HEAD acoustics presents leading-edge testing solutions at the AES Headphone Conference

15. July 2019

At the AES International Conference on Headphone Technology in San Francisco, USA from August 27 to 29, HEAD acoustics will present the entire spectrum of leading-edge testing solutions for headphones and headsets. The solutions include speech and audio quality testing, ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) performance evaluation, realistic background noise simulation, and a new measurement method for listening effort.

ANC performance & speech and audio quality

HQS-ANC-Headset is the fully automated database for HEAD acoustics communication analysis system ACQUA for testing and optimizing passive noise isolation and active noise cancellation of headphones and headsets. It also includes measurements that enables users to evaluate general audio quality, effectiveness of talk-through mode and performance in the presence of background noise. HQS-ANC-Headset is capable of measuring devices with passive (wired), USB-powered and Bluetooth^® connection. With HQS-Audio, the measurement specialist presents another ACQUA database capable of testing the audio quality of headphones and headsets comprehensively. This allows users to efficiently test frequency response, signal-to-noise ratio, intermodulation distortion, THD and THD+N as well as conduct Relative Approach analyses.

Background noise and reverberation

The simulation system 3PASS flex in combination with the enhanced microphone array MSA II, enables recording and reproduction of realistic three-dimensional background noise scenarios. This allows manufacturers to test headphones and headsets under realistic conditions. The microphone positioning of the MSA II is oriented in particular to the requirements in the development and metrological evaluation of ANC headphones. The symmetrical arrangement of the eight microphones enables a high-precision reproduction of the sound fields in the surrounding area of both ears. With the software option 3PASS reverb, manufacturers are able to reproduce different room characteristics like realistic reverberation in the laboratory. The software simulates the reverberation of the room by applying the previously recorded impulse responses to any audio signal in real time.

Listening Effort

As an alternative to the measurement of speech intelligibility, listening effort has become more important in the field of speech communication in recent years. With the new analysis Listening Effort, HEAD acoustics presents for the first time a method for instrumentally assess the perceived listening effort. Thus, users can reliably test, for example, communication scenarios when using an ANC headset or the signal processing of mobile phones at the receiving side.