Headphones: How we test headphones

We test headphone sound leakage

Sound leakage

Our scientists use a test head dummy – affectionately known as Henry – to test how much noise headphones keep out and keep in. Henry has small microphones in his ears so he can listen to sounds.

Our scientists place him next to a loudspeaker and play a range of frequencies. They then record what Henry hears with and without the headphones on to see how well they shield unwanted noise.

To measure how much sound leaks from headphones our scientists put them back on Henry’s head and play the same noise through them. They then measure sound levels from a 30cm away.

Wear and tear

It's not one of their most taxing jobs but our scientists drop each pair of headphones 10 times from a height of 1.2 metres on to a carpet. After this, they check the headphones are still in working order and make notes of any wear and tear.

They also gently tug at cables as if they're caught on arms or around the neck, to make sure they're strong enough.

Sound quality

To test sound quality we use a panel of five expert listeners. They listen to a range of music – from Prokofiev to The Prodigy – as well as speech recordings.

For noise cancelling models, a member of our panel listens to music in the back of a moving car, by the side of a busy road and in a busy office.

Comfort and fit

How the headphones sound isn't our only consideration – we also assess them for comfort and how adjustable they are.

The five people in our listening panel rate these aspects, then two experienced ergonomists rate how easy it is to set up the headphones, put them on, adjust the fit and operate any controls.  

They also consider how comfortable the headphones are for use on the move, by wearing them for at least 30 minutes.

While doing these assessments, the ergonomists also consider how suitable the headphones are for left handed users as well as those with weak grip, poor sight, poor hearing and colour-blindness.

Total test score and Best Buys

Once we have all our test results in, we evaluate the data to determine the total test score for each set of headphones. This is based on the following:

• Sound quality    70%
• Comfort and fit  20%
• Sound leakage    5%

Those models that score 70% or over are awarded Best Buy status