No single headphone target satisfies most listeners
Evidence
After performing A/B testing of 235 different target curves involving 147,000 individuals, they found that no one target satisfies most listeners and about 80% of listeners would benefit from some form of headphone personalization (Bems, 2023b). However, 40% of the listeners can be satisfied with adjustments in the bass/mid/treble of their target that fall within ±3 dB. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1832
Categorization
- CANDY: A tidy statistic (235 curves, 147,000 people, 80% need personalization) that’s easy to share.
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1832
- XREF: connects to: A single headphone target curve cannot satisfy all listener preferences; No single equalization target curve can suit all listeners — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1422; Headphone test-fixture measurements often fail to predict what individual listeners hear (+4 more)
Broader Connections
- No single equalization target curve can suit all listeners
#corroborates(1.00) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1422 - No universal sound-quality model exists; listener data is the only shared starting point
#corroborates(0.85) - No single loudness compensation curve can serve music with dynamic range
#exemplifies(0.82) - Headphone test-fixture measurements often fail to predict what individual listeners hear
#expands(0.80) - Listeners preferred the Harman-target headphone in 28 of 31 models tested
#qualifies(0.80) - Content type determines whether flat or shaped targets are preferred on headphones
#qualifies(0.75)