Headphone cushion leaks alter only the low-frequency transfer to the eardrum

Evidence

Acoustically, the transfer function of a headphone to the eardrum depends on the acoustic coupling of the headphone to the ear, which can be explained by the pressure chamber principle (Borwick, 2001). Due to non-optimal sealing of the headphone cushions to the head or to the ear, the sound pressure partially leaks out from the space between the headphone and the ear (the pressure chamber). Such leakage influences the transfer function at low frequencies but the effect is minimal at middle and high frequencies. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 479

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to the reader’s aim of applying acoustics — headphone seal quality matters for research applications like binaural reproduction. — connects to: Leakage-dependent bass makes closed-back headphone sound quality vary across listeners; Open-back headphone responses are consistent across listeners due to seal independence
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 479

Broader Connections

• Leakage-dependent bass makes closed-back headphone sound quality vary across listeners #expands (0.90)
• Open-back headphone responses are consistent across listeners due to seal independence #contradicts (0.85)