Measurement of insertion loss and gain in variable hear-through and noise cancellation modes of true wireless earbuds

TY - JOUR

T1 - Measurement of insertion loss and gain in variable hear-through and noise cancellation modes of true wireless earbuds

AU - Harrison, Jay

AU - Archer-Boyd, Alan

AU - Murphy, Damian Thomas

N1 - © The Author(s) 2025

PY - 2025/4/15

Y1 - 2025/4/15

N2 - This paper presents the results of objective tests to assess the insertion loss and gain performance of three true wireless earbuds that featured both active noise cancellation (ANC) and hear-through functionality. An acoustic test fixture (ATF) was used to examine the earbuds’ attenuation and boosting of broadband noise, linearity of performance for different presentation levels, and consistency of performance over time. The results show that devices are capable of a wide range of both attenuation and boosting, with hear-through modes providing significant levels of boosting in frequencies that are considered important to the intelligibility of speech. Furthermore, none of the hear-through modes tested were found to provide responses that suggested the devices were capable of providing full acoustic transparency. The results may also be useful for those seeking to produce models that replicate key aspects of insertion loss and gain performance in contemporary true wireless earbuds.

AB - This paper presents the results of objective tests to assess the insertion loss and gain performance of three true wireless earbuds that featured both active noise cancellation (ANC) and hear-through functionality. An acoustic test fixture (ATF) was used to examine the earbuds’ attenuation and boosting of broadband noise, linearity of performance for different presentation levels, and consistency of performance over time. The results show that devices are capable of a wide range of both attenuation and boosting, with hear-through modes providing significant levels of boosting in frequencies that are considered important to the intelligibility of speech. Furthermore, none of the hear-through modes tested were found to provide responses that suggested the devices were capable of providing full acoustic transparency. The results may also be useful for those seeking to produce models that replicate key aspects of insertion loss and gain performance in contemporary true wireless earbuds.

KW - Variable Hear-through

KW - Active Noise Cancellation

KW - Acoustic Transparency

KW - Insertion Loss

KW - Insertion Gain

KW - True Wireless Earbuds

KW - Hearables

U2 - 10.1051/aacus/2025013

DO - 10.1051/aacus/2025013

M3 - Article

SN - 2681-4617

VL - 9

JO - Acta Acustica

JF - Acta Acustica

M1 - 28

ER -