Over-ear headphones
Which brand 5 AI models pick, with intervals.
Fast panel · Panel, equal weight
- anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 @ claude-haiku-5.5 via OpenRouter (20%)
- openai/gpt-6-luna @ gpt-6-luna via OpenRouter (20%)
- google/gemini-4-argon @ gemini-4-argon via OpenRouter (20%)
- mistralai/mistral-large-4-0 @ mistral-large-4-0 via OpenRouter (20%)
- deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash @ deepseek-v4.1-flash via OpenRouter (20%)
Too closeNo single favourite: Bose and Sony share the top tier for these 5 API models.
Tier 1
- Sony70%95% interval 58–81%plausible rank 1–2
- Bose59%95% interval 47–71%plausible rank 1–3
Tier 2
- Sennheiser37%95% interval 26%–< 50%plausible rank 2–8
- Apple27%95% interval 18–38%plausible rank 3–9
- Bowers & Wilkins19%95% interval 9–30%plausible rank 3–11
- Soundcore18%95% interval 10–29%plausible rank 3–10
- JBL16%95% interval 9–27%plausible rank 3–10
- Beats12%95% interval 6–22%plausible rank 3–11
Tier 3
- Sonos12%95% interval 7–18%plausible rank 4–10
- JLab3%95% interval 1–11%plausible rank 5–11
Tier 4
- Skullcandy2%95% interval 0–8%plausible rank 8–11
Drag across the chart to probe a share.
Too closeNo single favourite: Bose and Sony share the top tier for these 5 API models.
| Brand | Choice share | 95% interval | Plausible rank | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sony | 70% | 58–81% | 1–2 | Tier 1 |
| Bose | 59% | 47–71% | 1–3 | Tier 1 |
| Sennheiser | 37% | 26%–< 50% | 2–8 | Tier 2 |
| Apple | 27% | 18–38% | 3–9 | Tier 2 |
| Bowers & Wilkins | 19% | 9–30% | 3–11 | Tier 2 |
| Soundcore | 18% | 10–29% | 3–10 | Tier 2 |
| JBL | 16% | 9–27% | 3–10 | Tier 2 |
| Beats | 12% | 6–22% | 3–11 | Tier 2 |
| Sonos | 12% | 7–18% | 4–10 | Tier 3 |
| JLab | 3% | 1–11% | 5–11 | Tier 3 |
| Skullcandy | 2% | 0–8% | 8–11 | Tier 4 |
How to read this
- Choice share: how often models pick a brand when it appears in a shortlist of 4. Chance is 25%, the dashed line.
- The band is the 95% interval; the bright tick is the estimate. Overlapping bands are not a strict order.
- Tiers are published: a tier groups brands not distinguishable from that tier's leader. Same tier does not mean equal.
- Rank shows the plausible rank range, not a strict place.
- Drag across the chart to probe a share and see which intervals contain it.
- Brand names only: the models saw each option as a brand name, with no product facts, and answered from their own knowledge.
- Fast panel: the fast or small current models of each vendor, not the full flagship panel.
- Beta: intervals are not yet small-sample calibrated.
- Each page shows the latest edition. Dates are in the downloadable JSON.
Panel and conditions
Each edition puts the brands of the category to a panel of AI models, called through their APIs, in randomized shortlists of 4 (chance is 25%). Each option was a brand name only, with no product facts, prices or any commercial data, so a brand's share measures which brand the models recommend from their own knowledge for the shopper needs of the scenarios. Shares come with 95% intervals; tiers and rank intervals are simultaneous at the same level.
- anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 @ claude-haiku-5.5 via OpenRouter (20%)
- openai/gpt-6-luna @ gpt-6-luna via OpenRouter (20%)
- google/gemini-4-argon @ gemini-4-argon via OpenRouter (20%)
- mistralai/mistral-large-4-0 @ mistral-large-4-0 via OpenRouter (20%)
- deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash @ deepseek-v4.1-flash via OpenRouter (20%)
Conditions: closed-book API calls via OpenRouter (pinned providers); web search, grounding, tools and retrieval off; forced choice; 2 paraphrases per scenario in English.
Methodology: ACM-1.0-chart-draft (draft rules for movement, significance and events, awaiting review).