MODELDRIFT.WATCH

Sep 19 · Day 10

SIGNIFICANT · GPT · QUESTION 24

GPT took 5.8 seconds to answer a request for a ranked top 5 of noise-cancelling headphones, against its usual 13 seconds.

Why it’s significant

Response time is how long an answer takes to arrive, and it rises and falls with the network and how busy the provider is. So an unusual time is worth a look but says little about the model itself.

The full answers

Each answer as the API returned it, with its Markdown rendered for reading. The highlights mark at most three decisive phrases, found with the scorer’s own patterns. Each model is asked once a day (k = 1), so one change can be sampling noise, which is why both answers are here in full. How scoring works.

Asked verbatim · Question 24

Best noise-cancelling headphones for long-haul flights — give me a ranked top 5 with brand and model.

SEP 18beforePermalink

Top 5 noise-cancelling headphones for long-haul flights

  • 1.Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones — Best overall
    Exceptional cabin-noise cancellation, plush comfort, and roughly 24-hour battery life.
  • 2.Sony WH-1000XM5 — Best balance of ANC, sound, and battery
    Excellent noise cancellation, around 30 hours per charge, and strong app controls; they don’t fold compactly.
  • 3.Bose QuietComfort Headphones — Best for comfort and portability
    Lightweight, foldable, comfortable for extended wear, and nearly as effective as the Ultra model.
  • 4.Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless — Best battery life
    Up to 60 hours, excellent sound, and comfortable fit, though ANC is slightly behind Bose and Sony.
  • 5.Sony WH-1000XM4 — Best value for travel
    Still excellent at blocking aircraft noise, folds into a compact case, and offers about 30 hours of battery life.

Best single choice: Bose QuietComfort Ultra.
Best value: Sony WH-1000XM4.
Best for ultra-long itineraries: Sennheiser Momentum 4.

For seatback entertainment, pack the included 3.5 mm cable and, if needed, a two-prong airline adapter.

SEP 19afterPermalink

Top 5 noise-cancelling headphones for long-haul flights

  • 1.Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones — Best overall for exceptional ANC, comfort, and cabin-pressure noise reduction.
  • 2.Sony WH-1000XM6 — Superb noise cancellation, sound quality, microphone performance, and travel-friendly features.
  • 3.Bose QuietComfort Headphones — Lighter and usually cheaper than the Ultra, while remaining extremely comfortable on long flights.
  • 4.Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless — Best for battery life and sound quality; up to roughly 60 hours per charge.
  • 5.Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) — Excellent ANC and transparency mode, especially for Apple users, but heavier and less travel-friendly.

Quick pick: Choose the Bose QuietComfort Ultra for maximum comfort and flight-focused ANC, or the Sony WH-1000XM6 for the best all-round feature set.

Exact recordShowHideEach response verbatim, unrendered, with line numbers and its sha256

Before baseline

2026-09-18 permalink

Scored
answered
Received
2026-09-18 09:20:30 UTC
Run
20260918T090022Z-92b6f7
Served by
OpenAI · HTTP 200 · finish stop
Size
1,146 characters · 743 tokens out incl. hidden reasoning · 15.8 s
## Top 5 noise-cancelling headphones for long-haul flights
1. **Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones** — Best overall
Exceptional cabin-noise cancellation, plush comfort, and roughly 24-hour battery life.
2. **Sony WH-1000XM5** — Best balance of ANC, sound, and battery
Excellent noise cancellation, around 30 hours per charge, and strong app controls; they don’t fold compactly.
3. **Bose QuietComfort Headphones** — Best for comfort and portability
Lightweight, foldable, comfortable for extended wear, and nearly as effective as the Ultra model.
4. **Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless** — Best battery life
Up to 60 hours, excellent sound, and comfortable fit, though ANC is slightly behind Bose and Sony.
5. **Sony WH-1000XM4** — Best value for travel
Still excellent at blocking aircraft noise, folds into a compact case, and offers about 30 hours of battery life.
**Best single choice:** Bose QuietComfort Ultra.
**Best value:** Sony WH-1000XM4.
**Best for ultra-long itineraries:** Sennheiser Momentum 4.
For seatback entertainment, pack the included 3.5 mm cable and, if needed, a two-prong airline adapter.

End of response · 22 lines · 1,146 characters · sha256 e403e5806d506270de7ee9916c18ebe07b9898f3a9b3fdbe0413cd353f2629a5

After this run

2026-09-19 permalink

Scored
answered
Received
2026-09-19 09:17:26 UTC
Run
20260919T090005Z-86161c
Served by
OpenAI · HTTP 200 · finish stop
Size
865 characters · 364 tokens out incl. hidden reasoning · 5.8 s
## Top 5 noise-cancelling headphones for long-haul flights
1. **Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones** — Best overall for exceptional ANC, comfort, and cabin-pressure noise reduction.
2. **Sony WH-1000XM6** — Superb noise cancellation, sound quality, microphone performance, and travel-friendly features.
3. **Bose QuietComfort Headphones** — Lighter and usually cheaper than the Ultra, while remaining extremely comfortable on long flights.
4. **Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless** — Best for battery life and sound quality; up to roughly 60 hours per charge.
5. **Apple AirPods Max (USB-C)** — Excellent ANC and transparency mode, especially for Apple users, but heavier and less travel-friendly.
**Quick pick:** Choose the **Bose QuietComfort Ultra** for maximum comfort and flight-focused ANC, or the **Sony WH-1000XM6** for the best all-round feature set.

End of response · 9 lines · 865 characters · sha256 1d8d07519bbe2b3d7561cb509d5d84b1542aba424b623b6b89497c9607fa6f43

Record detailsShowHideModel version, runs, baseline, triage, permalink, event ID
Model
openai/gpt-5.6-sol
pinned openai/gpt-5.6-sol-20260709; alias resolved to openai/gpt-5.6-sol-20260709 at 2026-09-19 09:00:04 UTC (matches the pin)
Prompt
Question 24: P3 (recommendation)
Why this question
Asking for a ranked list makes a change in the order easy to see.
Change
5,823 ms against a baseline of 12,921 ms (0.45×; z = -3.12, σ = 0.2558 in log units, D34 n=7)
Baseline
7 prior days with data; 7 matched the baseline value (2026-09-12, 2026-09-13, 2026-09-14, 2026-09-15, 2026-09-16, 2026-09-17, 2026-09-18)
Responses
before 2026-09-18 09:20:30 UTC, run 20260918T090022Z-92b6f7; after 2026-09-19 09:17:26 UTC, run 20260919T090005Z-86161c
Detected
2026-09-19 · run 20260919T090005Z-86161c, started 2026-09-19 09:00:05 UTC · scorer v1 · severity rules r2
Permalink
https://modeldrift.watch/e/2026-09-19/P3/openai/gpt-5.6-sol/anomaly/latency_ms/
Event ID
2026-09-19:P3:openai/gpt-5.6-sol:anomaly:latency_ms

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