In-ear headphones have become indispensable for performing musicians, sound engineers, and audiophiles; therefore, the precise assessment of their sound quality is crucial for the development and optimization of new models. In particular, the proliferation of Balanced Armature drivers in high-end headphones brings about new challenges, as the established Virtual Listening Tests designed for headphones with electrodynamic drivers may not sufficiently capture the complex acoustic characteristics of in-ear devices with balanced armature drivers. Therefore the study investigates whether standard virtual listening tests methodologies are adequate for balanced armature systems and which specific acoustic and technical parameters a reference in-ear headphone must possess to accurately virtualize balanced armature driver headphones. To this end, listening tests were conducted with an electrodynamic driver in-ear headphone and two balanced armature driver in-ear headphones, a one-way system, and a two-way system. Following the Virtual Listening Test paradigm, the headphones were reciprocally equalized to match each others frequency response. Participants rated the headphones with and without equalization with regard to localizability, transient fidelity, and low frequency impulse fidelity. The results indicate audible differences across headphone drivers regarding localizability, transient fidelity, low-frequency reproduction and preference. Conclusively, certain rules should be considered when conducting Virtual Listening Tests with headphones containing balanced armature drivers or multi-way systems.
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https://aes2.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22929
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