It seems to me IIRC that most 'phones & buds that sport controls/mic offer it on the right earpiece. Since the majority of humans are "righties" this makes sense. But for control-less units, why not the left side, does it really matter? Perhaps an argument can be made for either wiring case. I would think that people get familiar with the feeling of a wire dangling down on one side a majority of the time and will feel odd about it being occasionally on the opposite side? To each their own, I guess.

Regardless the "exit strategy", the product looks quite nice to me. I wonder how it sounds, especially the BA unit. Cheers!

As a right-handed person, I prefer having the volume control on the left side, so I can adjust the volume with my left hand while I'm doing something else that requires more dexterity (writing, using my phone, using my computer mouse, etc) with my right hand.

Of course, even if the cord is coming out of the right side of the headphone, I can easily reach across and adjust it with my left hand anyway, so I don't think it's really a big deal.

What about both sides (HD800)?

JJ

Don't earbuds have the control talk on the RIGHT side. So I guess it DOESN'T matter.

Isn't there already a major brand that has a detachable cable that can be inserted into either side (jacks on both sides)? I prefer double side for minimum wiring and equal length wires to the drivers, but I prefer single side for convenience, so I'm hoping more mfr's will give assurance with single-side cables that they're addressing those concerns.

I think that you should be able to plug in the cable to either earpiece as some people are righties and others are lefties.

The PSB M4U 2 lets you connect to either side.

I wear dress shirts (and some T-shirts) with a pocket on the left. Easier for the excess cord to go into my pocket if it comes out the left side.

I think you are missing one major option, which is, both. Shouldn't any single-sided headphone be switchable? It would seem like the best way to appeal to the widest audience, no? I am left handed for most things, but right for others. I would probably go back and forth depending on the activity.

To me it really does not matter as long as the Left/Right sense is well labeled. So many headphones either do not label Left/Right or have done so in a way that makes it hard to find. I do not want a small L or R on my headphone. I want a very easy to read and large L/R something on the order of type 36 font. If the letter is too large for the surface then the letter needs to be as large as possible and the right earpiece colored red if possible. I like the red is for right pneumonic.

Ideally there should be a connector on both earpieces and the cable should be detachable.

I can concur with either side in this debate. My initial comment was based on earbuds (e.g. Apple, Sony, UE, others) and not specifically on headphones. I suppose I should have understood the question better but didn't realize that "home audio" genre headphones would have controls a la "portable" genre. Now, as to headphones with no controls, I think it really comes down to what feels "natural" to a specific individual. Not that homo sapiens walks around with headphones on in a natural state?

From an electrical/time/space/galactic/continuum standpoint, there is no "real" benefit to having 2 wires, being, one wire of equal length to each driver. I think rather, that the high-end phone business necessarily caters to some mythology, as perhaps rightly it should to make sales of über-expensive audio toys. Remember, these are not brown goods. They are, ultimately, toys. And it surely looks nice to have a couple Lemo®-esque connectors terminating the cables, yes, indeed. I love the Senn HD800/700 & Audez'e LCD-2/3's. We should want our high-end cans to look every bit expensive that they are.

From a manufacturing standpoint (I have years in audio manufacture from both the OEM and branded viewpoint) I can see some benefit in single sided wiring. I understand a desire for replaceable cables but I usually just solder in my own if need be (of original manufacture style). Of all the headphones I have owned, I think maybe 3 in 20 years or so have needed to be replaced only because I broke them, not of any fault of their own. For my IEM's, yes, I have had to replace cables several times. Some get sweat damage after a while of performing use and some get tweaked a bit too hard, others got stupidly crushed under foot. LOL, please laugh with me too if it ever happened to you Cheers!

The cable (along with any/all controls) should be (and rightly is) on the left side PRECISELY because there are more right-handed people in the world.

IMO, this is an example of NOCS not thinking far enough ahead.  While they are correct in understanding that a greater number of people are right-handed, they have erred in assuming that most of us have shortened and stubby right arms.  We're human, not T-Rex, and thus our arm segments do have considerable length.

If controls were to be placed on a cable dangling off the right side, all right-handed people would have a harder time reaching them.  Forearms would have to be bent to more acute angles, elbows may have to swing out/back, and wrists may have to bend unnaturally depending on the height at which the controls are placed on the cable.

This results in motions that are less comfortable, less ergonomic, and most importantly less efficient.

So IMO, I think that:  (A) having the cable on the left is important (at least to right-handers like myself); (B) NOCS's reasoning, while well-intentioned, is decidedly unsound; and (C) I agree with everyone above that suggested an ambidexterous single-entry solution so that my sinister bretheren are not left at a disadvantage.

I am always glad to try something new. So let's move it to the right)

The best solution, is to allow the user to choose. You know how some headphones allow you to pull out the cable connector from the headphone? Simply allow the user to plug the cable into whichever side they want. Problem solved.