Headphone Testing

Since the introduction of the Sony Walkman® in the late 1970s, portable devices with audio capabilities and head- or earphones have become commonplace.

Consumers have high expectations for the acoustic performance of head- and earphones. These have to deliver great audio quality while striving to protect the listener’s hearing. When developing and testing headphones, the influence of the pinnae (the outer portion of the ear) should be taken into account and a realistic acoustic loading simulated, so realistic evaluations of open, closed and insert headphones can be made.

Type 5128 is a head and torso simulators with built-in ear simulators that provides a realistic reproduction of the acoustic properties of an average adult human head and torso. When used with an input-output LAN-XI module and our PULSE-based Electroacoustic Testing Software Type 7797, it enables you to determine a variety of headphone characteristics in situ. Characteristics include:

• Output response
• Frequency response
• Harmonic distortion
• Intermodulation
• Acoustic loading
• Simulated insertion responses
• Left/right tracking
• Background noise insertion loss

The system can be configured to support EN 50332, a European standard on the maximum sound pressure level permitted from portable audio players.