As the audio nerd on the TechRadar Australia team, you can rest assured that I’ll be spending this Black Friday sales period hunting down the best deals on headphones, speakers and anything else that produces a sound.

As luck would have it, I’ve already found a sensational price for the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) direct from the maker itself, but you can only benefit if you use our exclusive 10% Bose coupon code.

Bose has already shaved AU$100 off the list price across all colours, and applying a unique coupon code brings the price down further to AU$539.96. Of course, I’m not going to pretend that’s not an insignificant amount of money for a pair of headphones, but as our Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) review reveals, these are “the absolute best active noise cancelling cans for the money”.

Bose has, for a long time, been at the top of the ANC food chain, producing pair after pair of stellar headphones with a penchant for blocking out the world around you. The previous pair of QC Ultra over-ears came under fire recently from the Sony WH-1000XM6 (which are also heavily discounted this Black Friday) and it’s clear from this second-generation set that Bose wasn’t taking that news lightly.

In truth, there was only minimal room for improvement as the previous pair was so good, but Bose has eked out more battery life this time round – 30 hours with ANC on, 45 hours with it off – added support for high-resolution audio in wired listening mode, and has made slight sonic improvements. As our tester said, “The soundstage the QC Ultra (2nd Gen) creates is large and quite convincingly defined, and even in a fairly hectic mix like this one the Bose can create enough space for each element of the recording to express itself fully.”

The extremely comfortable and travel-friendly design has been maintained, and this latest set arrives in a suite of fresh colours, all of which have been discounted on Bose’s website.

I can’t guarantee that we’ll see the QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) drop further in price this Black Friday sales period, so if you want to arm yourself with the best, this is an opportune time. Alternatively, you can grab the first-generation set for AU$431.95 using the same method. Just remember to generate a unique Bose coupon code, entitling you to 10% off orders over AU$200.

• Don’t forget to follow our live coverage of the Black Friday sales in Australia for more deals and discounts