bose's new flagship headphones for half a day and would need more time to expand on some sections. But rest assured that I am already confident in the star rating I have given them. [Also, don't forget to check out our comparison of Bose's two new models in our Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones vs. Bose QuietComfort Headphones showdown, as well as our comparison of the QC Ultra Headphones vs. the Bose 700.

Does the new flagship model reign as the best noise-canceling headphones money can buy? Or has it been outdone by the ANC design of a slightly less expensive competitor? [The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are available at Bose.com and online at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and other online retailers for $429.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones replace the Bose 700 headphones, which were available in black and luxe silver options. The new Ultra model is available in black and white smoke color options.

It should be noted that the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 were $399 when they debuted in May 2019, so there is a $30 price increase for the new flagship QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Value.

The QC Ultra appears to combine the sharp exterior aesthetic of the 700 with the comfortable fit design of the QC45. Rugged aluminum makes up the bulk of the headphones, while premium leather wraps the headband and ear cups for optimal comfort. Padded headbands are also available.

Nice details include an accented yoke, matte finish, and multiple microphone holes. The included carrying case has also been redesigned, with cutouts that allow the cans to be folded and stored properly while on the move.

The design is more familiar and friendly than the AirPods Max, but the color options are less colorful.

The left cup has a 2.5mm headphone jack and USB-C input for charging, while the right cup has a connect button and control button.

When folded, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones fit into a rigid oval zipper pouch. Not only does this facilitate compact storage, but the case also seems to provide the protection needed for expensive headphones.

On the right ear cup, a short press on the control button activates the pause/playback toggle, while a longer press activates a carousel that can be set in the Bose app.

Also on the right ear cup is a capacitive volume rail that provides a raised band. We found the volume control to be intuitive to use and responsive. Wearing detection is also available.

The advanced microphone array provided excellent voice recognition and vocal capture when using digital assistants. Wake word activation of Alexa or Google Assistant instantly displayed voice commands.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones' universal spatialized audio is powered by proprietary digital signal processing software, so no matter what music source or streaming platform you use, you can benefit from immersive listening

Immersersersive audio is available in a variety of formats.

Immersive Audio made a phenomenal first impression; on the "Still" setting, I felt like I was listening to a live performance. There seemed to be space around the sound and it felt like it was enveloping my head. I'm not saying that it always felt completely natural, and some familiar musical elements were less noticeable with immersive audio enabled. However, I did get an impressive sense of spaciousness that seemed to anchor my head to a fixed point no matter where I moved it, and the "Motion" setting provided the same dynamic listening experience on the go, but the immersive sound experience was equally balanced to the same level on each ear cup.

These sound representations are more vibrant than what one would hear with Apple or Sony spatial audio. Needless to say, the QC Ultra's head tracking is amazingly accurate with zero latency.

The QC Ultra features CustomTune technology, which allows you to fine-tune the audio based on the unique characteristics of your ears. Besides, it supports aptX Adaptive for Bluetooth playback, which dynamically scales to increase the data rate from 279 kpbs to 420 kbps.

Bose's signature sound balance is rich, warm, and very pleasant, but I found the QC Ultra required some EQ tweaking to achieve a better balance.

It definitely has the most impressive noise-canceling performance I've encountered; set to Max, I could barely hear what was going on around me, and I can say that nearly 95% of unwanted sounds were muffled during testing. The blasts that caught my attention sounded like the background effects of a song.

The Bose Aware listening was equally satisfactory in situational awareness. Surrounding sounds and conversations sounded real, not as reproduced by the headphones' microphones.

Unfortunately, the QC Ultra Headphones did not surpass the Bose 700 in terms of voice call quality, which may sound shocking given the QC Ultra's flagship status and price, but that does not make it an inferior calling headset. It does not mean that it is an inferior calling headset. It performed well on wireless video and voice calls, filtering out background noise, but there were times when high-frequency sounds or wind would enter the conversation.

Bose states that the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones provide 24 hours of continuous listening on a full charge. However, this estimate drops to 18 hours when the immersive audio mode is enabled. In this regard, the Bose headphones are probably not the best headphones in terms of battery life. Close rivals include Sony's WH-1000XM5, which lasts 30 hours with ANC turned on, and Sennheiser's Momentum 4 Wireless, which lasts up to 60 hours with ANC playback.

QC Ultra fast charging is 3 hours on a 15-minute charge.

We were really impressed with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, and while $429 is certainly not cheap, the Immersive Audio performance is impressive, and many will appreciate the enveloping feeling that spatial audio technology brings to their favorite music. will love it.

The QC Ultra Headphones rank higher in styling, features, and functionality than their predecessors. A larger, sleeker microphone array with customizable settings pushes the Ultra's ANC performance to the max. Even the small changes made to the controls and design make the usability more practical and seamless, making the QC Ultra a near-perfect product in the noise-canceling headphone category.