We Tested 5 Headphone Brands to Find the Best One | Focus Group | WIRED

[00:00] But does the average user like them? of what an airplane gives you. Here's what they really thought.

[00:14] [bright music] [bright music] - [Jesse] They look a little cheap budget.

[00:30] a movie theater at like an IMAX. It reminds me of like a 90s computer. - [Patrick] It almost looks analog, like a cassette tape

[00:44] It just screams, boot up the old desktop computer. I'd pass for the appearance. - [Abrielle] I think C is a little bit too chunky for me.

[00:58] by adding material to them, - It's not my favorite, but it does look pretty good. - Understated. - Which isn't a bad thing.

[01:11] - [Patrick] I just looked right past 'em, honestly. How do we feel about E? They look different from any headphones I'd seen before.

[01:24] All these are somewhat similar and that's unique. Everybody's got headphones now. - I feel like these would fall off easy.

[01:39] Like, they're not going anywhere. of contoured nicely to one's head. - I feel like these are a slightly upgraded version

[01:52] - Oh, I love these. These are canceled. - They're awesome, aren't they? - They're not uncomfortable by any means,

[02:05] - What do you guys think of the material on each one? This one, I feel like will last a while. This does feel better. Pretty good overall.

[02:21] they're a bit higgledy pickledy, you know? - [Abrielle] This is cool. - I don't know how well it holds up, the mesh,

[02:34] I mean these, when you feel 'em, they do feel pretty good. - [Abrielle] Oh wow. - [Jesse] Right? it's just super easy to replace them.

[02:48] That is very nice. - [Jesse] Yeah. I just dunno why they made the individual earphone part Like it just looks a little too big for me.

[03:00] just sort of normal, understated. They don't have like a really nice swivel, - No, I wouldn't call it budget,

[03:13] - Yeah. - Somewhere mid grade. - [Abrielle] I just am not a fan of this material. - I like the cushion.

[03:27] What do we feel like is our favorite, - I'd probably say E, but B I think is pretty interesting - I might be able to come around

[03:41] to it a little bit if it was just more comfortable for me. [upbeat music] - [Jesse] That song has a really prominent low end.

[03:53] of the headphones should have been a bit better. The middle range and the highs, they sounded very good. - She does these like kind of whisper sounds in it.

[04:05] that you would get from low end headphones. - There was some details with the lossless version There's like greater separation between instruments.

[04:22] and I also feel like the other ones feel better on my head. to see if I could like, run with it. that the first one did.

[04:36] with the lossless quality? and we get back the middle range that we had lost - The audio comes cleaner on these ones for some reason,

[04:50] whereas the other ones felt like there was like a little bit if I had to use them as Bluetooth headphones. Going that you're gonna be wearing it Bluetooth most

[05:04] of the time, E was superior to A. of like a sound stage effect in like different places, almost as if I'm in the room.

[05:17] - D has really good treble. and maybe there was a little more clarity.

[05:29] The padding felt a little off with it. as Bluetooth than they were when they were plugged in. - [Jesse] Got a lot quieter from the Bluetooth

[05:42] It's an easy fix, I suppose. You just turn up the volume. I felt the bass was a little weak. and they're super noise canceling, which I like.

[05:56] Just mediocre, would not pick. With the Bluetooth, like, couldn't wait to take them off. I actually wanted to continue listening.

[06:10] It's a little too tight. Listening to that, that's really clear audio. - I wasn't getting a super strong bass out of them,

[06:25] but vocals, and that was very, very good. compressed together. [upbeat music]

[06:38] You don't know how much these headphones cost. - Pretty sure you know which one's the most expensive. I actually think these might be the cheapest ones.

[06:53] - I feel like the Sonos are probably pretty expensive. they've got the style thing going on. - [Abrielle] I might do 299.

[07:09] - 299 on C. the Sony ones would be more expensive. - Oh, impressive.

[07:23] - [Jesse] Yeah. Sonos Ace is around 319, you know, on sale. The cheapest is the Soundcore Space One Pro.

[07:38] The Sony line of headphones, of the best headphones on the market. battery life, there's microphone quality,

[07:50] So for example, these ones, you can actually fold them in of the best in the business in terms of noise cancellation. that you really liked the Sonys, you did not.

[08:04] people just having different preferences out of the headphones. If you want something more of a budget friendly option,

[08:17] And if you're in a Sonos household, you're more likely to stream with other Sonos products.

[08:29] They're really great on a lot of fronts, because Apple is more of a brand name. And the Nothing headphones are, actually,

[08:42] They haven't made headphones before, because they just look like no other headphones out there. They have decent battery life.

[08:56] which is like the number one thing. The lossless version of those are actually very good. - One pattern I noticed is with the higher end models,

[09:11] and Bluetooth, whereas with the cheaper models, that maybe the lossless isn't doing a ton more would you pay $550 for headphones?

[09:25] a good pair of headphones is kind of clinch. spending on a pair of headphones? - I wouldn't say it's so much of a price range.

[09:39] And it's not that I'm an Apple fan boy it was the first one I tried. you have to be a little more critical and everything.

[09:53] So would I pay the premium for it? [upbeat music] - [Julian] You would be surprised how many people run

[10:05] with them which I think is a bit funny. that would be my selection - I agree with Patrick about the AirPod Maxes.

[10:19] - I actually did really like the Nothing. - I like the styling as well. It's something unique. so wireless for me is something new.

[10:34] - Yeah. to our focus group experiment. [bright music]