Here's a classic "OMG I can hear him moving around" recording that works with the cheapest of headphones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA https://ww

Here's a classic "OMG I can hear him moving around" recording that works with the cheapest of headphones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA Most of the audio experience quality comes out of the production phase, and artists can put as much or little effort into that as possible and consider several mediums of listening (headphones, TV, surround, concert, vinyl) and make tradeoffs for the medium's particular experience. I don't know about double blind trials but people do tests on their own. It's further complicated though because the hardware you use could be optimized for certain types of music, e.g. have a read through http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/07/some-of-the-worlds-most-reknowned-headphones-built-in-a-brooklyn-townhouse/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/07/some-of-the-worlds-mo...