What happens when the driver of your favorite headphone fires? While the front wave travels directly into your ear canal to deliver the music, the back wave—an equal and opposite acoustic force—radiates backward into the earcup housing. In open-back headphones, this energy is mostly dissipated into the room. But in closed-back designs, these back-waves bounce off the hard … [Read more...] about DIY Acoustical Damping: Tuning Headphone Back-Chambers with Dynamat and Felt
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How to Clean and Maintain Earpads: Extending Lifespan of Velour and Sheepskin
Have you noticed your favorite pair of audiophile headphones sounding a bit muddy lately, or perhaps they feel slightly less comfortable than the day you unboxed them? Over time, even the most premium headphones can lose their sonic luster and plush feel. The culprit is rarely the drivers themselves, but rather the earpads. As the primary point of contact between the headphone … [Read more...] about How to Clean and Maintain Earpads: Extending Lifespan of Velour and Sheepskin
How to Safely Clean and De-Oxidize Gold-Plated 2.5mm, 3.5mm, and 4.4mm Audio Plugs
Have you ever plugged your favorite high-fidelity in-ear monitors (IEMs) into a digital audio player or desktop amplifier only to be greeted by a sharp crackling static sound? Or perhaps you have noticed a subtle but annoying channel imbalance, where the soundstage feels skewed and one side sounds quieter than the other. Before you start panic-shopping for replacement cables or … [Read more...] about How to Safely Clean and De-Oxidize Gold-Plated 2.5mm, 3.5mm, and 4.4mm Audio Plugs
Class D Output Filters: How Inductors and Capacitors Demodulate High-Frequency Switching
Look inside any modern, ultra-compact audio device, and you are almost guaranteed to find a Class D amplifier. These highly efficient power stages have revolutionized audio engineering, enabling high-output sound systems to fit into smartphones, active monitors, and portable headphone DACs. However, the efficiency of Class D comes with a major caveat: the output stage does not … [Read more...] about Class D Output Filters: How Inductors and Capacitors Demodulate High-Frequency Switching
The Physics of Bone Conduction Drivers: How High-Frequency Hybrid IEMs Induce Vibration
In the late stages of his life, the legendary composer Ludwig van Beethoven faced near-total deafness. To continue composing and hearing his piano, he attached a wooden rod to the soundboard of the instrument and held the other end between his teeth. The mechanical vibrations of the piano traveled through the rod, bypassed his damaged middle ear, and directly stimulated his … [Read more...] about The Physics of Bone Conduction Drivers: How High-Frequency Hybrid IEMs Induce Vibration