Balancing Sound Isolation and Situational Awareness: Evaluating Active Noise Control and Hear-Through Modes in Open vs. Closed-Fitting Earbuds

Gan WS, Peksi S, Ong ZT, Tsunoda N, Tan EL, Yeow JW. Balancing Sound Isolation and Situational Awareness: Evaluating Active Noise Control and Hear-Through Modes in Open vs. Closed-Fitting Earbuds. In: 2025 AES International Conference on Headphone Technology. Audio Engineering Society; 2025. Paper 10. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22936

@inproceedings{Gan2025_22936,
  author = {Gan, Woon-Seng and Peksi, Santi and Ong, Zhen Ting and Tsunoda, Naotaka and Tan, Ee-Leng and Yeow, Jun Wei},
  title = {{Balancing Sound Isolation and Situational Awareness: Evaluating Active Noise Control and Hear-Through Modes in Open vs. Closed-Fitting Earbuds}},
  booktitle = {2025 AES International Conference on Headphone Technology},
  note = {Paper 10},
  year = {2025},
  month = aug,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22936}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Balancing Sound Isolation and Situational Awareness: Evaluating Active Noise Control and Hear-Through Modes in Open vs. Closed-Fitting Earbuds
AU  - Gan, Woon-Seng
AU  - Peksi, Santi
AU  - Ong, Zhen Ting
AU  - Tsunoda, Naotaka
AU  - Tan, Ee-Leng
AU  - Yeow, Jun Wei
T2  - 2025 AES International Conference on Headphone Technology
M1  - Paper 10
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/08/18
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22936
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of open-fitting earbuds, closed-fitting earbuds, and over-the-ear headphones equipped with active noise control (ANC) and hear-through modes. Using a head-and-torso simulator, the devices were tested under varying pink noise levels and in real-world noise environments, such as airplane cabins and pubs. Through detailed analyses of frequency responses, 1/3-octave bands, and time-domain signals, as well as psychoacoustic metrics like loudness, sharpness, and roughness. The study reveals how these devices perform across different acoustic conditions. The results highlight the trade-offs between attenuation and transparency: Closed-Fitting designs offer superior broadband suppression, while open-fitting devices provide more natural spatial awareness. Hear-through modes vary in their spectral shaping, which affects both perceived comfort and situational awareness. Importantly, the correlation between psychoacoustic features and user perception offers valuable insights for optimizing adaptive ANC and transparency strategies. These findings support the design of more effective and perceptually tuned hearables for diverse environments.
ER  -