@Maukey Can't wait to see where the M4u 9 ends up on the list with regard to sound quality.
I've used the Bose QC Ultra headphones off and on for a few days now, and my initial impressions have been over all good.
I like how light and portable they are. It's nice to see a new headphone return to the folding earcup form factor. i don't like how loose the earcups feel when they aren't being worn, they are quite loose and floppy. Not a fan.
The plastic is very conductive, and I hear the button presses quite loudly. So often this is something that i'm not bothered by with many headphones, but the sound I hear if the plastic is slightly bumped or if I press the multi-function button is very distinct and loud to my ears..
ANC I would say is better than what's offered on the XM5. It's more consistent, and seems to block a wider variety of noises better. one challenge i have for any ANC headphone is the shuttle I commute on to and from work when I go in to the office.
The rattling of the shuttle sometimes overpowers the ultras causing them to give hiccups of feedback in the earcups. It's not a pleasant sound when this happens, but fortunately it was infrequent. I do experience this sort of thing though with the Ultras, my QC35, QC Buds and QC buds II, but especially on the QC Buds II and QC ultra.
i'm not knocking Bose for this necessarily, it is partially a result of the environment I'm using them in, I'm only trying to explain that there is something distinct when I hear this that is unique to Bose products, and maybe it's more in how it occurs, how the mics are over powered and the specific sound i hear.
but plenty of headphones that don't have quality ANC suffer from this far worse.
The XM5 handle this sort of bumpy ride much better, but it does cause them to change the tone of the music at times, even though the headphones aren't moving off of my ears as the ANC tries to calibrate to the level of noise around it. I'm glad that bose has the option to keep the same ANC level at all times, but even if you let the headphones try to adapt to the environmental noise around you, the Ultras in my opinion, handle sudden changes much better with respect to sound quality. For those times when the jostleing movements of the Shuttle don't cause the feedback I mentioned earlier, the ANC seems to maintain a greater degree of noise reduction.
I had to give the bass a bit of a bump in the app, and the trebel a bit more of a bump, but over all I really enjoy the sound, and don't feel that ANC pressure when wearing them.
The sound is pretty natural sounding i think, where as the XM5 has more of a digital sound even with heavy EQ.
Also comfort is really great with the Ultras. I wore them all day yesterday, only taking them off once for 15-20 minutes, and didn't feel any discomfort. Transparency mode is the best I've heard on a headphone that I've purchased. I like the transparency mode of the H95, the other 2 headphones I have on this list are the MW75 and Sony WH 1000X M5. out of these 4 headphones, The QC Ultras transparency mode takes the cake.
The immersion I feel is just okay. The Yamaha YH-L700A has a suite of immersion like features, and while some of them sound a bit wonky, there are a couple that aren't to bad, and I was surprised how well they stacked up against the immersion preset of the QC Ultra, considering that they were released 2 years prior.
The YH-L700A is a very bassy, digital sounding headphone but if you're willing to eq, it is a real treat for watching movies and sporting events and is great with rock and metal.
Back to the QC Ultra, I think it's a great all arounder for a lot of people.
I haven't flown with the QC Ultras yet, but I feel like they will be my top traveling headphone going forward.
If the QC Ultra had the feature set of the XM5, but was otherwise the same headphone, to me that would be the perfect travel Headphone.