When someone’s planning to buy a home entertainment system, headphones or professional speakers. One name always crosses their mind for its build to perfection products. That name is Bose.
Each Bose product lives up to its motto ‘Better Sound Through Research’. And the Bose SoundTrue Ultra are no exception. People love Bose’s in-ear headphones for their crystal clear sound and comfortable fitting. Bose calls it’s earphone tips ‘StayHear’ tips which are attached to buds and give users that comfy and secure fit.
Both the SoundTrue In-Ear and SoundSport In-Ear have been my favourite headphones for a while and they are among the most comfortable in-ear headphones. But they aren’t perfect, I always wanted them to isolate background noise. And with the SoundTrue Ultra, I felt as if Bose head hear my wish as they are Bose’s first noise-isolating in-ear headphones.
You must be wondering, how can the SoundTrue Ultra be Bose’s first noise-isolating in-ear headphones, well don’t be confuse it with noise-cancellation headphones they have been making forever. There is a difference between these two technologies –
Noise Cancellation
Noise cancelling in headphones is an advance technology that use microphones to listen to the sound, and then do processing to filter background noise(ambient sound) to deliver crystal clear audio to the headphones. My favourite noise cancellation headphones are Bose QuietComfort 25 and QuietComfort 20.
Noise Isolation
On the other hand, Noise Isolation uses a physical barrier (in this case, StayHear tips) to create a vacuum like effect in your ears. And as the use of technology is less compared to what is offered in active noise cancellation products, the cost comes down substantially. Since ‘Noise Isolation’ works by creating a physical barrier, it really depends on how much sound they reduce as everyone’s ears are different, and as such, in-ear headphones fit everyone differently.
Now that you are well aware of Noise Isolation as a technology. Let’s head to the review part –
Design
Design is a critical factor for any in-ear headphones, more so for Noise Isolating ones. Better the design, more the isolation and comfort. Hence, I can state with my experience that the Bose SoundTrue Ultra has nailed it with when it comes to design and comfort. As soon you put the soft and cushy ‘StayHear’ tips in your ears, you feel the isolation from the ambient sound. If you have ever experienced Noise Cancellation products, you can relate to it.
As I mentioned earlier, that everyone’s ears are different. Bose has included the ‘StayHear’ tips in three different sizes – Small, Medium and Large. After you have attached the tip that suits your ear size, you simply need to slide into the ear. The SoundTrue Ultra’s tip comfortably slips into your ear canal without having to push it, in turn sealing out a lot of ambient noise.
The fact that the SoundTrue Ultra are extremely lightweight also adds to comfort and long stretch usage.
These headphones come with a three-button inline remote/microphone. But the headphone comes in two variants: one for Apple iOS devices (the one we reviewed) and the other that works with Android phones. For me these headphone are a blessing for making calls – as I can hear people a lot better in the noisy environment we live in, all thanks to the noise isolation.
As most of us have protective covers and cases over our smartphones, Bose has kept a slim and straight that can be plugged in even if you have battery case attached your smartphone. The quality of each component is very durable and the fact that the wires are tangle-resistant is like a add-on. And because of the tangle resistant wires, the headphones rolls up easily to fit in the compact case.
The only flaw that I found in these headphones was the stethoscope effect, wherein you hear all the movement of the wire, and it’s annoying when it’s rubbing and bouncing on your clothes while you’re walking. The reason for this is that the tip clogs your ears like a stethoscope. Now that’s a price you’d have to pay for isolating the ambient sound.
Oh and did I tell your flying experience will never be the same again once you have these. Have a look for yourself –
Flights be like! #Gaming with Bose Noise Isolation In-Ear Headphones. #Travel like a boss.
Performance
Performance of any product related to vision or sound can be very biased and opinionated. But I’ll be completely unbiased about the performance of the Bose SoundTrue Ultra headphones. The minute you plug them into you ear and play music, you would be amazed with the clarity and the comfort (it is an important factor). I tested different genres of music by a range of artists, from Beethoven to Eminem. One thing was constant with each musician, song or genre – Clean sound that made all music sound good.
I’m really happy with the mid-range and treble part of the headphones but being a lean bass lover, I missed the punch that other Bose products offer. But again that’s my opinion, so to be unbiased, I made my wife test them for me. Now she’s accustomed to her Apple Earpods so I wanted her views on the bass and other factors. To my surprise, she really liked the Ultra over her Earpods for its comfort and its crystal sound. She doesn’t like bass-heavy headphones and is mostly listening to soft rock, pop or talking over the phone. Outcome – She is the one who has been using them since she tested them.
The only solution one again so that we both have one. I’m keeping the Charcoal Black colour and she has ordered the Frost White for herself.
The Unbiased Verdict
This my friend is a magical device that makes your flight soothing or surreal depending on what you are listening to 😉. A must have travel gadget! #Bose #Audiophiles #Travel #Airport #Flight
A photo posted by Nikhil Chawla (@nikhilchawla) on
If you want a pair of really comfortable in-ear noise-isolating headphones that stay in your ears and have crystal clear sound. Then open your eyes err ears and get yourself the Bose SoundTrue Ultra headphones. Grab one from Amazon by clicking here.
