Real owners lean toward the Grado SR80x: 60% of 55 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
“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
“SR80x (120€ new) was my first audiophile headphone over two years ago. They were so good that within a week I returned them to upgrade to SR225x”— Hunter-97-G on Reddit
“Grado SR80s were my first decent pair of headphones too, and I still love them - still have them and listen to them something like 15 years later.”— srmd22 on Reddit
“Using chinese components. And a lot of glue... You'd think with all that American Engineering, we could not use Glue, and instead use... maybe screws?”— KaosC57 on Reddit