CHEAP vs. EXPENSIVE Headphones Challenge! Can Normal People Tell the Difference???

Measurement Index

Resolve's Headphone Ranking:

How to read headphone measurements

How to EQ Headphones

The Limits of EQ

Become an expert on headphones

0:00 - 1:52 Intro/Meeting the Listeners
1:52 - 3:25 Testing Headphone 1
3:25 - 4:35 Testing Headphone 2
4:35 - 5:54 Testing Headphone 3
5:54 - 7:05 Testing Headphone 4
7:05 - 8:15 Testing Headphone 5
8:15 - 11:31 Ranking the Headphones
11:31 - 13:43 Conclusions from Chrono!

[ResolveReviews]

I just wanted to add a couple of things. Very obviously this wasn't meant to be scientific, and I think that's where concerns about lack of a control is coming from, which is totally fair.

However, the point of this video was NOT to determine if non-audiophiles could tell a difference between cheap and expensive frequency response (or sound quality alone), but rather to determine if non-audiophiles could tell between cheap and expensive HEADPHONES, which includes sound quality but can also include 'feel' and a number of other factors. If you JUST want to control for frequency response, you have to do something like Dr. Olive's virtual headphone test methodology, since weight, comfort, feel, all play a role in preference. But we wanted to see what happens if you include some of that. If you noticed, the rankings at the end were not always based on sound quality alone, and the ones considered most expensive weren't always the ones most preferred.

This type of test could've been done without the blindfold even, but it at least makes it so they wouldn't be able to recognize brand names or tell which is which.

[-.-]

it seemed like grace was least into audio stuff out of them yet her price guesses were almost on point... impressive stuff

[fez]

> Can "normal people" tell the difference?
> "I know the dynamic range of that song..."

Find the mistake. 😀

[antonhelsgaun]

Would've loved to see their reactions to the prices

[TheNaughtyType]

You really have to hand it to Koss for being able to pump out cheap headphones that sound good. And with retro styles coming back, they don’t really look that bad either.

[Ken-zgze]

I feel like letting them touch the headphones takes away the objectiveness of assessing sound quality.

[rickybobbysdriver]

Videos like this are enlightening because so much of how we are influenced is usually determined by price and name brand. Always fun to see how subjective sound is.

[qboogie]

I love videos where non-audiophiles try out dope gear. The look on their faces is so entertaining

[thirdkey]

Even as an audiophile, there is only so much I’m willing to sacrifice with headphones because even for dedicated music listening session use, comfort/ergonomics and some convenience is as important as quality sound. I like a balance gestalt. Thanks and hopefully you’ll be doing more of these in the future.

[waves]

Dude's just casually flicking a 6000$ Headphone...
(7:18)

[jamesbush]

Amazing how close Grace came to the actual price with what appears to be the LEAST experience in the panel. Great job!! I think price/performance is a LOT more accurate on full size headphones as opposed to IEMs.

[Sutlore]

HD650 was really a legacy in my audiophile community, one of the best pair along side AKG K-1000 or Grado RS-1 last 10-15 years ago, maybe. One of my friends still have it for daily use.

[robertreynolds]

I currently own a system in the $30k range w/ a few summit-fi headphones in rotation. I haven’t had one friend that wasn’t blown away, a few have even gotten emotional.

[BALTDGuitar]

I feel like adding a legit bad cheap headphone to the list would be interesting

[DaveTheBird]

Great video, it is refreshing to get 'normal', average views on headphones, think audiophiles can get caught in a bubble, I have been selling off a lot of my headphone stuff and just getting reasonably priced earbuds and more portable (small on ear mainly) headphones. I am finding that more fun, it does help that I am an old man now so my hearing is not as good as it was, so planar and electrostax etc. are wasted on me now. To be honest it is more fun in some ways, but I do miss some of the Koss and stax electrostatic headphones that I had a I think some of the prices now are just crazy though, 5, 000 and over for some headphones now, but then I guess may be my age, as I think there was a high end Sony about 20 years ago that maybe cost the equivilant of 5, 000 today....

[mehmetgurdal]

Man blond guy is an audiophile even though he's not aware of it yet.
My man even picked on the driver timbre.

[samlee]

An easy parallel can be drawn between headphones and cameras.. you can spend 5k on a high-end DSLR but for most people camera phones are fine, and many people prefer the smart images taken with iPhones etc

[ShadowWhippler]

i was waiting for price reveals for the guys who stayed in the hundreds.

[Ringleaderrik]

This was cool. I wish you included headphones the average listener would use to highlight the differences. Your choices were all pretty good options. Realistically, the average person isn't going to drop $400 on headphones and the Porta Pro is a cult classic only audiophiles get. It would be nice to see some Beats or Skullcandys included to see if your friends could pick them out.

[samyg]

Sorry, these aren’t “normal” listeners. If they use words like soundstage and flatness, or can identify a sennheiser product blind folded, they are not an “average joe” off the street.