The noise and the audio market

The world of pro audio is loud — not just in sound, but in opinions. At OLLO, we often collaborate with professionals by offering our headphones for real-world testing. But here’s the thing: we never ask for praise. We ask for honesty.

That’s exactly what William Robertson brings in this piece — a sharp, opinionated take on the noise surrounding the audio market today. We’re sharing it here because we believe more brands should be comfortable hosting conversations like this.

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The noise and the audio market

The noise here does not refer to its original, primary meaning we usually associate with audio. Here, it is about the clutter, the blurriness, the overload induced by misleading audio-related content. Let's say you are on the hunt for a new pair of headphones (what a surprise!). How can you tell if one person is giving a proper opinion about a product or if everything is triggered? Let's dive in.

A "proper" opinion.

We could describe a "proper" opinion as a point of view that comes from: experience, an unbiased objective perspective, a real-life tangible set of tests or use cases. So how to separate the good from the not so good?

First and foremost, if the person in question received the product for free, it is likely to bias their judgment on the positive side while steering away from objectivity. Even worse if the person got the product for free AND got paid to review it. If on top of that, the person does not produce any work that you deem of high-quality or any significant work, then their opinion may be even more subjective and far from meaningful objectivity.

In short? Avoid audio influencers. On a side note, beware of "name dropping" — many use their past glory to justify their new status as audio influencers or unassumed salespeople. Now that the sight is clearer, and that we can differentiate mud from chocolate, let's talk about ingredients: technicalities.

Photos by William Robertson I @wheeliemix

Technicalities

Each headphone will sound slightly different due to parts tolerance discrepancies (which some manufacturers compensate for by offering better calibration). But also because each human head is, as far as I know, different.

If we add the fact that each set of human ears performs differently, we can start to understand how choosing "the right headphones" becomes a very idiosyncratic task. Of course, you can refer to graphs and measurements, but your own set of personal flaws (hearing loss, big/small ears, fluffy or hard hair, etc.) may almost override some technical prowess of the product in question.

That is why, inevitably, it all comes down to this:

Try them (duh!)

Choosing headphones is like choosing speakers. There are way too many opinions (a lot of them not "proper") to form a decent one without trying them. It is also too personal. Like speakers again. Take the NS–10: technically, horrible speakers. Yet, still used in 2025 to mix great songs.

And some engineers or producers will create higher-quality work on NS–10s instead of ATC-300s (don't look up the price online — it hurts).

As always: to each their own, try everything you can.

Photos by @gloria_costa_fotografie & @wilsantanamusic

Silly conclusion

But what about me? What headphones do I use? Well, I'll tell you, but know that it does not matter in the slightest (to anybody but myself).

I have tried a large quantity of headphones — from awful Bluetooth ones to extremely rare and expensive ones. I started my career on headphones and I still rely heavily on them.

I appreciated the deep sub response of the big HEDD ones. I appreciate the very enjoyable (to me) low-mids definition of the Audeze LCD-X. I also really enjoy the ease of translation my mixes had when working on the OLLO Audio S4X. I was blown away by the realistic soundstage of the Focal Clear Pro. And finally, I rely a lot on the high-end detail that the OLLO Audio X1 gives me.

They still have the great translation potential of the S4X but with a much more detailed sound, and less hyped low-end (that many headphones tend to have).

But please, don't trust me. I was lucky enough to try most of these headphones under very specific scenarios (free trials, discounts, or even free gifts), which is enough to bias my judgment even if I am trying really hard to stay objective.

So do not trust my words — try as much as you can, then objectively assess.

This is not an advert. This is not sponsored content. This is a set of opinions formed by experiences in real-life scenarios.

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We’re proud to see OLLO mentioned here — not because we were praised, but because we were tested. And that’s all we ever ask for.

Big thanks to William for sharing his thoughts, and for reminding all of us that when it comes to choosing gear: listen, test, trust your own ears.