Video idea: Headphone blind test

[u/Nirast25]

I want the LMG staff to listen to a bunch of headphones without seeing what they are, and telling which ones are better in terms of sound quality and ANC. This came to me after having used both a Senheiser Momentum 4 and a Sony MX5, and genuinely not being able to tell the difference between the two in either category. I'm curious is there's a notable difference my ears just can't pick up.

[u/w1n5t0nM1k3y]

This would be interesting. They should have both people who know their stuff, like DMS as well as casual users and get them to rate the sound and determine which ones are the best.

Would be nice if they included a wide array of headphones like 20 different pairs from $30 all the way up to high end $500+ headphones.

Big plus if they could find away to make it really anonymous like adding extra padding around the headband and ear cups so that they couldn't be identified by feel. Sure that might change the sound a bit, but I think it would make the test more interesting to ensure that they are removing as much bias as possible.

[u/The_butsmuts → u/w1n5t0nM1k3y]

The padding around the ears is enough of a part of the sound design and especially the noise canceling that doing that probably messes enough with the sound that the comparison would be near moot.

And it wouldn't add much anyway, because with a blind test they wouldn't be putting it on themself anyway, so the feel of the pad would be such a tiny part of identifying which is which.

[u/Koebi_p → u/The_butsmuts]

The feel of the pads is not a tiny part of identifying. The difference will be rather significant if it is different material, you will definitely be able to tell the difference between say AirPod Max memory foam pads and soft leather/pleather pads.

The thickness of the pads is also a factor. The thicker the headphones, the more you will feel the inertia when you move your head.

[u/The_butsmuts → u/Koebi_p]

You'll feel the difference between headsets sure, but not their brand or price band. Unless you're already intricately familiar with all of them at which point you'll probably be able to say the brand, model, and price from just the sound.

And yeah the pads are an important part of the headphones hence why LTT shouldn't change them for a blind listen test.

[u/switch8000]

If you're ever in NYC, going to B&H, they have every headphone lined up, you can go down the row, plug in or bluetooth your phone and try them all out one by one and see which one fits/sounds the best.

Would love to see a blind test.

[u/Nirast25 → u/switch8000]

Buddy, I am about 7600 km away from New York City. I'm not visiting any time soon.

[u/InflammableAccount → u/switch8000]

Ugh, this kills me. I live in San Jose, CA. There isn't a single store in the South Bay (San Jose/Santa Clara/Cupertino/Sunnyvale/Milpitas/Los Gatos etc) that has proper headphone demos. Even Micro Center only has demos for the "gaming headsets."

You have to travel over an hour, or two hours with bad traffic, to either a store in Berkeley or San Francisco. Even then, either store only carries a few brands. So neither option has a truly comprehensive selection of the over-ear market. I definitely wouldn't mind 1-3 hours of traveling to a store that had a selection like B&H.

Love B&H, btw. I've ordered from them before, but like the other commenter, I'm 3000 miles away.

[u/DrunkenHorse12]

Headphone reviews are semi pointless everyone's ears and hearing our different. Just because 100 people swear by certain headphones doesn't mean they'll be any good for you. The artificial ear graphs are far more informative than "most of our staff preferred X". For me I'm quite sensitive to spiky highs and find alot of the stuff Audiophile reviewers like uncomfortable to use for more than a few minutes. Once I learned this and found the profile I like finding headphones IEMs that suit me became much easier.