According to a 2017 survey by Statista, Bose tied with Sony for the first place in brand awareness in the U.S. market. Bose is well known for its noise-cancelling headphones, and its products have been selected for their excellent noise-cancelling capabilities in the list of the best wireless headphones in major media outlets. Bose only has one of the SoundLink II AE, which is not as famous as its own noise-canceling headphones, but it also has a quality worthy of affirmation, ranking second among similar products with a score of 71 in the American "Consumer Reports".
 
The AE in SoundLink II AE stands for Around-Ear, and there was previously an OE (On-Ear) model, but it is no longer available. Even with an over-ear design that is larger than the on-ear fit, the SoundLink II AE weighs only 149 grams, which is significantly lighter than similar products, and the ear cushions are made of Alcantara, which is commonly found in high-end car interiors, for excellent overall wearing comfort.
 
None of Bose's Bluetooth products support aptX or AAC Bluetooth encoding, and the SoundLink II AE is no exception. Like many of its headphones, it uses the exclusive TriPort technology, and the speaker opening is smaller than the rear cavity, making it easier for air to be squeezed, thus improving the sense of low-frequency volume. Another unique technology in the SoundLink II AE is Active EQ, which uses software to compensate for the sound, which can be understood as real-time EQ tuning, or post-processing tuning.
 
In terms of actual listening, the SoundLink II AE's low frequencies are full and thick, full of elasticity, flat midrange, and rich string and vocal detail, while high frequencies are not its strong point, and the detail and resolution are very average, which is more suitable for pop music. In other aspects, SoundLink II AE's 15-hour battery life is slightly inferior to the industry's average of 20 hours, but fortunately, it supports a fast charging function that charges for 15 minutes and listens to songs for 2 hours, and the price is 1999 yuan.
 
In addition to the SoundLink II AE, Bose's over-ear Bluetooth headphones also have the QC35 II and QC35, both of which focus on noise cancellation and have relatively average sound quality. QC35 II is priced at 2888 yuan, compared with the QC35 of 2868 yuan, its main improvement lies in the addition of adjustable noise reduction function, as well as support for waking up Google Assistant.