Loudspeakers and headphones: The effects of playback systems on listening test subjects

• Published in: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America Vol. 133; no. 5_Supplement; p. 3366
• Main Authors: King, Richard L., Leonard, Brett, Sikora, Grzegorz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.05.2013
• ISSN: 0001-4966; 1520-8524
• DOI: 10.1121/1.4805761

Many modern listening test designers disagree on the best playback system to be used when conducting tests. The preference often tends toward headphone-based monitoring in order to minimize the possibility of undesirable acoustical interactions with less than ideal testing environments. On the other hand, most recording and mixing engineers prefer to monitor on loudspeakers, citing a greater ability to make critical decisions on level balances and effects. While anecdotal evidence suggests that differences exist between systems, there is little quantified, perceptually based data to guide both listening test designers and engineers in what differences to expect when alternating between monitoring systems. Controlled tests are conducted with highly trained subjects manipulating the level of solo musical elements against a backing track, using both headphones and loudspeakers. This task serves to make the results equally applicable to critical mixing tasks and rigorous listening tests. The results from both playback systems are compared, showing a defined difference in the mean levels set on the two different monitoring systems. Likewise, the variance seen across subjects is larger when monitoring on headphones than on loudspeakers, lending credence to the hypothesis that tests conducted on one playback system may not be equally applicable to the other.