Bose moves Ultra-only Immersive Audio down to its $359 QuietComfort headphones

The purchase gets decided in seat 27B, about ten minutes after the doors close. On the first-generation QuietComfort you ran a 3.5mm cable from the armrest and watched the film ^[7]. The second-gen pair has one wired port, USB-C, so the film now depends on the USB-C to 3.5mm cable Bose puts in the box ^[7][8]. Leave that cable in a hotel drawer and the replacement Engadget's review names is a $30 accessory like the AirFly for wireless use ^[8].

The feature Bose had been using to sell the Ultra has moved down the line. Immersive Audio, the spatial mode that upscales any film, show or track without specially created content, was exclusive to the Ultra line until now ^[3]. It is on the cheaper model, along with Cinema Mode for dialogue ^[4] and CustomTune, which calibrates both audio and cancellation to the acoustic properties of your ears ^[5]. Wired listening over USB-C goes to 24-bit/48kHz, and the headphones charge while you use them ^[6].

The price held at $359, the same as the first generation charged at debut ^[1]. The Ultra sits at $449 ^[2]. The gap is $90, so the flagship asks about 25 percent more than a model that now carries its signature audio feature ^[15]. Engadget's review calls the $359 price "a compelling alternative" to the Ultra ^[14].

People put these on to hear less of the fan above the desk; product decks sell a spatial mode. The review's performance finding is about the first thing, noting the model does well against constant noise sources like fans and respectably lowers the volume on human voices ^[13]. ActiveSense, the other ANC addition, applies cancellation when the headphones detect sudden noise spikes in Aware mode, and Bose says it now returns to ambient sound more naturally ^[9].

For anyone who wears glasses, the change that lands sooner is Bose's claim that the system better compensates for changes in the ear cup seal caused by frames ^[10]. Bose is the only source for that so far. You can test it in the first hour of ownership.

Take each thing the Ultra still does that this model does not, and put it in one of two columns: features you would notice missing on the second day of ownership, and features you would only notice missing in a spec comparison. Immersive Audio has just left that list entirely ^[3]. If the first column comes out empty, buy the $359 pair and accept that the wired path now runs through a single adapter you have to keep track of ^[8].