We're going to pass this knowledge on to you at home so you can test the 8 best songs to test headphones. We test a multitude of headphones on a regular basis, so we know what songs to use to evaluate them.
These songs were chosen to represent the best of a variety of different genres in order to cater to different personal tastes in music, and secondly (and dare we say most importantly).
This showcases a necessary range of dynamics in order to test out the headphones' response to their respective parts of the frequency spectrum.
Key takeaway
The best songs to test headphones include “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes, “Unfinished Sympathy” by Massive Attack, “A Thousand Years” by The Piano Guys, “Hunger” by Florence + the Machine, “Wilderness” by Explosions in the Sky, “Helplessly Hoping” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, “Paper Trails” by Darkside, and “You've Got to Have Freedom” by Pharoah Sanders.
Watch this: Pop Songs 2023 Playlist – Timeless Pop Songs – Billboard Top 50 This Week – Best Top Songs 2023
How Do You Determine the Quality of Your Headphones?
The best approach to test headphones is to listen to a variety of music genres. And that's exactly what we're attempting to help you with by presenting the list of top songs to evaluate the quality of headphones in 2023. To test the headphones, listening to tracks containing high, low, and mid-range frequencies.
Songs containing a variety of instruments can put your speakers to the test, providing an accurate assessment of their quality. If you want to focus on your music rather than constantly adjusting your headphones, ensure sure they fit comfortably while listening on your head and ears.
Overall, when choosing the best headset, identify your musical tastes and expectations. If you enjoy rock music or are a huge fan of bass, the perfect headphones for you may be different from what you now own. Similarly, if your tastes are more subtle, preferring mid to low-range vocals, bass headphones are a poor fit.
Take your time and conduct your study. As a result, before purchasing headphones, go to a music store and try on a few to choose the one that best meets your needs.
If you intend to clean your headphones and do a sound-quality test after cleaning, you can use the songs described above to test your headphones.
Best Songs to Test Headphones
1. Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes
It was recorded using pre-1960s equipment and 8-track tape, so the soundstage is fairly realistic.
Analog signals are typically cloudier; while the BBD technology boosts the signal, there is always some electrical over-spill, which leads up to fuzz and distortion, as well as lower fidelity transmissions.
This is ideal for testing headphones since they should react to coloring the tone with a buttery warmth, and the distortion and effects should add to the dynamics rather than disrupt the speakers within your headphones.
If they buzz or become muffled, they're not digesting as well as they should, and you're missing out. The guitar playing the deep bass is panned to the left, indicating that your stereo sound is working.
Other aspects of the music that make it suitable for testing headphones include the dynamics between the sparse verses and dense choruses. Then there's the infamous pop pop pop pop developing drum crescendo preceding the wailing lead guitars.
The low riff is great for putting your bass skills to the test, although it wasn't recorded on a bass guitar. In truth, Jack White utilized a Kay semi-acoustic hollow-body guitar with a DigiTech Whammy pedal that he adjusted down an entire octave.
2. Unfinished Sympathy – Massive Attack
One of the greatest songs to use to test your headphones' bass and clarity qualities is this one. The vocals stand out in comparison to other songs because of their high tones.
Use the Unfinished Sympathy to give your headphones a proper test if bass and clarity are crucial to you.
3. A Thousand Years – The Piano Guys
The vast register of the piano and various playing approaches are used on the cellist's part, providing the dynamic nuances useful for inspecting the speakers within your headphones.
Mezzo-Piano begins in the middle C register, with the cellists bowing warm sustained notes beneath a layered hopeful-sounding pizzicato recording. They work in unison to construct.
The cello then takes over on the lows, while the piano briefly introduces a treble end riff before the legato strings drop out to highlight the pizzicato plucking. The piano then moves through the higher keys with long, poignant notes, with the third note of each bar played at a faster tempo. On a decent set of headphones, the ringing should be bright and exaggerated in the mix.
RECOMMENDED POSTS: What Are the Best Equalizer Settings? (Ultimate Guide)
4. Hunger – Florence and the Machine
For the chorus, the drums and keys kick in, and the vocals are well-projected. There's a lot going on rhythmically, and the layered instruments and backup vocals will give you an idea of your headphones' capabilities.
The kick drum, forceful second and fourth beats, and high-pitched tambourine clashing test each end of the spectrum, but it is the dynamics and processing of the actual singing that will be the ultimate test.
The utilization of breath, pitch-slides, and flips in vocal phrases, as well as the earnestness of the singer's voice, should be particularly noticeable.
5. Beat It – Michael Jackson
This next track is likely to be as well-known as the prior one. Before the first synthesizer note of Micheal Jackson's Beat, even kicks in, your headphones will have plenty to think about.
The usage of sounds effects by MJ in the first few bars is a good definition tester. Your mids will be scrutinized from the clicks and sirens to the eerie bell tolls and underlying chatter.
The slick Moog bass synthesizer riff delivers an unrelenting repeated lick that we all quickly recognize. The instrument's depth, combined with the kicking 80's rhythm, will necessitate careful treatment from your low-end onboard processing.
Micheal's voice takes center stage above the accompaniment. It's staccato and in a mixed-chested head register, with a powerful high that the vocalist is known for. It's sung with a lot of emphases, outstanding annunciation, and rapid catch-breath notes, all of which will put your headphones' voice definition to the test.
The vocal layering is done in a call-and-response style, including fading and panning. The powerful drumbeat emphasizes the fourth note of each bar. This, together with the heavier choruses, should really warm up your low-end.
6. Canon – London Symphony Orchestra
Pachabels Canon is possibly one of the most well-known classical pieces of all time, and its format and structure are certainly among the most copied. It is a prime example of motif recurrence and growth through decoration, which was quite popular during the baroque period and is known as a change in its most basic form.
For a variety of reasons, the London Symphony Orchestra arrangement is an excellent choice for headphone testing. The bottom string section establishes the structure for the composition, which is immediately joined by the upper harmonies of the violins and violas.
The wide harmonies within the unison playing should let you test your balance and definition; none should be more distinct than the other, but each note played should still be discernible. The string collection portions then separate as the piece's rounds diverge phrase by phrase.
The notation's ground bass is maintained throughout each movement, providing a pace measure and connecting the piece together, stabbing below the bowing and tremolo playing. Because it is a polyphonic work, you will be able to easily examine its frequency response and performance handling.
Each pattern's rhythm doubles through the bars, and quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and thirty-second notes all play over one another by the time the orchestra is all performing. The music also employed dotted and syncopated rhythms, all of which will be unintelligible and muted when listening through inferior headphones.
7. Guns and Roses (Sweet Child o' Mine)
This rock tune was picked for its dynamic acoustics throughout and was extremely useful for testing headphones. The extraordinarily high frequency is put to the test, and it does not disappoint. This rock tune is a high performer for headphone quality testing since it hits a purpose on an incredible frequency range.
8. Titanium – David Guetta (feat. Sia)
To begin, the opening bars have a reverb tail put anarchically on a selection of the chosen guitar riff. This creates a fascinating interplay between the brighter sustained notes and the muted tones. The most prominent method used in the song, which should be a good test for your headphones, is the side-chained compression.
The thundering bass is accentuated by the usage of the kick track to cue the volume of the synths and sweeps, causing the levels to pulsate. This is set to 8th notes and is used in other areas in rhythm with the 4/4 kick.
In some regions, this pulsing effect can be heard on the vocals themselves. Sias' vocals have distinct tonal contrast between the ghostly broken verses and the strongly projected choruses, the intricacies of which should be easily characterized with a good pair of headphones.
Despite its simple traditional pop framework, the song had a solid blend of dynamics, with a succession of climbs and falls. The choruses also feature a complete drop-out of percussion and bass, which is a common DJing approach as well as a suitable bar measurement purpose for audio testing.
Conclusion On The Best Songs To Test Headphones
There are many songs that use dynamics to help listeners know where they are in the song. Most popular songs will build up to the chorus, and many artists will also include some kind of breakdown. These conditions are ideal for evaluating your different headphones and it is easy to use.
As previously said, creating bass frequencies requires a sufficient surface area to vibrate, and a set of headphones driver is constrained by space, therefore low-quality headphones typically struggle with the punchy bass end. Strong basslines in songs will let you quickly assess how well your effort is done.
We've made an effort to educate you along the way, but the best song you should listening to is obviously completely subjective and depending on personal opinion, and there are many genres that we haven't covered here.
We checked the audio quality, sounds signature, high notes that can be used to test headphones, and booming bass that has a purpose on test speakers on these songs, all of which can be found on Apple Music. You should now have enough knowledge to choose your own testing tracks after today's evaluations, hopefully.
FAQs On The Best Songs To Test Headphones
Is it preferable to listening to music using headphones?
When compared to earbuds, headphones provide greater overall isolation quality. This is due to the fact that headphones rest over the ear, allowing for some acoustic space. Over-the-ear headphones have larger drivers and allow more air to flow through, providing a fuller soundstage and sometimes some bass.
What is a good song to use to evaluate sounds quality?
“Bohemian Rhapsody” is one of the greatest songs of all time, and the dramatic shifts that occur during the song make it ideal for soundstage system testing.
Is it true that headphones are more harmful than speakers?
Furthermore, speakers may provide a wider variety of frequencies, albeit the soundstage quality may suffer as a result. Furthermore, headphones are more dangerous than speakers because they can induce numbness, pain, or infection in the ears and even damage the brain, resulting in major health problems!
Recent Content
Canon PowerShot ELPH 360 Digital Camera Review: A Budget-Friendly Point-and-Shoot Option
The Canon PowerShot ELPH 360 HS is a compact and user-friendly digital camera designed for beginners and casual photographers. With its 20.2 MP CMOS sensor, 12x Optical Zoom, and 25x ZoomPlus, this...
Olympus Tough TG-6 Digital Camera Review: A Rugged Companion for Your Adventures
The Olympus Tough TG-6 is a compact, rugged camera designed for capturing stunning images and videos in challenging environments. With its impressive array of features, it is an excellent choice for...