Shape sound according to your needs with Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II

Photo by Reign Reyes

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II shapes sound according to your listening needs. While most audio devices market their products as “noise-canceling”, this earbud’s selling point is its proprietary active and passive sound innovations. This means that you can cancel noise or enable it depending on your current activity.

By utilizing the latest technology, however, this pair of earbuds sell for an outstanding price of ₱19,500. The question is, what makes a pair of earbuds worth that much?

Contents inside the box when you purchase Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II: a pair of earbuds, 3 pairs of ear tips, 3 pairs of stability bands, a charging case, a type-C cable, and a quick start guide | Julia Reign Reyes

Active and Passive Noise Cancellation

Imagine being in a bustling place. Everyone’s talking at the same time. You almost can’t differentiate their voices. It’s disjointing. You want to completely block off the noise.

Now, imagine jogging at night. You want to move according to the beat of your music and hear sounds produced by cars at the same time. Enjoyment and safety – you hope they can co-exist.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II allows you to do these with its active and passive noise cancellation. It has two modes: you can choose between “Quiet” and “Aware” that you can interchange with just a long tap on either the left or right bud.

Two modes: Quiet and Aware. You can add more modes, and add and change the level of noise cancellation on *Bose Music* app.

Quiet Mode refers to maximum noise cancellation. It utilizes ActiveSense Technology to soften the loudest sounds. Out of all the noise-cancelling audio devices I’ve tried, this one outmatches them all. It’s almost scary that I can’t hear the fan just next to me. Even people nearby appear muted.

Aware mode lets you hear your surroundings without having to take the earbuds off. It works best when you partake in activities like exercising, walking and commuting. I personally use it when I’m outdoors for safety purposes.

Secure Fit and All-Day Comfort

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II claims that the buds “adapts the sound performance and noise-cancelling to the shape of your ear canal”. Using soft silicone and proprietary StayHear Max tips, it is designed for a secure fit and all-day comfort. Moreover, the box includes three pairs of ear tips and stability bands that allow you to pick whatever fits best for your ears. The IPX Rating, which adds sweat and weather-resistant to its long list of features, also removes your concern about sweat and rain.

The included pairs of ear tips have three sizes: small, regular, and large. Upon trying them all, I concluded that the short tips fit my ears. No matter how much movement I make, it doesn’t threaten to fall. The fact that I’m using it for four hours now without any issues proves that it is also comfortable.

Convenient Touch Controls

Brands from the audio market continuously compete when it comes to convenience. Bose, through QuietComfort Earbuds II, proved that it won’t lose. The touch controls made it easy to do things without touching your device.

Here are the touch controls:
1. Play/Pause: tap an earbud once or remove one
2. Skip to the next track: double tap an earbud
3. Skip to the previous track: triple tap an earbud
4. Change modes: touch and hold an earbud
5. Control the volume: swipe up to increase, swipe down to decrease

The only disadvantage I get from the touch control is that there are a few times when it doesn’t register properly.

Screenshot, Bose Music app — Through *Bose Music* app, you can also personalize your listening experience by changing the volume, mode, and equalizer. You can also check out your earbuds’ battery, as well as the different features.

Volume-Optimized Technology

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II has high-efficiency drivers and a proprietary acoustic port design. This tells that aside from its other features, it refuses to neglect sound quality. With Bose Volume-Optimized Active EQ Technology, the buds produce both deep low notes and exciting, lifelike sounds.

I mainly use it for music, and it doesn’t disappoint at all. Whether the note is on the lower frequency or higher frequency, it sounds well. The quality retains when I tried it with sounds from different musical instruments and music from different genres.

Noise-rejecting Microphones

Working hand-in-hand with digital signal processing technology, Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II features noise-rejecting microphones. Each earbud filters out ambient and music noise.

I compared my phone and the earbuds’ microphones. My phone’s microphone picked up a lot of noise, whereas the earbuds blocked some of it. The mic from the earbuds is also notably louder which makes it perfect for calls.

Longer Listening Time

One of the problems when it comes to wireless audio output devices remains to be battery life. After a few hours of using it, suddenly, your music stops playing, and you’ll have to wait until it charges. Fortunately, a full charge of Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II gives you a 6-hour listening time. The case also gives three extra charges, giving you a listening time of 24 hours. When it comes to charging, a 20-minute charge is equivalent to 2 hours of use. All you have to do is charge it for a while and it should last you a day.