Perception, Stigma, and Ergonomics in Hearing

Let’s address the stigma "thing." Is it "awkward" to wear standard consumer earbuds (e.g., AirPods) to compensate for hearing loss? Are standard hearing aids a visible sign to informs others that a person has a disability? Are we supposed to have to explain that "these things are actually hearing aids"? This article discusses product design, hearing aids, the stigma associated with its use, and how that could complicate the ongoing convergence with consumer-oriented hearing assistance and enhancement.

Voice Coil December 2022 features an updated directory of Measurement Microphones Vendors, Mike Klasco writes about how to Enhance Low-Frequency Performance, and Vance Dickason reminds us that there is a more realistic way to map speaker resonances. Test Bench characterizes two tweeters from Beyma's new Near and Mid Field (NMF) series: the T-25M 1" aluminum/magnesium alloy metal dome tweeter, and the similar T-25S 1" silk dome tweeter.

Sometimes James Croft reviews patents that are hard to understand how could they possibly have materialized. This patent describes a “System and Method for Improved Audio Perception” and was granted to Yair Raz (inventor) on behalf of Innovo IP, LLC (Aventura, FL). The “invention” describes “methods of Audio Signal Personalized Enhancement for optimal listening to music using a combination of hearing test, audio signal compensation, and signal processing algorithms. A description that could easily be applied to dozens of currently available products. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, November 2016.

German audio technology and solutions company, d&b audiotechnik announced the latest addition to its powerful software toolkit - Soundscape Simulation, SPL and localization mapping within an object-based workflow. As part of d&b’s ArrayCalc simulation software, this new intuitive visualization tool, accurately models a Soundscape system’s real and perceived acoustical performance within a space.

James Croft looks at an interesting new patent covering a “Compact Stand-Alone Stereo Loudspeaker” by inventor Jes Mosgaard from Libratone A/S (Denmark). This patent submitted in 2010, was granted in 2013, and describes a compact and portable stereo loudspeaker system that is capable of providing a spacious sound field using an internal stereo pair of loudspeakers arranged in a dipole configuration. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2015.

Post-CES 2020 Impressions. "CES is over but we’re just getting started!" That’s the optimistic vision propagated by many companies who just attended the gigantic Las Vegas event and they leave without really knowing if it was a success or not. Because this is no longer the old days when audio companies would leave CES with their order books filled. Currently, all you have are “contacts” and “great meetings” and little else to backup the promises of future business. And that’s the most important game after all at a show like CES. That and the media hallo effect that new product presentations might have caused.

Having introduced their first audio plug-in at the 2018 NAMM Show, Soundtheory is now shipping GULLFOSS, an intelligent automatic equalizer that uses unique computational auditory perception technology to identify and resolve problems in the frequency balance of an audio signal. GULLFOSS works by automatically adjusting its settings in real-time according to the audible features of the input signal.

This article discusses the physical causes of regular loudspeaker distortions, their modeling by using lumped and distributed parameters, the objective assessment using modern measurement techniques, and the perception by the human ear. Article originally published in Voice Coil, May 2011

Why is it so easy to find an audio enthusiast claiming that his new headphones, DAC, preamplifier, or pair of speakers “completely changed his perception of the music” and “made it possible to hear things in a totally new way,” and yet so many consumers cannot actually hear the difference when listening to high-resolution audio?

The Audio Engineering Society (AES), known for its benchmark annual conventions and conferences, runs additional educational events throughout the rest of the year covering such key topics as spatial audio; audio for video games; the shifting audio landscape of cinema, television and the Internet; and more.