LUCKY4UU/Shutterstock When it comes to mid-range and high-end headphones and earphones, Bose is a brand that stands out from the competition. The “QuietComfort” sublabel has essentially become a household name tied directly to Bose’s robust noise-canceling technology, making products like the QC Ultra Earbuds and QC Ultra Earbuds a must-have for music lovers, movie buffs, and even gamers. There are plenty of advanced audio features you’ll find among the best headphones for audiophiles, but Bose isn’t just like everyone else. If you’ve done any research on Bose headphones and headphones, you may have come across a handful of terms that allude to some of Bose’s internal engineering. We also know that answering a bunch of unexplained terminology can be exhausting, so we’ve put together this roundup of five audio features you’ll only be able to find on Bose headphones and earphones. Custom setting Although a number of headphone manufacturers allow you to create custom sound profiles in their companion apps, Bose takes it a step further with its CustomTune technology. This is a calibration feature that automatically adjusts sound output and noise cancellation based on the unique shape of your ears. Launched by John Rule, PhD, senior systems engineer at Bose, CustomTune leverages algorithms and acoustic engineering to optimize audio in real time. Calibration involves a tone, or dull noise, that the user’s ear naturally amplifies and bounces back to the microphones for analysis. From there, your CustomTune headphones will begin to analyze and adapt to the ambient sound, adjusting the treble, mids, bass, and noise cancellation to best suit your hearing and listening space. Introduced with the Bose QuietComfort II headphones, CustomTune has since rolled out to both generations of Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra headphones, as well as the QuietComfort Ultra headphones. It’s also the kind of algorithmic feature that gets smarter and more predictive the more you use it, so give it a try. Immersive audio MMPhoto21/Shutterstock Spatial audio has become somewhat of a home theater and portable audio phenomenon over the past few years. Brands like Sony, Apple, and Sonos have made this technology a core feature of their flagship headphones and earphones, but Bose decided to put its own spin on the soundstage tool. It’s called Immersive Audio, and you can experience it by enabling Immersion mode in the Bose app (tap Modes > Immersion). Once enabled, Immersion Mode combines spatial audio and Bose noise-canceling technology to mix stereo audio, resulting in a wider, more immersive soundstage. You’ll also have the choice of two unique presets: Still Image and Motion. The former is great when you’re seated and gives the impression that there’s a pair of speakers placed right in front of you. The Motion preset helps preserve the wider, mixed soundstage while you walk or run. Immersion mode may seem like more of a clever trick than a legitimate up-blender, but the feature works well. While Bose isn’t the only audio company dabbling in upmixing and head tracking, Bose’s Immersion Mode does a fantastic job of enhancing stereo audio for music, movies, shows, and video games. On the other hand, a feature like Sony’s 360 Reality Audio Upmix is best used for movies and shows. Cinema mode Kev Gregory/Shutterstock Watching movies and shows with a pair of noise-cancelling headphones or headphones is an experience that’s hard to beat. But Bose wanted its customers to feel like they were sitting in a movie theater when enjoying video content, so the company created Cinema mode. This is a specialized preset that leverages Bose’s Immersive Audio technology to immerse you in a detail-oriented, cinematic soundscape. Technically, Bose’s Cinema mode is really just a spatial audio extension, but the software does an exceptional job tweaking dialogue and background effects. Cinema Mode also works in unison with Bose’s powerful noise cancellation, so your headphones and earphones will be constantly monitored and optimized for your listening space. Theater Mode can be used with Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Generation) and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Generation). You should also make sure that you are using the latest version of the Bose app. ActiveSense Active noise cancellation (ANC) can sometimes drown out too much sound, which is why most headphone and earphone manufacturers include some type of ambient or transparency listening mode in their headphones and in-ears. As you might guess, Bose does this too, and the company has also cooked up a feature that makes ambient listening even better: ActiveSense. ActiveSense is a dynamic noise cancellation feature that is only available when using Aware mode (ActiveSense must also be enabled). This works when a sudden spike in unwanted noise is detected in your listening space. ActiveSense then steps in to reduce volume and distortion that could potentially hurt your ears. Generally speaking, most ambient listening modes will only amplify the sounds around you. But Bose’s ActiveSense technology adds the brand’s industry-lauded adaptive ANC to the fold. So instead of making you choose between ANC-only listening or ambient-only listening, Bose has opted for the best of both worlds. OpenAudio Open earbuds continue to grow in popularity and the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are a great example of air conduction done right. Unlike bone conduction – which literally relies on vibrations passing through the facial bones to create sound – air conduction simply directs frequencies into your ear canal. Bose Ultra Open Earbuds hang on the outside of your ear and the earbud driver directs sound to your inner ear. But Bose also added a bit of secret sauce to the dish, and that’s a feature called OpenAudio. A patented audio amplifier, OpenAudio allows Ultra Open headphones to deliver crisp, clear, detailed sound to your ears, without sacrificing treble, bass, and other important parts of the mix. OpenAudio also helps reduce sound leakage and provides even louder ambient listening than you’d get through Aware mode on the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones. Preserving as much audio as possible is one of the main challenges headphone manufacturers face with bone and air conduction technology. Still, we’re not surprised that Bose has already found a way to make open-ear listening the best it can be. Post navigation 4 Disadvantages of Soundbar Audio You Need to Know About
LUCKY4UU/Shutterstock When it comes to mid-range and high-end headphones and earphones, Bose is a brand that stands out from the competition. The “QuietComfort” sublabel has essentially become a household name tied directly to Bose’s robust noise-canceling technology, making products like the QC Ultra Earbuds and QC Ultra Earbuds a must-have for music lovers, movie buffs, and even gamers. There are plenty of advanced audio features you’ll find among the best headphones for audiophiles, but Bose isn’t just like everyone else. If you’ve done any research on Bose headphones and headphones, you may have come across a handful of terms that allude to some of Bose’s internal engineering. We also know that answering a bunch of unexplained terminology can be exhausting, so we’ve put together this roundup of five audio features you’ll only be able to find on Bose headphones and earphones. Custom setting Although a number of headphone manufacturers allow you to create custom sound profiles in their companion apps, Bose takes it a step further with its CustomTune technology. This is a calibration feature that automatically adjusts sound output and noise cancellation based on the unique shape of your ears. Launched by John Rule, PhD, senior systems engineer at Bose, CustomTune leverages algorithms and acoustic engineering to optimize audio in real time. Calibration involves a tone, or dull noise, that the user’s ear naturally amplifies and bounces back to the microphones for analysis. From there, your CustomTune headphones will begin to analyze and adapt to the ambient sound, adjusting the treble, mids, bass, and noise cancellation to best suit your hearing and listening space. Introduced with the Bose QuietComfort II headphones, CustomTune has since rolled out to both generations of Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra headphones, as well as the QuietComfort Ultra headphones. It’s also the kind of algorithmic feature that gets smarter and more predictive the more you use it, so give it a try. Immersive audio MMPhoto21/Shutterstock Spatial audio has become somewhat of a home theater and portable audio phenomenon over the past few years. Brands like Sony, Apple, and Sonos have made this technology a core feature of their flagship headphones and earphones, but Bose decided to put its own spin on the soundstage tool. It’s called Immersive Audio, and you can experience it by enabling Immersion mode in the Bose app (tap Modes > Immersion). Once enabled, Immersion Mode combines spatial audio and Bose noise-canceling technology to mix stereo audio, resulting in a wider, more immersive soundstage. You’ll also have the choice of two unique presets: Still Image and Motion. The former is great when you’re seated and gives the impression that there’s a pair of speakers placed right in front of you. The Motion preset helps preserve the wider, mixed soundstage while you walk or run. Immersion mode may seem like more of a clever trick than a legitimate up-blender, but the feature works well. While Bose isn’t the only audio company dabbling in upmixing and head tracking, Bose’s Immersion Mode does a fantastic job of enhancing stereo audio for music, movies, shows, and video games. On the other hand, a feature like Sony’s 360 Reality Audio Upmix is best used for movies and shows. Cinema mode Kev Gregory/Shutterstock Watching movies and shows with a pair of noise-cancelling headphones or headphones is an experience that’s hard to beat. But Bose wanted its customers to feel like they were sitting in a movie theater when enjoying video content, so the company created Cinema mode. This is a specialized preset that leverages Bose’s Immersive Audio technology to immerse you in a detail-oriented, cinematic soundscape. Technically, Bose’s Cinema mode is really just a spatial audio extension, but the software does an exceptional job tweaking dialogue and background effects. Cinema Mode also works in unison with Bose’s powerful noise cancellation, so your headphones and earphones will be constantly monitored and optimized for your listening space. Theater Mode can be used with Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Generation) and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Generation). You should also make sure that you are using the latest version of the Bose app. ActiveSense Active noise cancellation (ANC) can sometimes drown out too much sound, which is why most headphone and earphone manufacturers include some type of ambient or transparency listening mode in their headphones and in-ears. As you might guess, Bose does this too, and the company has also cooked up a feature that makes ambient listening even better: ActiveSense. ActiveSense is a dynamic noise cancellation feature that is only available when using Aware mode (ActiveSense must also be enabled). This works when a sudden spike in unwanted noise is detected in your listening space. ActiveSense then steps in to reduce volume and distortion that could potentially hurt your ears. Generally speaking, most ambient listening modes will only amplify the sounds around you. But Bose’s ActiveSense technology adds the brand’s industry-lauded adaptive ANC to the fold. So instead of making you choose between ANC-only listening or ambient-only listening, Bose has opted for the best of both worlds. OpenAudio Open earbuds continue to grow in popularity and the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are a great example of air conduction done right. Unlike bone conduction – which literally relies on vibrations passing through the facial bones to create sound – air conduction simply directs frequencies into your ear canal. Bose Ultra Open Earbuds hang on the outside of your ear and the earbud driver directs sound to your inner ear. But Bose also added a bit of secret sauce to the dish, and that’s a feature called OpenAudio. A patented audio amplifier, OpenAudio allows Ultra Open headphones to deliver crisp, clear, detailed sound to your ears, without sacrificing treble, bass, and other important parts of the mix. OpenAudio also helps reduce sound leakage and provides even louder ambient listening than you’d get through Aware mode on the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones. Preserving as much audio as possible is one of the main challenges headphone manufacturers face with bone and air conduction technology. Still, we’re not surprised that Bose has already found a way to make open-ear listening the best it can be.
