Bose QuietComfort Headphones fall to $169.99 at three stores

Bose has two pairs of noise-canceling headphones on sale at once, and the older pair has reached the lowest price it has ever had.

Newer pair: $199 and lossless USB-C audio

The second-generation QuietComfort Headphones launched in August. They now cost $199, a $160 cut, in several colors at Amazon, Best Buy and Bose. The all-time low is $20 below that.

They cost $30 more than the first generation. For that money they add lossless audio over USB-C.

Reviewer John Higgins rates their default sound profile as the best he has heard from Bose. He ranks it above the $449 QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2, the flagship.

His one complaint was that vocals sounded slightly muted. Changing the three-band equalizer in Bose's companion app fixed it. An equalizer lets a listener adjust how strongly different parts of the sound come through.

Higgins also finds this model more comfortable than the Ultra. He credits the absence of "eardrum suck," the uncomfortable ear pressure that strong active noise cancellation can create.

Older pair: $169.99 and a matched low

The first-gen QuietComfort Headphones are $169.99, or $190 off, at Amazon, Best Buy and Bose. That equals their lowest price to date.

They are no longer Bose's latest, yet they still offer effective noise cancellation, good sound and 24 hours of battery life. Multipoint Bluetooth lets them hold a connection to two devices at the same time. The foldable, lightweight build makes them easy to pack.

Our take

The $30 gap between the two models is the main choice here. The first generation suits buyers who want noise cancellation and battery life at the lowest price. The newer one fits those who value lossless USB-C audio and the tuning Higgins praised. Sale prices at three stores can change, and nothing in the report says how long these will last.

Source: The Verge