A proper ear seal improves low-frequency transmission in passive devices

Evidence

However, both kinds can sound very good in practice and whilst the sound is being modified in the active version, this needn’t modify or distort the wanted sound. The passive types are somewhat intrusive as their presence in the ear canal is felt physically since the seal has to be complete to enable them to function well. One advantage of a good seal with the ear canal is that transmission of the low-frequencies components is significantly improved. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 2562

The passive types are somewhat intrusive as their presence in the ear canal is felt physically since the seal has to be complete to enable them to function well. One advantage of a good seal with the ear canal is that transmission of the low-frequencies components is significantly improved. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 2562

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the tradeoff between active vs passive in-ear devices and why a complete seal matters.
• XREF: Echoes the occlusion effect familiar from earplug and in-ear monitor literature — sealing the canal alters perceived low-frequency body-conducted sound.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 2562