PRINCIPLES OF HEADPHONE DESIGN – A TUTORIAL REVIEW

M.R.AVIS and L.J.KELLY

([email protected]) ([email protected])

Acoustics Research Centre, Research Institute for the Built and Human Environment,
University of Salford, UK

Headphone design using lumped-parameter analysis and analogous circuits is described. Specifically a
model of a dynamic driver in a circumaural enclosure is developed, but the approach may be applied to
other drivers and enclosure types. Models are presented which illustrate key design constraints such as
leak behaviour, open / closed back approaches, cup attenuation, cushion compliance and headband
tension. Limitations of the lumped parameter approach are discussed, following which an introduction to
analytical-modal and numerical modelling is presented.

1.0 INTRODUCTION coupled electro-mechano-acoustic systems into

Headphone modelling concerns the solution of a familiar networks of electrical components [eg 1,2,3].
number of coupled problems centring on a small The method has the advantage that fully coupled
mechanical diaphragm vibrating in an enclosed space. models may be constructed rapidly, and for those
Frequently, the electro-acoustic transduction familiar with electrical networks and filters, the
mechanism is dynamic, and the transfer functions analysis of the resulting circuit analogues is
between electrical (v,i) and mechanical (F,u) straightforward and intuitive.
quantities must be considered. These transfer
functions will in part depend on the acoustic load The most substantial disadvantage of lumped element
(p,U) acting on the diaphragm, and this acoustic load models is that in order to be ‘lumped’, each element
will also determine the pressure radiated by the must not in itself exhibit wave behaviour. To clarify
diaphragm which will, via a transfer function with a mechanical example – if a vibrating diaphragm
dependant on the type of enclosure and the physiology is to be considered as a lumped mass, then all points
of the wearer, eventually impinge on the tympanic on that diaphragm must oscillate with identical
membrane. velocity (in magnitude and phase). Since most
mechanical and acoustic systems behave modally (in a
Whatever solution method is attempted, it is probable distributed rather than lumped fashion) within the
that the end-user will regard the device as one which audio bandwidth, some might consider the technique
generates acoustics pressures in response to the to be of limited utility, perhaps restricted to low-
application of electrical voltages. It seems sensible frequency analysis. However, headphones are small
therefore to commence the analysis by working devices, and this allows the use of the technique to
towards an evaluation of a transfer function in terms illustrate the fundamental behaviours of the system
of across a useful range of frequencies.

p eardrum 2.1 Simple driver / ear canal model

(1) In order to illustrate generic headphone design
e constraints, the selection of a dynamic transducer will
apply to most practical applications and facilitate
To this end, the technique of lumped element simple electro-mechanical modelling of the system.
modelling is introduced below. Following conventional analysis the acoustic (p,U)
impedance analogue for a dynamic driver is as shown
2.0 LUMPED ELEMENT MODELING in Figure 1.
A great many authors have used lumped-element (or
analogue circuit) modelling as a way of reducing the
differential equations of motion which describe

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M.R AVIS AND L. J.KELLY

(Bl)2/{RESD2} MAD CAD RAD ZAB

U

1/{jω(LESD2/(Bl)2} ZAF

eBl/{SD(RE+jωLE)}

Figure 1: Acoustic impedance analogue of generic dynamic driver where:

e= applied voltage
Bl = force factor (NA-1)
SD = diaphragm area (m 2)
RE = d.c. coil resistance (Ω)
LE = coil inductance (H)M AD = moving diaphragm mass, acoustic units (kgm -4)
CAD = suspension compliance, acoustic units (m 5N-1)
RAD = suspension resistance, acoustic units (Nsm-5)
ZAB = acoustic backload (Pa.sm -3)
ZAF = acoustic frontload (Pa.sm -3)
All except ZAB and ZAF are determined by the selection publications suggesting that the canal is in fact
of the drive unit, and these parameters (small-signal or roughly conical, the simplest model assumes a rigid
Thiele-Small) may be extracted using conventional cylinder terminated with known impedance [4], in
measurement techniques. By contrast the acoustic which case [5]:
loads are determined by the nature of the enclosure.
Z A,T  j 0 c / S1 tan(kl )
Z A, 0 
Z A,T (2)
1 j tan(kl )
 0 c / S1

VB VF The lumped impedance of an enclosed

l volume is well-known:
V V
ZA,0 S1 ZA,T CA   (3)
P0  0 c 2

Therefore the acoustic loads ZAB and ZAF shown in

Figure 1 can be replaced by the network shown in
Figure 3 below:

U CAB
Figure 2: Simple model of headphone / ear system

The simplest design case we might consider concerns

a driver in a sealed enclosure, attached rigidly to the
side of the head (Figure 2). The acoustic load will be
partially dependent on the input impedance to the ear CAF ZA,0 P0
canal Za,0 which is itself a function of canal length,
cross-section and termination impedance. Despite

2 Figure 3:
AUDIOAcoustic
AT HOME –circuit analogue
AES 21ST for simple
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model of headphone / ear system
PRINCIPLES OF HEADPHONE DESIGN – A TUTORIAL REVIEW

The pressure at the input to the ear canal P0 is (of This implies that there is a modal relation between the

Figure 4: | p0 /e | for (1): finite ear canal input Figure 5: | p1 /e | for three values of VF
impedance, VF =0 and (2): VF =5cc, infinite ear
canal input impedance
course) a function of driver velocity, which itself pressures at each end of the ear canal, which further
takes a second-order bandpass response around a modifies the input acoustics pressure (itself a function
resonant frequency determined by diaphragm mass of the modal ear canal input impedance).
MAD and the series combination of suspension and
backload compliances CAD CAB / { CAD+CAB }. 2.2 Leak behaviour
However, VF generates a shunt compliance which low- Our assumption that the headphone will be rigidly
pass filters this pressure, suggesting this volume attached to the side of the head is clearly erroneous; in
should be kept as small as practicable whilst most circum-aural designs the cup will be equipped
comfortably accommodating the pinnae of users. with cushions which are held against the side of the
P0 describes the pressure at the input to the ear canal, head byVBheadbandVtension.
F
We might imagine that in
whilst the subjective sensation of music listening is certain circumstances the seal with thel head would be
clearly dependant on the pressure at the tympanum. imperfect, leading to leaks, as illustrated in Figure 6.
Relating the pressures at each end of a cylindrical duct ZA,0 S1 ZA,T
of known termination impedance: Figure 4 shows the transfer function p0 /e for two
cases – the load is assumed to be purely compliant in
p0 case (2), and purely the input impedance to the ear
pl  canal (no coupler volume) in case (1). The latter case

 0c 
 (4) clearly shows l theS2influence of ear canal resonances,
cos(kl )  j sin( kl ) 2
whereas the former (also shown by Poldy [3]) over

 S1 Z A,T 
 predicts the low frequency sensitivity. In both cases
the chosen driver parameters give a driver resonance
at about 1.5 kHz.

In Figure 5, the effect of the parallel impedances of

ear canal and shunting coupler volume can be seen,
for three values of VF. This time the magnitude
response is that of the pressure at the ear drum as a
function of drive unit input voltage. As expected, a
large coupler volume reduces sensitivity, although it
could be argued that increased sensitivity for small
couplers comes at the cost of narrow bandwidth of
reproduction.

AUDIO AT HOME – AES 21ST UK CONFERENCE 2006 3

Figure 6: Simple model of headphone / ear system

including leaks
M.R AVIS AND L. J.KELLY

Such leaks may be modelled most simply as a branch As has been shown in section 2.3, leak impedances
pipe which further diverts driver volume velocity from can significantly change the pressure response at the
the driver. Therefore the acoustic load becomes that users ear drum. Unfortunately the filtering effect
shown in Figure 7. Small leaks will almost certainly imposed by leaks cannot be compensated
exhibit lossy as well as inductively reactive behaviour, electronically, since the spectral modifications are
but as a first approximation the leak may be modelled highly variable between users. What is required is a
as a lumped mass: method by which inter-user leak variability is lessened
 0l2
U CAB M AL  (5)
S2
in its effect on the spectrum at the ear drum. This is
usually accomplished by instituting a large,
predetermined ‘leak’ between VF and VB and / or free
CAF MAL ZA,0 P0 space. A simple configuration is shown in Figure 9.

As long as the (fixed, pre-determined) front / back

leakage path has small impedance compared to the
variable leaks around the cushion, the spectrum at the
Figure 7: Acoustic circuit analogue for simple ear drum can be maintained considerably more
model of headphone / ear system including leaks constant between users than might otherwise be the
case. The analogue circuit now takes the form shown
Incorporated into the analogous circuit in Figure 7, in Figure 10.
this impedance acts as a high-pass filter (Figure 8).
This behaviour seems intuitively correct, when one Unfortunately, at the same time the sensitivity of the
considers the spectral effect of pushing the cup more device is reduced considerably. In many
firmly to the side of the head. The model also agrees circumstances, such a loss in sensitivity is tolerable
tolerably with headphone measurements on an since as long as the drive unit remains linear in
artificial head incorporating prefabricated leak operation to a sufficiently large excursion, the drop in
‘tubes’, and with measurements on human users of sound pressure level at the ear may be compensated
various head size and pinna-jaw configuration. by increasing the magnitude of the electrical input
accordingly.
A first refinement of this model would place a
resistive loss in series with MAL , but as is often the If, as in Figure 11, the open-back design lacks low-
case with damping materials the precise determination frequency emphasis, this may be applied
of acoustic resistance is difficult and may be best electronically. The key feature of using a large, fixed,
approached by attempting to fit measured data with resistive ‘leak’ (i.e. an open-back configuration) is
the model approximation. Additionally, Poldy [3] that in comparison with Figure 8, leak cases (1) to (3)
presents a number of formulae for holes and slits have a far less significant effect on the pressure at the
which give suggested values for reactive and resistive ear.
lumped components as functions of frequency, which
this author has used with mixed results.

2.3 Closed vs. open back designs

VF
l
VB
ZA,0 S1 ZA,T

l2 S2
4 AUDIO AT HOME – AES 21ST UK CONFERENCE 2006

Figure 8: | p1 /e | for three leak conditions of increasing sizeFigure 9: Acoustic circuit analogue for open-back
headphone / ear system including leaks
PRINCIPLES OF HEADPHONE DESIGN – A TUTORIAL REVIEW
U CAB

CAF MA1 MAL ZA,0 P0

RA1

Figure 10: Acoustic circuit analogue for open-back headphone / ear system including leaks
Figure 11: (a) - Closed back response, no leaks; (b) – open back response, no leaks and leak case (1); (c) – open
back response, leak case (2); (d) – open back response, leak case (3)

An additional potential difficulty is found in the loss compliance and damping offered by the flesh between
of passive attenuation through the cup when using an the cushion and the skull. The circuit analogue then
open-back approach. Where listening is to take place takes the form shown in Figure 12.
in a noisy environment (for instance cueing in ‘live’
sound reproduction events, outside broadcasts, or for Transfer function P1(jω)/P0(jω) describes the
some telephony / radio communication applications) attenuation of the hearing protector. Neglecting for a
then the open back solution is often made moment the leak impedances, we can see that the
impracticable by noise masking of the signal. In such system will be resonant, with the mass of the cup
situations, the headphone has to act simultaneously as bouncing on the compliance provided by the air
hearing protector and communication device; some of volume, with some damping afforded by the cushion
the issues surrounding the design of successful hearing and flesh. The circuit may be solved to give a
protectors are considered in section 2.4. detailed description of the separate effects of cushion
and flesh compliance and damping (schroter), or
2.4 Headphones as hearing protectors alternatively for a more rapid and intuitive description
Propagation from free space to beneath the cup can
take place via two mechanisms; leaks between
MA,leak RA,leak
cushions and head, and by structure-borne
transmission through the cup itself. Rather than
exciting the cup into bending-wave motion, it is much
CA,flesh RA,flesh
more likely that the cup itself remains stiff and
executes whole-body motion on the ‘suspension’ MA,cup
provided by the cushions. The mode of this
oscillation has a significant impact on sound
propagation. Where the cup ‘rocks’ (the cushion, on
P0 CA,cush RA,cush P1
opposite sides of the ear, executing out-of-phase CAF
motion) then the space under the cup is not
compressed, and structure-borne transmission is
insignificant. However if the cup executes single-
plane motion normal to the side of the head Figure 12: Acoustic circuit analogue for open-back
(sometimes called the ‘breathing mode’) then the headphone / ear system including leaks
compliant volume of air beneath executes significant
compression and rarefaction, generating acoustic these terms may be considered as a single lumped
pressures. compliance and resistance CA1 and RA1 . Then:

The cup (if it executes whole-body motion) may P1 1

simply be regarded as a mass, and the cushion as a 
P0 C AF (6)
suspension providing compliance and damping. In 1  ( j ) 2 C AF M Acup   jC AF R A1
addition, some authors consider separately the C A1

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M.R AVIS AND L. J.KELLY

This perhaps does not look very useful, until we note complicated analogue of Figure 12. Increasing cup
that the form of the circuit implies a resonant mass lowers the resonant frequency (Figure 13), and
response, with the resonance at above resonance increases the attenuation. Reducing
cushion compliance raises the resonant frequency, as
1 well as increasing low frequency attenuation (Figure
 res  (7) 14). The effect is limited by flesh compliance, which
C AF M Acup
effectively shunts the headphone cushion – ideally a
method would be sought to attach the cup directly to
In which case our transfer function becomes: the skull…

P1  2 res It might be thought that headband tension should have

 an influence on ωres and hence the attenuation
P0  C  (8) performance of the headphone/protector. Headband
 2 res 1  AF   ( j ) 2  j ( res ) 2 C AF R A1 tension certainly has a major influence on the leak
 C A1  impedance, which provides a flanking path which may
substantially obviate any benefits accruing from the
It is now clear that the function represents a second- adoption of a ‘heavy’ cup. This is shown in Figure
order low-pass network, flat at low frequency and 15, where a 60g cup is effectively shunted by a leak of
dropping off at 12dB per octave above a frequency comparatively small dimensions. Thus leak
impedances are a big issue for passive attenuation as
 C  well as headphone reproduction. However, the
 2 res  1  AF  (9) influence of headband tension on attenuation in the
 C A1  absence of leaks rather depends on the linearity of
cushion compliance.
Damping term RA1 largely controls the amplitude at
resonance – if cushion / flesh damping is too small, 2.5 Headband tension, cushion compliance
then some drop in attenuation performance in the and fluid-filled cushions
vicinity of ωres can be anticipated. If the flesh/cushion system is regarded as substantially
linear, then headband tension only affects leak
The full analogue was modelled with results shown in performance and has no other influence. However, no
Figure 13 for varying cup mass, and Figure 14 for spring is linear over an infinite range of excursions, as
varying cushion stiffness. shown in Figure 16:

It can be seen that the hypotheses drawn from the

simplified model are proven in the case of the more

Figure 13: Attenuation of passive hearing protector for varying cup massFigure 14: Attenuation of passive hearing
protector for varying cushion compliance

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 PRINCIPLES OF HEADPHONE DESIGN – A TUTORIAL REVIEW

Figure 15: Degradation of protector performance due to small leak impedancesFigure 17: Attenuation performance of
foam, and fluid (gel) cushions

The gradient of the force/displacement curve significant advantages. Firstly, the cushion moulds
determines spring compliance. A linear spring more effectively to the side of the head than a sponge
maintains constant compliance, whereas a non-linear type, meaning that leaks can be minimized without
spring will become more stiff as the headband tension excessive headband tensions. Secondly, as long as
is increased. Since both cushion and flesh compliance sufficient tension is applied to overcome the
can be expected to behave in a non-linear manner, compliance of whatever bag is used to contain the gel,
headband tension will have interesting effects on and to hold the cup securely during normal head
attenuation. movements, then the lumped stiffness of the cushion
is almost infinite. This means that flesh compliance
We have seen in Figure 14 that decreasing rather than cushion compliance is the limiting factor
compliance will increase attenuation performance. in determining performance (Figure 17).
With regard to headband tension, this suggests the
unsurprising result that maximal tension is desired, 2.6 Limitations of the lumped-element
since not only are leaks minimized but also cushion technique
stiffness may be maximized, which will increase The lumped parameter technique has been shown to
attenuation. Unfortunately, extreme values of be effective in modelling the electro-acoustic
headband tension rapidly become uncomfortable for performance of small drivers in headphones, and also
users, and are likely to lead to rejection of a product of great utility in predicting the behaviour of
regardless of its attenuation / reproduction headphone cups, cushions and leaks. However,
performance. circumstances sometimes arise where such models
become less effective – most notably where the
In response to this dilemma, some manufacturers have ‘lumped’ assumption breaks down within a given
adopted fluid-filled cushions (where a gel is used element, which starts to behave in a distributed
instead of a sponge element), since these have two manner.

Perhaps the most obvious example of this as applied

to headphones is in the case of the ‘compliant’ volume
Displacement of air under the cup. As is the case in room acoustics,
this volume will behave as a lumped element as long
Force as wavelength is long compared to enclosure
dimensions – the so-called ‘zeroth mode’. Once
wavelength decreases to approaching twice the largest
dimension of the enclosure (assuming half-wave
Figure 16: Force / displacement characteristic for behaviour resulting from comparatively large
linear and non-linear springs boundary impedances) then the first resonant modes
of the space will occur. Each mode is associated with

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M.R AVIS AND L. J.KELLY

foam
cylinder
an eigenvalue – a resonant frequency – and a spatial
eigenfunction – which dictates the variance of
pressure and particle velocity throughout the
enclosure. The fact of this variance tells us that our
lumped assumption is no longer correct, and that as a
result the performance of the system will differ from Ear canal wall
that expected.
vibrating
Since circumaural headphones are small compared to
driver
listening rooms, we might expect a lumped Figure 18: Coupling cavity simplified to cylindrical
assumption to perform well to a comparatively high cavity
frequency. However, a point is often reached where a
more refined model is required. This may be because
set of modes based on trigonometric functions which
the modelled performance of a headphone differs
are harmonically related, and Ψ m,q form a second set
significantly from ATF (Acoustic Test Fixture) or
which are based on the roots of a Bessel function, and
MIRE (Microphone In Real Ear) measurements, or it
which are not harmonically related. Am,q represents
may be because (for instance with ANR (Active Noise
the set of coefficients which determine the
Reducing) headsets) a very accurate map of the sound
contribution of each mode to the overall response –
pressure under the cup is required in order to optimise
effectively a set of modal ‘gain’ terms.
the placement of error-sensing microphones.
In the simple case of uniform excitation over the
In the case of the input impedance to the ear canal, an
vibrating surface with rigid cavity walls, none of
analytical distributed model was adopted from the
modes Ψm,q are excited and thus the response is
outset (eq 1) since a lumped assumption in this case
governed by a harmonic series of longitudinal
misses several important features. This distributed
trigonometric functions. For unit velocity excitation,
model was easily incorporated with the lumped
the expression for the input impedance to the cavity is
models used for the remainder of the system. It is
found as:
equally possible to attempt analytical models of the
resonant behaviour of the volume of air under the
headphone cup, and to incorporate these with the Z   n   j 0 c cot(kL) (11)
overall lumped scheme. Such models are introduced n
in section 3.
This is the same result as that adopted for the input
3.0 MODELING DISTRIBUTED PRESSURE impedance to the ear canal, expressed in equation 2.
UNDER HEAD SHELLS It can be compared to a lumped model of the air in the

190
3.1 Comparison between lumped and wave
model 180
A simple example for the comparison of lumped-
170
parameter and model modelling techniques is shown
in Figure 18. Here, the cavity is reduced to a 160
cylindrical pressure chamber, driven by a given
150
|z| (dB)

velocity at one end.

140
The solution of the Helmholtz equation for this
130
boundary value problem is well known and can be
found, for example, in [6]. The solution is represented 120 wave model
lumped model
in equation (10).
110

p (r ,  , x)   Am,q m,q n (10)

100
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10
ka
m q

Figure 19: lumped vs. modal model for a cylindrical

We see a conventional summation of mode shapes cavity
(eigenfunctions) of the cylinder; modes in the
longitudinal plane are represented by Ψ n and modes in cavity as a simple compliance, the impedance of
the circular plane are represented by Ψ m,q. Ψn form a

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PRINCIPLES OF HEADPHONE DESIGN – A TUTORIAL REVIEW

which is given in equation 3. Figure 19 compares be able to solve the problem for any given point in the
these two formulations. domain. Since BEM works in this manner, it requires
only the boundary to be meshed rather than the full
As we might expect, at high frequency the two models domain, thus reducing the degrees of freedom in the
show significant divergence, and this can cause problem by an order of magnitude. BEM is not
problems in the application cases previously suitable for all types of problems however since it is
mentioned. limited to domains in which a Green’s function can be
calculated, which restrict it to linear and homogenous
3.2 Numerical methods media.
A modal decomposition approach may well yield
satisfactory results for simple boundary geometries, When using numerical methods for acoustics
but a headphone cavity is rarely in practice a perfect involving meshing a domain, it is important to ensure
cylinder. In addition, its walls will exhibit complex that the mesh is fine enough to accurately represent
and frequency-dependant boundary impedances, and the wave patterns. Opinion varies but it is typically
the drive unit will excite the cavity over an area rather suggested that the mesh has a resolution of a
than as a point source. The problems may be soluble, minimum 8 elements per maximum wavelength. For
but the complexity of the problem increases a 3D mesh at full bandwidth, this can quickly lead to
dramatically and the modal decomposition technique models with degrees of freedom in the order of
becomes less attractive. millions. Due to computational expense, therefore,
the application of numerical methods in acoustics has
Techniques exist that allow these problems to be only recently been a practical option, and is still only
solved more generally using numerical methods, the really feasible in small sized or low frequency
most common of these being the Finite Element problems.
Method (FEM) and the Boundary Element Method
(BEM). Both FEM and BEM are based on a similar 3.3 Application of numerical methods to
premise that the domain to be modelled is headphone models
approximated by dividing it into small discrete An ability to model wave behaviour in enclosed
sections or elements. spaces with adaptable geometry opens up the
possibility of full bandwidth 3D models of the sound
fields under headphones. Figure 20 demonstrates a
The principle behind FE methods are based on crude approximation of a coupling cavity mesh for a
dividing the problem domain into N small elements. circumaural headphone. However as discussed in
These elements coexist by means of continuity previous sections, headphones are more complex than
conditions, so that the behaviour of each element is the simple acoustic enclosure, and hence any model
determined by the behaviour of those elements must be able to accommodate additional mechanical
immediately surrounding it. Elements which border a
boundary or source are given relevant boundary
conditions. In this manner we divide the problem into
that of N small problems. The numerical scheme
behind FEM requires the partial differential equation
(PDE) governing each element to be rewritten into its
‘weak form’, and an approximation to the solution is
developed and expressed as a sum of piecewise linear
functions (or basis functions). In this form we have a
system of N linear equations with N unknowns. This
can be assembled into a matrix equation which can be
solved, giving an approximate solution for each
element or degree of freedom.

BEM is also concerned with dividing the problem into Figure 20: Example mesh of approximated
small elements, but it is slightly different in concept to circumaural headphone coupling cavity
FEM. BEM deals with the PDE by reducing it to a
surface integral equation. The integral equation
determines the value of the independent variable on coupling.
the boundary surface due to contributions of sources
within the domain and the scattering effect of the As an example, consider the cushion. An elementary
boundary itself. This provides enough information to numerical model may model the cushion as a locally

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M.R AVIS AND L. J.KELLY

reacting surface and represent it as a known boundary the mass of the cup itself and the applied headband
impedance, with data obtained from measurement. tension.
This may be a reasonable approximation in some or
even most circumstances. However, the admittance With the pressure field under a headphone cup
may not necessarily be locally reacting, there may be becoming distributed at higher frequencies, a modal
some significant coupling of the cavity with the decomposition has been shown to give a more realistic
cushion, or the cushion may be locally reacting but representation than lumped parameters. For simple
may present an impedance that varies with position. geometry a modal approach is possible analytically
but for a headphone it is only feasible using numerical
A more complete model of the headphone would methods. Headphone issues such as structural
include a model of the cushion as a porous medium. coupling of the cushion and driver can be represented
Indeed this may be the only option if the headphone in a numerical model opening the possibility for
cushion extends to form a layer in front of the drive headphone models which are accurate for the full
unit (as is the case with many supra-aural models). audio bandwidth.
Several well-known approaches exist for modelling
acoustic waves in porous media, which develop the 5.0 REFERENCES
problem with varying levels of rigour [7,8,9]. In [1] Beranek, L.L. ‘Acoustics’, American Inst. of
general though, these models effectively represent the Physics (New York 1986)
cushion as a lossy medium, characterised by its [2] Olson, H.F., ‘Elements of Acoustical
(complex) density and phase velocity. It should be Engineering’, Van Nostrand (New York 1947)
noted that since BEM is limited to homogenous media [3] Borwick, J., ‘Loudspeaker and Headphone
a coupled cavity-cushion model using this method Handbook’, 2nd Ed., Focal Press (Oxford 1994)
would not be possible. [4] Stimson, M.R., ‘The spatial distribution of
sound pressure within scaled replicas of the human ear
Additionally, we might consider the headphone driver. canal’, J.Acoust.Soc.Am. 78(5), 1985, pp1596-1602
So far the driver has been considered as executing [5] Kinsler, L.E., Frey, A.R. et al, ‘Fundamentals
pistonic motion. As has already been suggested, this of Acoustics’, 4th Ed., Wiley (New York 2000)
is an approximation, especially at high frequencies. A [6] Morse, P.M. & Ingard, K.U. ‘Theoretical
thorough solution would include a structural model of Acoustics’, (Princeton University Press, 1968)
the driver which could be coupled to the cavity, but [7] Delany, M.E., Bazley, E.N. Acoustical
this would be no trivial task. properties of fibrous materials Applied Acoustics, 3
(1970) 105-16
A more convenient solution might ignore the coupling [8] Biot, M.A. The theory of propagation of
effects and present the driver as a complex vibrating elastic waves in a fluid-saturated porous solid. I. Low
surface which nonetheless retains constant velocity frequency range. II. High frequency range.
behaviour. Vibration data could be provided from J.Acoust.Soc.Am 28 (1956) 168-91
measurement, necessitating laser interferometry, but [9] Allard, J.F. ‘Propagation of Sound in Porous
this poses some difficulties since the diaphragms in Media’, Elsevier (London, 1993)
question are small and frequently transparent.
Additionally, the light mass of the diaphragm suggests
that a constant velocity assumption could be
considerably in error.

4.0 CONCLUSIONS
The design of a circum-aural headphone incorporating
a dynamic driver has been described, using lumped
parameter techniques. It has been shown that coupler
volume affects the spectral response of the device, and
that the choice of an open or closed back approach has
significant influence on the affect of ‘leaks’, where
the cushion makes an imperfect seal to the side of the
head. The compliance of these cushions has been
shown to be of primary importance in the attenuation
of external sound fields through the cup, along with

10 AUDIO AT HOME – AES 21ST UK CONFERENCE 2006