I asked people to guess the difference between $40 and $300 wireless earbuds — and their answers shocked me

You’d think that if you had people blind-test two pairs of earbuds with drastically different prices, that they’d prefer the more expensive option, right? Yet when I asked strangers on the street to choose between the $40 JLab JBuds Mini and $299 Sony WF-1000XM5, their choices varied.

The Sony WF-1000XM5 are an impressive-sounding pair of wireless earbuds with no shortage of premium features. That’s why we’ve rated them the best wireless earbuds we’ve tested, period.

So, I stopped people in New York City to see whether they would spend their own $40 on the JLab JBuds Mini or $300 on the Sony WF-1000XM5 after trying out both and guessing the prices based on their impressions. Not only did everyone place the JBuds Mini at a higher price, but everyone thought the WF-1000XM5 cost less than they do. A few even used their AirPods Pro as a point of reference when making their estimates.

To see which ones they’d buy themselves, you’ll have to check out our video either by watching above or clicking the link here to visit our YouTube channel.

Kate Kozuch is the managing editor of social and video at Tom’s Guide. She writes about smartwatches, TVs, audio devices, and some cooking appliances, too. Kate appears on Fox News to talk tech trends and runs the Tom's Guide TikTok account, which you should be following if you don't already. When she’s not filming tech videos, you can find her taking up a new sport, mastering the NYT Crossword or channeling her inner celebrity chef.