Valco NL25 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds
So you've got two options: Bose's flagship buds, whose name is so long it won't fit in any normal headline, or the Valco NL25, which costs about half as much and whose name you can still remember by the time you reach the checkout.
Let's go through what you get and what you're paying for.
Sound quality
Bose makes good sound. That's a fact. But Bose's sound plays it safe – smooth, polished, offending absolutely no one. Like Toyota's design language.
The NL25's sound was tuned by Jasse Kesti, whose ears are insured and whose opinion gets called upon when someone needs to know if something sounds right or wrong. Jasse's philosophy is simple: music should sound the way the artist intended. Not the way an algorithm guesses you want to hear it.
On codecs it's a tie: both the NL25 and Bose support aptX Adaptive. On Android both sound great, and on iPhone both run on AAC. The difference here is mostly audible in your wallet.
The truth about ANC
Bose is the king of ANC. We have to give them that. Bose invented consumer ANC back in the day and they're still right at the top.
The NL25's ANC is good. On a plane, the drone disappears. In the office, the HVAC hum vanishes. Your neighbour's renovation becomes a distant memory. But if you put these two side by side in a quiet room and really focus on listening for the difference, Bose wins by a margin.
In practice? Most people won't notice a difference in everyday use. ANC needs music to help it along anyway – neither one creates a vacuum around your ears.
Price and what you get for it
Bose QC Ultra Earbuds cost around €300. The NL25 costs roughly half that.
With that price difference you could buy a second pair of headphones. Or 47 grilled sausages at a street kiosk. Or fund 0.0000002% of our Death Star – Henri still needs a few more orders before a Ferrari fits into the corruption budget.
Both come with USB-C charging and wireless charging for the case. The NL25 includes memory foam tips in the box; with Bose, you buy those separately.
Repairability
This is where the difference is crystal clear.
When your Bose break after two years – and electronics do break – you buy new ones. Bose doesn't repair earbuds. They go in the bin.
If your NL25 break during the warranty period, we replace them with a working pair free of charge. The warranty is 24 months. We don't repair earbuds, but broken ones are recycled for spare parts in new headphones, so with us earbuds don't just get thrown away. This isn't greenwashing, it's actual action.
Who should pick Bose?
By all means, buy Bose if:
- ANC is absolutely your number one priority and you want the best noise cancelling on the market at any cost
- You're already in the Bose ecosystem and want to stick with it
- You don't care about repairability and you're used to buying new buds every couple of years
- You've got money and don't know what to do with it
We're not offended. Bose makes a good product. We just make a better deal.
Who should pick the NL25?
- You want excellent sound quality tuned by a professional
- You want ANC that's more than enough for daily life without paying double for it
- You want earbuds that get recycled for spare parts instead of chucked in the bin
- You use Android and want aptX Adaptive support
- You'd rather support a small Finnish company than one of the world's biggest electronics giants
Summary
| | NL25 | Bose QC Ultra Earbuds |
|---|---|---|
| Sound quality | Tuned by Jasse, aptX Adaptive | Good, plays it safe |
| ANC | Good | Excellent |
| Price | ~€169 | ~€300 |
| Repairability | Warranty swap, broken ones recycled for parts | Bin them and buy new |
| Bluetooth | 5.4 | 5.3 |
| Wireless charging | Yes | Yes |
If ANC is sacred to you and budget doesn't matter, Bose is a solid choice. If you want the smartest overall package – sound, price, sustainability, clear conscience – the NL25 wins.
And remember: do you know who the CEO of Bose is? You don't. You can recognise our Henri by the Alfa Romeo that's at the repair shop again.
