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We've recently released our Test Bench 1.6 update for Headphones! Read the Latency R&D Article to learn more.
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Intro
  3. Our Tests
  4. Comments

Sound Profile Scores and Tests
Headphones

Updated
What it is: The overall sound signature of the headphones. The general tonal balance between the bass, mid, and treble ranges of the frequency response. The calculations are done between 20Hz and 9kHz.
When it matters: When you want to find headphones that match your listening taste.

When buying a pair of headphones, it's important to find ones that sound the way you like. But how can you know what they sound like without listening to them? You can look at their raw frequency response, which tells you how accurately the drivers reproduce each frequency in amplitude. However, if you're just learning to read sound graphs, it can be challenging to interpret this information. Our Sound Profile test is designed to simplify this process.

We use a target based on Harman's target response, which is based on the idea that a good pair of headphones should sound similar to a good stereo speaker setup in an ideal room. This target is applied to the headphones' frequency response and is level-matched to 90 dB. This turns our target curve into a straight line, making it easier to see the sound of the headphones that are under or overemphasized compared to our target. If you prefer more thump, rumble, and boom in your audio, you'll want headphones that have big peaks throughout the bass range. Conversely, if you like vocals and instruments to sound clear and natural, you'll want to look for a more neutral and flat response across the range.

Although we don't score this test, if you want to know how well the frequency response follows our target curve, you'll want to check out Bass AccuracyMid Accuracy, and Treble Accuracy instead. If you're looking to understand audio quality lingo, take a look at our sound quality glossary too. 

Test results

Our Tests

What it is: How much energy the headphones have in the bass range. Note that this number won't tell you how good the bass is. A value near 0dB represents a sound profile that most people will find balanced. A negative value represents a bass-light sound profile, while a positive value represents a bass-heavy sound profile.
When it matters: When you want to hear more or less of the low frequencies, such as the sound of kick drums and bass guitar.
Score distribution

[Coming Soon]

What it is: How much energy the headphones have in the treble range relative to the mid-range. Note that this number won't tell you how good the treble is. A value near 0dB represents a sound that most people would find balanced. A negative value represents a warm sound profile, while a positive value represents a bright sound profile.
When it matters: When you want to hear more or less of the high frequencies, like cymbals.
Score distribution

[Coming Soon]