According to Bose, this bravura efficiency is due to its CustomTune expertise. When the earbuds are taken from their charging case and positioned within the person’s ear, a short tone burst assesses the precise properties of the ear canal. In beneath half a second, the QCE II take the data and set themselves up, for each audio and ANC, to greatest complement the wearer’s particular traits. And then, by means of an encore, CustomTune stays vigilant for those who’re in “aware” mode, and can instantly kick within the noise canceling if a sudden loud noise ought to intrude.
Despite the shortage of headline codec compatibility, the QCE II are a unified, detailed, and spacious hear, and musical in a manner that must be a given however very often isn’t. Through the course of our testing, the Bose performed all the pieces from Warren Zevon’s Gorilla, You’re a Desperado to …and the World Laughs with You by Flying Lotus through the Cleveland Orchestra’s rampage by way of Orff’s O Fortuna—and at no level do they sound something lower than engaged and entertaining.
As is usually the case with Bose headphones, low frequencies are beneficiant, however right here they’ve correct attack-and-decay management to go together with their prodigious extension and appreciable weight. This stage of authority makes for first rate rhythmic expression, and recordings have a correct sense of momentum in addition to stable underpinnings. Detail ranges regarding texture are excessive, and there’s punch and finesse in equal measure.
At the other finish of the frequency vary, treble sounds assault politely. Bose has erred on the aspect of warning right here, however solely somewhat. There’s enough chunk and shine to the highest finish, nearly, and definitely no suggestion of hardness even at quantity. Some listeners could hanker after somewhat extra high-end aggression, however then once more, some listeners have by no means heard of tinnitus.
In between, the Bose do uncomplicated good work with singers of all sorts and all ranges of competence. The stage of perception accessible by way of the midrange means no element of timbre or approach is simply too minor or fleeting to flee the attentions of the QCE II. And consequently, vocalists are described with all their character and perspective intact.
The Bose consolidate all the frequency vary solidly, with a clean, bump-free journey from prime to backside. Overall tonality might be simply fractionally on the nice and cozy aspect of impartial when EQ settings are left nicely alone. Naturally, it’s doable to skew the presentation to your style throughout the app, though to be sincere, you’ll be hard-pressed to make a real enchancment. Different is about the very best you possibly can hope for.
It’s simple to think about “good taste” being excessive on the sonic want record when Bose was tuning the QCE II. That would possibly go some option to explaining the marginally inhibited dynamic response to large Orff-style shifts in quantity and depth. There’s distance between quiet and loud right here, after all, but it surely’s not fairly as marked as it’s by way of another equally priced alternate options. Where the low stage dynamic variations in devices or voices are involved, although, the Bose are on a lot surer floor.
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II are smaller and lighter than the mannequin they substitute, which places them on par with their apparent rivals. They are absolutely aggressive, if not class-leading, the place sound high quality, battery life, and person interfaces are involved. And on the subject of really canceling noise, it appears like solely Apple’s next-generation AirPods Pros have a shot at dethroning them. Which means we’ll be updating that best-of record immediately.
