You are here: Home / Test Objects / Headphones, Earphones, Hearables

Headphones, Earphones, Hearables

Examples

 


Application

 

  • Consumer and convenience applications
  • Wireless and mobile communication devices
  • Telecommunication
  • Headsets
  • Devices with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)
  • Hearing aids



Particularities

Headphones, earphones and hearables mostly comprise wide-bandwidth transducers with very light membranes and usually no spider. Therefore, they are prone to irregular vibration (rocking), production defects and mechanical damage and need to be tested for abnormal sound and impulsive distortion (Rub&Buzz). For the final assembly, frequency response, stereo balance, phase matching and sound leakage into the ambience as well as attenuation of outside noise (ANC) are important criteria for end-user performance. Headsets and most wireless headphones incorporate one or multiple microphones that need to be tested as well.

The tool chain provided by the KLIPPEL Analyzer System helps assessing, simulating and improving the performance and quality of transducers, sub-components as well as the final product in both the lab and at the end of the production line. This includes testing of material parameters and the formed diaphragm, vibration and radiation analysis of the assembled transducer all the way to acoustical performance validation of the complete product. Unique modules like the Rocking Mode Analysis (RMA) help you finding the root causes of undesired transducer vibration caused by imbalances related to design or manufacturing. The system is complemented with microphones, laser displacement sensors, test stands, a multi-scanning workbench, ear/mouth simulators, wireless interfaces and sound sources in order to provide full-featured, turn-key test solutions for transducers, analog headphones, digital headsets, as well as wireless earphones and hearables.


Critical Issues

  • Max SPL level, hearing protection
  • Rub & Buzz, air leakage noise and other impulsive distortion
  • Stereo balance (left-right tracking)
  • Leakage into ambience
  • Damping of external noise (ANC performance)
  • True wireless interface (phase match of left and right channel)  


Standards

International Electrotechnical Commission
IEC 60268-7, Sound System Equipment, Part 7: Headphones and Earphones
IEC 60318-1, Electroacoustics - Simulators of Human Head and Ear - Part 1: Ear Simulator for the Measurement of Supra-aural and Circum-aural Earphones

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IEEE 269-2010 Standard Methods for Measuring Transmission Performance of Analog and Digital Telephone Sets, Handsets, and Headsets 
IEEE 1329 Standard Method for Measuring Transmission Performance of Handsfree Telephone Sets

European Standards
BS EN 50332

International Telecommunication Union
ITU-R Recommendation BS. 775-2 Multi-channel Stereophonic Sound System with and without Accompanying Picture
ITU-T P.581 Use of Head and Torso Simulator for Hands-free and Handset Terminal Testing

International Organization for Standardization
ISO 4869-3 Acoustics - Hearing protectors - Part 3: Measurement of insertion loss of ear-muff type protectors using an acoustic test fixture


Most relevant Measurements 

Modules of R&D SYSTEM

Modules of QC SYSTEM

Linear lumped parameters
(resonance frequency, Q-factors, Thiele/Small, creep, inductance)

Linear Parameter Measurement (LPM)
Multipoint Measurement Tool (MMT)

Impedance Task (IMP)
T/S Parameter Laser Fitting (TSX)

Irregular loudspeaker defects
(Rub & Buzz, loose particles, wire beat, bottoming, air leakage noise)

Transfer Function Measurement (TRF PRO)

Air Leak Detection (ALD)
Equalization & Alignment (EQA)
Hi-2 Weighted Harmonic Distortion (Hi-2)
Meta Hearing Technology (MHT)
Spectrum Analysis (SAN)
Sound Pressure Task (SPL)
Sound Pressure and Impedance Task (SPL-IMP)
Spectrogram 3D Limits (3DL)

Amplitude response
(sensitivity, mean SPL, polarity)

3D-Distortion Measurement (DIS)
Linear Simulation (LSIM)
Multi-Tone Measurement (MTON)
Simulation (SIM)
Simulation-Auralization (SIM-AUR)
Transfer Function Measurement (TRF)

Equalization & Alignment (EQA)
Spectrum Analysis (SAN)
Sound Pressure Task (SPL) 
Sound Pressure and Impedance Task (SPL-IMP)
Multi-Tone Distortion Task (MTD)

Nonlinear harmonic distortion
(THD, components)

3D-Distortion Measurement (DIS)
Transfer Function Measurement (TRF)

Equalization & Alignment (EQA)
Hi-2 Weighted Harmonic Distortion (Hi-2) 
Spectrum Analysis (SAN)
Sound Pressure Task (SPL) 
Sound Pressure and Impedance Task (SPL-IMP)

Intermodulation distortion (IMD)

3D-Distortion Measurement (DIS)

 

Amplitude intermodulation distortion (AMD)
(modulation of the fundamental)

3D-Distortion Measurement (DIS Pro)

EAR Add-on to SPL Task

Thermal and nonlinear compression
(fundamental, harmonics, dc displacement)

3D-Distortion Measurement (DIS)

Multi-Tone Measurement (MTON)

Multi-Tone Distortion Task (MTD)

Multi-tone distortion

Linear Parameter Measurement (LPM)
Multi-Tone Measurement (MTON)

Multi-Tone Distortion Task (MTD)

Phase response

Transfer Function Measurement (TRF)

Equalization & Alignment (EQA) 
Spectrum Analysis (SAN)
Sound Pressure Task (SPL)
Sound Pressure and Impedance Task (SPL-IMP)

Minimal-phase, excess-phase, group delay

Transfer Function Measurement (TRF)

Equalization & Alignment (EQA) 
Spectrum Analysis (SAN) 
Sound Pressure Task (SPL) 
Sound Pressure and Impedance Task (SPL-IMP)

Time-frequency analysis (Wigner, cumulative decay spectrum, sonagraph, wavelet, …)

Time Frequency Analysis (TFA)
Transfer Function Measurement (TRF)

Spectrogram 3D Limits (3DL)

Accelerated life test, power test
(durability, parameter variation)

Large Signal Identification (LSI)
Power Testing (PWT)

KLIPPEL Endurance Testing (KET)

 

Polar radiation response analysis (far field SPL response at spatial resolution), directivity index, sound power

Near Field Scanner (NFS)
Scanning Vibrometer System (SCN)