INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS: you’ll never guess which one won the blind test

Wired ran a blind audio test with six pairs of ANC headphones ranging from $150 to $600. No branding, no handling—just listening. Same song, same streaming source, ANC turned on across the board.

The winner was Soundcore Space One Pro at $199. Second place went to Nothing Headphone 1 at $299. AirPods Max came in third. Sony’s WH-1000XM6 landed fourth. Bose and Bowers & Wilkins took the bottom spots.

When the brands were revealed, several experts were convinced they’d made mistakes. One admitted they’d never even heard of Soundcore. The word that kept coming up for the top two wasn’t “accurate” or “neutral.” It was “fun.”

This is a useful reminder. When product teams optimize for benchmark specs and legacy brand equity, they can miss what people actually enjoy. If the listening experience doesn’t create an emotional response, the rest is just technical filler.

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