Real owners lean toward the ATH-R70xa: 63% of 27 owners recommend it, vs 35% of 474 for the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen).
Verdicts aggregated from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube owner comments — affiliate reviews excluded. Sample sizes differ; judge accordingly. How we score
“I listened to a bunch of highly rated headphones at the last CanJam in NYC and none of them made me want to upgrade from the R70xa.”— this_is_me_drunk on Reddit
“I got the r70xa as well, but had to get a new amp to give it more juice to make it sing. But man, being so light i hardly reach for my other cans now and using these as daily drivers.”— Waste_Search2125 on Reddit
“it has this really arfticial, unnatural sound to it that's neither analytic nor is it a smooth, rich entertaining sound”— Overall-Cupcake7073 on Reddit
“My ultra used daily for over a year is still working great. Had some firmware issue at the start but currently it is Ok. Good anc, great sound and sturdy.”— GrumpyBitFlipper on Reddit
“I come from the xm5 earbuds and just bought the QC Ultra 2nd gen’s because even though I loved the Sony’s, I don’t like wearing them knowing there’s too much toxic chemicals in them.”— therealpurpledolpin on Reddit
“but not the Ultras (not worth the price increase imo)”— xolavenderwitch on Reddit