The verdict
The Bose QC Ultra (2nd Gen) is the comfort king — 5 reviewers give it 4-5/5, with What Hi-Fi at a perfect 5/5. If you wear headphones for hours at a time, the ear cushions and balanced fit are worth the tradeoff against Sony's slightly better ANC. USB-C lossless is a feature the WH-1000XM6 doesn't match. Pick it over the Sony if comfort and wired lossless audio matter more than raw ANC performance.
Strengths
- +Still the most comfortable over-ear design on the market — plush ear cushions and perfectly balanced headband weight for 8+ hour sessions
- +Immersive Audio mode uses head-tracking to create a spatial soundstage that's distinct from Dolby Atmos
- +CustomTune technology auto-calibrates EQ to the shape of your ear canal each time you wear them
- +USB-C lossless audio support (rare — the WH-1000XM6 lacks this)
- +Snapdragon Sound with aptX Adaptive for Android users
Watch-outs
- −ANC performance trails Sony's new QN3-powered WH-1000XM6 — still top-tier but no longer #1
- −Bose Music app is less feature-rich than Sony's Sound Connect (no equivalent of 360 Reality Audio mapping)
- −Non-foldable design is bulkier in a carry case than the Sony XM6 or AirPods Max
Rating sources
Our 4.3 score is the average of these published ratings. More about methodology.
