Bose QuietComfort is Bose's line of active noise-cancelling headphones, introduced in 2000 and sold as premium consumer hardware. The design pairs feedback microphones and inverse-signal cancellation with a closed-back fit, targeting continuous low-frequency noise — aircraft cabins, trains, open offices — rather than speech.
Bose had developed noise cancellation for aviation headsets before bringing it to consumers, and QuietComfort was the product that made it a mainstream category. The line ran through the wired QC2, QC3, QC15, and QC25, moved to wireless with the QC35 in 2016, and continues through the QuietComfort 45 and QuietComfort Ultra, adding Bluetooth multipoint, transparency listening, and later spatial audio. For most of that run it was the default recommendation for frequent travelers; Sony's WH-1000XM series and Apple's AirPods Max have since taken much of that ground on cancellation depth and codec support, leaving Bose competing more on comfort over long wear.
I bought my pair in 2012 and have worn them several hours a day since — the case folds flat enough to pack for a ride with 📝Jessica, and the battery still runs about thirty hours. They shorted out in 2015 and Bose replaced them under warranty without an argument, throwing in a spare battery. Before these I had Bose Triports for six years.
Key Features
- Active noise cancellation — Feedback microphones invert ambient sound, targeting the continuous low-frequency noise of cabins and offices.
- Transparency listening — Later models pass ambient sound through so a conversation doesn't require taking them off.
- Flat-folding case — The earcups rotate flat, making the travel case thin enough for a pack or a seat pocket.
- Bluetooth multipoint — Wireless models hold connections to two devices at once and switch between them automatically.