Noise Master Buds 2 review: Sound by Bose at a price that makes sense for India

Set-up is easy and on the iPhone you need the Noise Audio app to use the equaliser, which offers Sound by Bose as a preset. Other features here include spatial audio, dual pairing, focus mode and find my device. There is also Noise AI, an AI assistant that is supposed to answer your queries. Usually, a full app experience is uncommon at this price point; this is a big plus.

The charging case features a sleek LED strip that indicates pairing and battery status. (Image: The Indian Express/ Nandagopal Rajan)

While I set it up to wake up with a long tap on the right earbud, it did not go much beyond the ‘I am Noise AI…’ message and did not seem to be hearing my commands. Inputting the same query via the chat on the app did work, however. Still, I am not sure why an audio company needs its own AI assistant instead of connecting to a Gemini or ChatGPT. This is such a hard game to win especially given the pace at which this technology is developing.

The noise cancelling is good enough to kill most ambient noise you will encounter. On my evening walks, when I encounter how noisy even the quiet parts of India can be, the Noise Master Buds 2 worked well suppressing the ever-revving Thars and bantering street dogs. The adaptive noise cancellation works well too. But I am not a fan of the audio levels fluctuating because of this and usually don’t use the feature on earphones.

Noise Master Buds 2 retains the same design but adds silicone fins for a better fit. (Image: The Indian Express/ Nandagopal Rajan)

This is the kind of earphone that lets you enjoy Sophie Hutchings’ Sunlight Zone in the morning as you try to focus on the day ahead and the many things that need to be done. The audio is tuned to perfection compared with the first Master Buds and even a lot of other earphones in this price range and has a sense of balance that is rarely found in more affordable earphones. This is a very complex composition to render well, with so many things happening at different levels. The highs were sharp but not shrill and the mids backed up well, while finding their own space. The best experience was with the Bose preset equaliser.

I loved the richness the earphones pack; listening to Lucky Ali’s Dekha Hai Aise Bhi, an old favourite, I got layers I had missed earlier. The earphones have 10mm PU + PEEK drivers that give a roominess that makes listening to music pleasurable.

I was a bit surprised that the spatial audio here could not be activated with the ANC on. But when I did switch off the noise cancellation for the spatial audio, I was really enthralled by the experience. It feels much more natural without the ANC and you get the sense of being in a live setting listening to numbers like Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars. The head-tracking mode was impressive.

The earbuds deliver balanced audio with strong mids and crisp highs. (Image: The Indian Express/ Nandagopal Rajan)

The head tracking works well also because you can control the earphones by moving your head. You can move your head from right to left to skip songs and nod to take a call. However, I preferred the touch gestures on the earphones to this.

The call quality is good and you have the option of sidetone that prevents you from speaking too loudly while on calls. This is a problem I suffer from while using noise-cancelling earphones. Also, you don’t get the tinniness found on some of the earphones while on calls. The battery can last you a week on a full charge with moderate use of a couple of hours daily with the ANC on.

At Rs 7,999, the Noise Master Buds 2 is a good, affordable option that offers an audio experience defying its price. Also, this one has more features than you paid for. The best thing is the audio quality… what you would expect from earphones that have Bose branding on them.