These headphones are almost too good - but they have an annoying shortcoming

Bose and headphones – everyone knows them. Those are foldable over-ear headphones. But the brand, which is also known for car and other high-quality hi-fi, can also make earplugs. The Bose QC (QC stands for Quiet Comfort) Earbuds II compete for almost 300 euros in the completely wireless segment against Airpods Pro, various Buds and Co. A practice test.

The device: The case is bulky and matt black with a shiny logo, the plugs inside are also of good quality. Thick, round with chopstick rubber lip. Overall, the team is about a third bulkier than the plugs from Apple, Samsung, and Google.

The manufacturer specifies 6 hours as the battery life, and there are another three charges in the case. In the practical test, that's what happens. Charging is via USB-C cable, there is no wireless charging.

If you still know the predecessors, you can be happy. The 2nd generation is significantly smaller. And instead of "first-class noise reduction", Bose now promises "the world's best noise reduction". More on that later.

Connection: open the Bluetooth menu on the phone, open the lid, press the button, pair, done. If you want all the features, install the Bose Music app. It provides access to mode settings, equalizer and other settings. If you like, you can create a Bose account, but you can also do without one.

Fit/Comfort: Fits, doesn't wobble and is really tight. The QC Earbuds II have a rubber lip on the back, which not only ensures a comfortable and secure fit in the ear. It also keeps noise out.

In general, the buds sit firmly enough in the tester's ear for jogging - and are quite comfortable. Sometimes you don't even notice them in your ear. The scope of delivery includes three ear inserts in different sizes, as well as the surrounding rubber bands in three sizes.

Operation: This is where the QC Earbuds II go wrong. And that's not due to the range of functions. Everything that belongs to current plugs is there: media control, voice assistant, switching between noise-cancelling modes and volume control. Unfortunately, Bose uses touch-sensitive surfaces on the outside. If you don't type and wipe extremely carefully, you'll get a loud roar in your ears. Pleasant is different.

Speaking of droning: If you put the plugs in your ear, the activation tone sounds like a kind of engine roar. And for each plug individually. It's funny at first, then not anymore and almost a bit too loud. In the long run, the roaring gets annoying.

Right, really good. The QC Earbuds II have a rich, somewhat bass-heavy sound. High tones are also finely resolved, but sometimes only at a slightly higher volume. The frequencies can be adjusted to your own preferences via the app. In general, the sound is quite natural and not as technically crystal clear as, for example, with Samsung's first-generation Galaxy Buds Pro.

The QC Earbuds II are also good as a telephone headset. Although they are not quite as well integrated for iPhone users as Apple's own plugs, the system voice of the iPhone and the English voice of the earbuds tend to get mixed up.

But the sound and the transmission stability are impeccable. If the telephone connection is established, there is also a helpful notification tone.

The world's best noise suppression: Bose promises that and nothing less for the QC Earbuds II. And those who switch the plugs to the ANC mode Quiet will not be disappointed either. It's downright spooky walking through autumnal Berlin in Quiet Mode. It is so quiet that there is almost disorientation, because the background noise is missing from the world we are seeing.

So it's better to make sure that there really isn't a car coming when you cross the street. Pretty good. Annoying neighbors: quiet. The rattling subway: quiet. The rustling leaves in the wind: don't rustle.

Only very loud noises make it through the noise shield. Even the crying baby in your arms doesn't bother you anymore.

It's different in Aware mode: Here you should still be able to perceive your surroundings and also be able to hold conversations. This works relatively well at first - apart from a clearly audible background noise when no music is playing. But the technology called Bose Active Sense sometimes gets in pretty hard here. It detects loud background noise and attenuates it to a comfortable level.

Sounds good, but unfortunately also makes one or the other ambulance almost silent. So, modus aware on the bike is not a good idea. Especially since you don't reliably hear the surrounding traffic, as it is sometimes louder and sometimes quieter.

If you want to ride in traffic with the QC Earbuds II, it is better to switch off Active Sense. Fortunately, this is quite easy to do in the app. Disadvantage: Loud wind noise is then hardly dampened. If you want to further customize the noise cancellation, you can create additional ANC modes via Bose's Music app.

Conclusion: Natural sound, good adjustment options, long endurance, comfortable fit and great noise canceling. If you are looking for that, you will find it in the Bose QC Earbuds II. But for a recommended retail price of 300 euros, they are already at the upper end of the price scale. They work well with Apple and Android for this.

With all the strengths, the operation hurts all the more in the truest sense of the word. A sure instinct is required here. And the earbuds are also only suitable to a limited extent for cycling. The transparency modes of the competitors Apple, Beats or Google are more suitable here.

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