We Asked Audio Pros to Blind Test Headphones. The Results Were Surprising

What makes a really great pair of headphones? The basic answer used to be sound quality, but modern headphones offer so much more than just audio chops. Think premium designs in on-trend colourways, active noise cancellation (ANC), wireless connectivity, multiple microphones for crystal clear calling, and voice assistant support—not to mention travel–friendly, foldable designs and huge batteries for long-haul convenience. There are even customizable smartphone apps offering minute control over your cans’ EQ and operation, and low-latency modes for smoother gaming and videos.

But what happens if you remove the aesthetics, the hi-tech features and brand preconceptions, and just listen to them? Armed with a blindfold and six of the most popular pairs of over-ear headphones available, WIRED commandeered a recording studio in East London to find out.

Brave enough to take part in our blind listening test was Isabel Gracefield, producer, cowriter and head engineer at London based RAK Studios; Ian Lambden, a vastly experienced audio post-production engineer; songwriter and producer Steph Marziano, who has worked with the likes of Hayley Williams from Paramore; and finally, Mike Kintish—award-winning genre-spanning songwriter and producer, who has collaborated with artists including Becky Hill and Jonas Blue.

As for the headphones on test—and with the exception of the Nothing Headphone (01) which had not officially launched at the time of testing—each has received rapturous praise and accolades in numerous publications including WIRED. The all-star line-up included the Sony WH‑1000XM6 ($448/£399), Nothing Headphones (1) ($299/£299), Soundcore Space One Pro ($200/£150), Bose Quietcomfort Ultra (1st Gen) ($429/£350), Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 ($449/£399) and the latest version of the Airpod Max ($549/£499).

Each expert was interviewed separately, and had no prior knowledge of the headphones or brands on test. They were not allowed to touch the headphones while listening—anyone who has worn the AirPod Max will be familiar with the metal casing for instance—and, in the interests of keeping it as fair and mainstream as possible, we only played them Blinding Lights by The Weeknd, which with 4.9 billion streams, was, at the time, the most listened to track on Spotify. Cruel but fair.

ANC was turned on for all headphones—much to the annoyance of our experts—and we streamed at Spotify Premium’s 320kbps (the test was carried out before Spotify Lossless was released). This too elicited a less than positive response from our high-res loving team, but as this is how the majority of people listen, we deemed it the fairest assessment. Each pair of headphones was given a letter—A, B, C, D, E, F—and the testers were free to switch between pairs to compare and contrast. The contenders were as follows:

• A: Sony WH-1000XM6
• B: Soundcore Space One Pro
• C: Apple AirPods Max
• D: Bose Quietcomfort Ultra (1st Gen)
• E: Nothing Headphones (1)
• F: Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3

What followed was a genuine shock to all involved. It’s not everyday someone says, “No, no, no, I don’t want to listen to them anymore. The low end is bad. Oh, that’s bad!” when listening to an award-winning pair of luxury headphones.

A: Sony WH‑1000XM6

The latest flagship headphones from Sony join a long line of highly regarded cans with superb noise cancelling, powered by a new QN3 processor and 12 microphones. They have up to 30 hours of battery life, multipoint Bluetooth connectivity, business class looks and price to match. Reviewers have repeatedly highlighted the quality of the noise cancelling, comfort and refined sound.

First up was Isabel Gracefield, who found Sony “thin in comparison with B (Soundcore), with a “noticeable dip in the lead vocal levels.” After standing some time listening to Apple and Bose, she relistened to Sony and felt they were “flatter than the others, and vaguely unexciting.” But she did praise the “much higher frequency detail” compared to D (Bose).

Ian Lambdon, was also less than impressed, “I didn’t enjoy that. The noise cancelling was good, but there’s no mid-range, all I could hear was a lot of synth bass and then a little of the high end.” After listening to a few options, Ian asked to listen to Sony again to rule out any possible first-listening issues. Sadly for Sony, this was not the case, “They’re not, for me, they lack an overall quality at both the top and bottom end. There did seem to be a bit more mid range than when I first listened, but they definitely don’t have the full frequency range that some of the other players do.”

PHOTOGRAPH: Harry Hall

Mike Kintish added, “I find the bass, particularly the synth, is pretty in your face. The vocal feels quite quiet and flat. I don’t know the mix that well, but the drums feel pretty loud, and they almost overpower the vocal a little bit. Compared to something like B (Soundcore), where the bits of the song were jumping out a little bit more.”

Initially Steph was imploring the Sonys to have “a bit more top end,” but on second listen, after enjoying all the models, her assessment changed. “Compared to the others, I think it potentially has the best high end.” She also goes on to mention “They have a fair amount of low mids, but I [want] them to be a little bit punchier. Overall, I thought they were good.”

It’s worth mentioning that Steph also walked in the studio wearing a pair of older Sony WH-1000XM5. When asked about them she told WIRED, “They’re for everyday listening, and I like them a lot, but I’ve had to sort the EQ as they had too much bass for me.

B: Soundcore Space One Pro

The cheapest option by quite a margin, from a brand flirting hard with the big audio players, the Space One Pro feature Adaptive ANC, a flexible, foldable design, six microphones for clearer calls, fast charging and a massive 60 hours battery. They’re Soundcore’s flagship design and have been praised for competing well with premium options.

“I feel like, as an audio professional, I shouldn’t like them,” admits Steph, “but as a consumer, I like them.” When asked about the bass, she said “I prefer it to A (Sony), and while there’s definitely not a balanced EQ, I kind of like the hype-ness, at least on that song.” Steph did note that they were a bit “rough around the edges” but following a second recap after listening to all her options, she admitted, “These are 100 percent my favorites.”

After listening to the other headphones Isabel was full of praise for Soundcore’s flagship headphone, “It’s a much more exciting listen, and if I just wanted to immerse myself in a headphone experience, these are much more fun. It’s hyped in all the right spots.” But she did note that, “there’s something causing the vocal level to dip slightly for a more immersive feel.”

PHOTOGRAPH: Harry Hall

Ian also enjoyed them: “There’s much better balance, more bass depth (than Sony) and they’re much more pleasurable. The bass wasn’t riding over everything, and I could actually hear the mid-range.” When comparing against Apple’s AirPods Max, Ian also noticed a hi-hat cymbal on the left that was “more present, with a nice balance” although he did think the AirPods offered a more “cohesive listening experience” overall.

“Compared to A (Sony) they just had more meat in the middle. It sounds good and the vocals are a lot clearer. They’re consistent and well-rounded,” says Mike.

C: Apple AirPods Max

The instantly recognisable, ultra-premium design from Cupertino, AirPods Max boast a metal construction, seamless Apple integration, spatial audio, neat digital crown controls and 20-hour battery life.

They’ve been revered for exceptional fit, audio quality and ecosystem features, plus their excellent noise cancelling.

“The noise canceling is wild. I can’t hear you guys,” notes Isabel, who also appreciates that the AirPods Max are, compared to Sony and Soundcore, “brighter, with a good amount of low end, and with by far the best vocal presence.” She does note they’re not quite as “fun” as the Soundcore, but found them comfortable—despite everyone on the test also pointing out just how heavy they are.

After listening to all of them, Ian Lambdon felt the AirPods Max were his favorite—albeit a close run thing with D (Bose). “The balance is good here, and while they are heavy, they’re nice to listen too.”

PHOTOGRAPH: Harry Hall

“Listening to Spotify automatically just kills any dynamic,” complains Mike, but he did enjoy the “smooth, well-rounded sound” of the AirPods Max. In a quick comparison with the Soundcore, he noted “it didn’t quite have the same depth, but the vocals were clearer.” On the second listen he was even more enthusiastic, “The drums were punchy, but they didn’t take away as much from the vocals.”

“This is not a technical term, but if they feel the most boring,” explained Steph. “It’s not as clean as A (Sony) but also not as hyped as B (Soundcore), but that doesn’t make them Goldilocks, sounding not very wide, and a bit mid-range heavy.”

D: Bose QuietComfort Ultra (1st Gen)

These flagship headphones from the inventors of active noise cancellation first launched in 2023, and have been a consistent best seller ever since, commonly featuring on best headphones lists—including our own—and praised for their great sound and industry-leading noise cancelling. They recently got a number of feature upgrades, like even better noise cancellation, battery life improvements and the addition of wired USB-C audio, but apart from a few subtle tweaks, the overall sound signature has remained the same.

The results here were a mixed bag. Isabel found them, “very hyped in the bass, which loses lead vocal presence. And there’s some high-frequency hyping that’s not equating to detail, which feels like it’s masking for a poorer set of headphones.”

Ian, on the other hand, was initially pleased with the detail, and could “hear the hi-hat clearly,” but he wasn’t convinced they were as strong at the top end compared to C (Apple) or B (Soundcore). However, he concluded they were “much more balanced and better compared with A (Sony), especially in terms of the bass.”

PHOTOGRAPH: Harry Hall

“The others just feel more expansive.” says Kintish. “These feel like everything is down the center. They’re lacking that wide field of sound, and it all feels very small, whereas others—specifically A, B, and C—had a bit more stereo feel to them.”

Interestingly, Steph got the impression the Bose had “a phone filter, or EQ on them.” And admitted that, I’m almost not sure how I feel about them. I don’t dislike them as much as I did E (Nothing). But I’d say there’s nothing exciting about these either.”

E: Nothing Headphones (1)

Nothing’s first over-ear design, tuned in collaboration with KEF, features ANC, support for high-resolution Bluetooth codec LDAC, and USB‑C lossless playback, plus an 80-hour battery, custom EQ and decidedly different looks. Reviews have been hugely positive, including our own, with particular appreciation of their industrial design and feature-rich performance.

“When I was a kid,” reminisced Steph, “I played with my parent’s radio player, and messed about with the graphic equalizer. These headphones remind me of that; some kid just playing with the EQ. What’s going to be exciting? I’m gonna turn this up. I’m gonna turn that up. They’re the most hyped of them all!”

Steph continues, “I wouldn’t choose these headphones, but I could see why a consumer would, because for certain songs, they’re really exciting. I can imagine a teenage version of me loving these.”

PHOTOGRAPH: Harry Hall

“I like those a lot actually,” enthuses Isabel, but for different reasons to Steph. “Vocals are where I expect it to be, there’s lots of detail and they don’t feel hyped. They’re not as much fun or immersive as B (Soundcore), but they offer a good representation [of the song].”

Ian’s feedback is also pretty positive. “They’re nice and bright, quite clear, although with less low-end than B (Soundcore),” while Mike is quick to notice the “very balanced mix,” describing them as “definitely my preferred listening style.”

F: Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3

Premium design using quality materials, these headphones feature Bluetooth 5.3 with support for aptX Lossless, up to 30-hour battery, large drivers and solid ANC. Lauded for their sound quality and luxurious design, they’re a beautiful, but expensive pair of headphones.

It didn’t start off well, with Isabel pleading: “No, no, no, I don’t want to listen to them anymore. The low end is bad. Oh, that’s bad!”

Ian is much more complementary. “Those are nice,” he says. “Not as bright as the previous pair (Nothing), but I slightly prefer that. I don’t know if that’s because mid-range starts forgetting your ears a bit when you’re older, but I enjoyed that balance.”

“It’s weird this one,” muses Mike, “there’s good depth to it, but it sort of feels like the Weeknd has got cold all of a sudden. It’s muffled, a bit muted, and especially [at the top end frequencies] it’s like the shine has been taken off. They’re not exciting up there.”

PHOTOGRAPH: Harry Hall

In contrast to Isabel’s scathing takedown, Steph was impressed. “What I liked about these is that they feel relatively flat. There were some dips [in the frequencies], but there is really good width as well. When the song goes into the synth riff, the sound widens.” She stressed however that, while “these don’t feel as wild in terms of gain on different frequencies, they feel like an inbetween of all the headphones.”

The Results

Each of our experts ranked the headphones from best to worst, and their combined findings are as follows:

1. Soundcore Space One Pro
2. Nothing Headphone (1)
3. Apple Airpod Max
4. Sony WH‑1000XM6
5. Bose Quietcomfort Ultra (1st Gen)
6. Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3

Incredibly, at $199/£150, our blind testers’ favourite headphones are almost half the price of the next cheapest on test, which incidentally, came in second place. The question is why? WIRED isn’t looking to undermine existing reviews here—we wholeheartedly stand by our review scores that are decided upon following in-depth testing—but it does create an interesting discussion about what people like when they’re aware of nothing else but the sound.

When WIRED revealed the winners and losers to our assembled experts the reactions were also telling. In particular, Sony has carved out such a positive reputation that our panel started to second guess themselves. Similarly, Soundcore was a new brand to all of our listeners, but because the logo is similar, two of the team thought they were a new pair of Beats. And the idea of Beats being their favorite was clearly concerning. Brand perception really is everything.

This is all, of course, far from an exact science. There’s a chance that a longer blind test, with access to different genres, with songs the testers knew better, or with a better quality source, would result in a different outcome. And that’s without getting into the wider experience of what the headphones are like to use, or their quality and longevity—a blind test has its caveats, and as far as buying advice goes, this is a big one.

But that’s a lot of maybes in what, at the heart of it, is a pretty straightforward test. It’s also perhaps telling that there was one word that kept coming up to describe the two headphones that came out on top—the Nothing Headphone (1) and Soundcore Space One Pro—more than any others on test. And that word was “fun.”