Closed-back headphones usually have a higher acoustic impedance if compared to open-back headphones. An increased acoustic impedance of headphones results in an increased sound pressure level at low frequencies while speaking. This causes an unnatural perception of the person’s own voice and is called the occlusion effect. This study investigates whether the perceived occlusion caused by wearing different headphones can be predicted from their acoustic impedance. For this purpose, a listening experiment was performed to evaluate the perceived occlusion caused by 11 different headphones. The results were compared to the occlusion index (OI), which was derived from the measured acoustic impedance of each headphone.
(See document for exact affiliation information.)
https://aes2.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=20506
(137KB)
Click to purchase paper as a non-member or login as an AES member. If your company or school subscribes to the E-Library then switch to the institutional version. If you are not an AES member Join the AES. If you need to check your member status, login to the Member Portal.
