Headphone reproducibility varies strongly with frequency, worse at bass and treble extremes
Evidence
The standard deviations increase below 400 Hz varying from 2.5 to 9 dB at 20 Hz. Above 1 kHz the standard deviations rise as high as 8 dB above 8 kHz. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1747
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
Related
- Headphone frequency response varies across listeners by up to 9 dB. (similarity 0.91)
- Headphone positioning causes large measurement variation below 500 Hz and above 3 kHz. (similarity 0.89)
- Headphone measurement variability is greatest below 500 Hz and above 3 kHz (similarity 0.89)
- Headphone measurements vary most between individuals at high frequencies. (similarity 0.89)
- Leakage-dependent bass makes closed-back headphone sound quality vary across listeners (similarity 0.85)
- Head and ear variation makes fixture measurements unreliable predictors of listening (similarity 0.85)
- Earphone frequency response must be measured on real ears, not couplers (similarity 0.84)
- Listeners are forgiving of headphone resonances but sensitive to bass-level air leaks. (similarity 0.84)
- Headphone sound-quality variance comes more from user and content variables than target-curve refinements (similarity 0.84)
- Headphone test-fixture measurements often fail to predict what individual listeners hear (similarity 0.84)
- Test fixtures meeting the same standard still differ in headphone measurements. (similarity 0.82)
- Accurate reproduction requires flat response at near-original playback levels (similarity 0.82)
- Impulse response measurements can misrepresent what listeners actually hear (similarity 0.82)
- Steady-state room curves above 400-500 Hz misrepresent perceived sound quality. (similarity 0.82)
- Listener preference tolerances on headphone frequency response are narrowest through midrange (similarity 0.82)
Broader Connections
- Headphone test-fixture measurements often fail to predict what individual listeners hear
#expands(0.85) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1870 - Listener preference tolerances on headphone frequency response are narrowest through midrange
#exemplifies(0.80) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1849