I thought the Bose QuietComfort headphones already hit their peak - then I tried the newest model

• The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Gen 2) are available for $449 in five colors.
• They solidify Bose's warranted confidence in its design, comfort, noise cancellation, and sound performance.
• The only major, eye-catching upgrades relate to battery capacity and power management.

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How do you convince yourself to pay $400+ for a pair of headphones when they look and operate almost identically to the previous generation? That's a question I hope to answer, and a question Bose hopes its second-generation flagship headphones will answer based on their performance alone.

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I spent two weeks working, traveling, and lounging in the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Gen 2), which I'll refer to as the QC Ultra 2, searching for how Bose spent two years making them more "ultra" than their predecessor. Without major ...