Post by Citroen on Jul 14, 2021 6:31:02 GMT 12
Response curve for headphones should ideally be flat, right?
Maybe not.
When listening via headphones research informs us that people prefer what is now known as the Harman Curve, where some bass is boosted to make listening sound more like you were listening to speakers (room interaction boosting bass), and some top end to compensate for the extra bass.
"What is the Harman Curve?
The Harman target curve is a rough approximation of what is acceptable in tonality to disregard individualization for precise tonality and spatial audio. The chart shows the target frequency response of an ideal pair of headphones, which levels they should exhibit, and the correct specialized equipment to measure it."
"So what does the Harman curve sound like? Ideally, it gives headphones much the same sound you’d hear when listening to a good set of stereo speakers in an acoustically treated room. Simply put, that means there’s going to be a little extra bass (to simulate the bass boost that a typical room lends to speakers), balanced out by some extra treble. While this might seem like it would sound unnatural, when you wear a set of Harman-curve headphones, they really do sound like speakers in a room."
"The Harman curve didn’t revolutionize the headphone industry overnight, though. Almost eight years after the original paper was published, there are still only a few headphones that conform to it. But we’ll soon see more. Olive told me that all new AKG headphones are designed to be as close as possible to the Harman curve, and all new JBL headphones use the curve as well, but with a little added bass to please young male listeners (who, according to Harman’s research, tend to like more bass than females and older males)."
Maybe not.
When listening via headphones research informs us that people prefer what is now known as the Harman Curve, where some bass is boosted to make listening sound more like you were listening to speakers (room interaction boosting bass), and some top end to compensate for the extra bass.
"What is the Harman Curve?
The Harman target curve is a rough approximation of what is acceptable in tonality to disregard individualization for precise tonality and spatial audio. The chart shows the target frequency response of an ideal pair of headphones, which levels they should exhibit, and the correct specialized equipment to measure it."
"So what does the Harman curve sound like? Ideally, it gives headphones much the same sound you’d hear when listening to a good set of stereo speakers in an acoustically treated room. Simply put, that means there’s going to be a little extra bass (to simulate the bass boost that a typical room lends to speakers), balanced out by some extra treble. While this might seem like it would sound unnatural, when you wear a set of Harman-curve headphones, they really do sound like speakers in a room."
"The Harman curve didn’t revolutionize the headphone industry overnight, though. Almost eight years after the original paper was published, there are still only a few headphones that conform to it. But we’ll soon see more. Olive told me that all new AKG headphones are designed to be as close as possible to the Harman curve, and all new JBL headphones use the curve as well, but with a little added bass to please young male listeners (who, according to Harman’s research, tend to like more bass than females and older males)."
