Earphone frequency response must be measured on real ears, not couplers

Evidence

Measurements with microphones at ear level should be discouraged because they introduce acoustical interference irregularities that are tempting to equalize, but that are not audible problems to human listeners. Microphones should be elevated well above the seat backs, preferably at varied heights to average out regular patterns of interference. However, all such measurements are reliable at low frequencies. — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1355 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Headphone test-fixture measurements often fail to predict what individual listeners hear; Ear-level microphone measurements capture artifacts inaudible to human listeners — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1355; Impulse response measurements can misrepresent what listeners actually hear

Related

• Impulse response measurements can misrepresent what listeners actually hear (similarity 0.95)
• Ear-level microphone measurements capture artifacts inaudible to human listeners (similarity 0.94)
• Headphone test-fixture measurements often fail to predict what individual listeners hear (similarity 0.93)
• Measured interference at ear level often needs no correction (similarity 0.87)
• The ‘we can’t measure what we hear’ myth stems from inadequate measurements (similarity 0.86)
• Headphone positioning causes large measurement variation below 500 Hz and above 3 kHz. (similarity 0.85)
• Test fixture fidelity to human measurements remains an open question (similarity 0.85)
• Headphone measurement variability is greatest below 500 Hz and above 3 kHz (similarity 0.85)
• Headphone measurements vary most between individuals at high frequencies. (similarity 0.84)
• Headphone reproducibility varies strongly with frequency, worse at bass and treble extremes (similarity 0.84)
• The hearing system is not outmeasurable; inadequate measurements explain apparent gaps (similarity 0.83)
• Head and ear variation makes fixture measurements unreliable predictors of listening (similarity 0.82)
• Ear simulator corrections depend on the headphone’s own acoustic load (similarity 0.81)
• Headphone frequency response varies across listeners by up to 9 dB. (similarity 0.81)
• Audio watermarking embeds inaudible, copy-surviving data into signals (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Headphone test-fixture measurements often fail to predict what individual listeners hear #corroborates (0.85)
• Ear-level microphone measurements capture artifacts inaudible to human listeners #corroborates (0.80) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1355
• Impulse response measurements can misrepresent what listeners actually hear #corroborates (0.80)