One of the season’s best audio deals just hit a flagship: The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones are on sale for $50 off, making them available for $399 instead of the standard $449.
That’s an 11 percent discount on Bose’s top noise-canceling over-ears and one of the few times we’ve seen the model fall so well below list price.
What makes this deal so great on Bose QuietComfort Ultra
Bose is known to be intensely stingy with discounts of its stellar products, so a straight-up $50 clip matters.
Historically, prices on the street, such as that black market of tentpole shopping events, mean the QuietComfort Ultra usually sits around MSRP at a minimum — so $399 is a pretty good place to jump in if you’ve been wondering when to upgrade.
And in a market where premium ANC headphones continue to sell for $350–$500, a double-digit drop on a current flagship brings Bose within striking distance of competitors’ sale prices while maintaining its class-leading comfort and noise cancellation.
What you get with Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones
The cool stuff: The QuietComfort Ultra is at the top of Bose’s lineup, with the company’s best-in-class active noise cancellation and its Immersive Audio mode that opens up stereo tracks for a wider, more dimensional soundstage. You can adjust that effect to your environment or turn it off for the most battery life and a neutral listening experience.
Third-party testers like Rtings and SoundGuys rank Bose consistently at the top in terms of dampening low-frequency rumble — the hum of airplane engines or rattle of subway cars — where ANC has to work its hardest. That feature is largely belied by CustomTune calibration that takes readings of your ear canal and modifies both the ANC and EQ for a more consistent response.
Comfort is a major differentiator. The Ultra’s cushion pads, even clamping force, and evenly distributed weight — all contribute to an on-ear design that makes all-day wear sustainable, especially for frequent flyers or remote workers. Out in the real world, that translates into fewer pressure points during a cross-country flight or through hours of meetings.
Battery life is claimed at 24 hours per charge, with fast top-ups bringing you back to listening in short order if you forget to juice up before a commute. There’s Bluetooth multipoint for easy switching between, say, a laptop and a phone, plus there is also a wired option through the included audio cable for in-flight entertainment systems.
Call quality is also a strong point. Bose’s beamforming mic array and noise rejection algorithms can help isolate your voice even in crowded cafés or on windy streets — a pain point at which many over-ears still falter. Reviewers at The New York Times and other major outlets have cited that consistency as a real-world advantage beyond summer listening.
How Bose QuietComfort Ultra compares with key rivals
While heavily discounted, the Sony WH-1000XM5 remains the value disruptor, dropping well into the mid-$200s and delivering great ANC with warmer sound and about 30 hours of battery. Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 fights back with crisp sound and marathon stamina north of 60 hours, yet its noise blocking falls behind the top dogs in harsher situations.
Apple’s AirPods Max works phenomenally with iPhone and Mac, plus it features excellent-sounding ANC and spatial audio, but it is heavier and does not fold down as small, nor does it usually sell for less than $399 even on sale. That puts Bose’s $50 off directly in a sweet spot, premium noise cancellation and comfort without the usual premium tax.
Who the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones are for
If you are a gun bunny that is regularly finding yourself hopping on and off of vehicles like the turret on open-top vehicles or fighting inside glassed enclosures in modern architecture, this is the headphone designed to do it for you!
Its quieting power, fit and reliable controls make it one of the easiest headphones to live with on a daily basis.
If your chief concern is battery life, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 remains the top of the heap. If you’re more budget-strapped and can wait for deeper sales, Sony’s XM5 undercuts just about everybody. But if you’re looking to pamper your ears with plush, serene comfort, a polished app experience and spatial audio as an added bonus, $399 is an attractive buy.
Bottom line on this $50 discount for Bose QuietComfort Ultra
This $50 discount brings Bose’s best-of-the-best closer to grasp without sacrificing what makes it stand out: top-notch ANC, comfortable travel-friendly design and modern amenities such as multipoint and spatial audio. That price can vary, but the $399 QuietComfort Ultra is one of the best premium headphone deals out there currently.