I bought some noise-cancelling headphones to be prepared well in advance of working from home, or so I thought. Delivered the weekend before the UK government advised non-essential workers to work from home if at all possible. Luckily I can work from home, and I’ve got an understanding employer.

I had just enough time to set them up and not feel silly in audio video calls. Well, not too silly.

Being honest, my initial impression of listening to music, even close to top volume, they seemed a teeny bit ‘dull’ compared to my Bluedio Revolution R+, but it’s hen I discovered I’d set Amazon Prime Music to equalise the volume of all tracks. Yeah, that’s better.

Before buying the new ones I’d read up on noise cancellation and honestly didn’t expect much. I was wrong. Dead wrong. I *also* listened to a few of the tracks recommended to bring out the best (or worst?) in headphones. You know, tests.

I really don’t know what prompted me to search YouTube just now for ‘headphone test’ but I’m so glad I did! The very first one I tapped on both reminded me of my advancing years (high frequency hearing loss) and, well…

Headphones on, darkened room, here it is; listen to the end!

Ultimate Headphones Test (The only 10 minutes you won’t waste on YouTube today.)

Advisory: read the comments if you must,