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I noted in a post in Macedonian Hero's mega thread on closed portable type headphones that I would start a thread in order to help folks that were contemplating purchase of a pair of closed circumaural portable headphones. Many potential buyers like "on the ears" or supra-aural headphones and many others prefer around the ear or circumaural types. This thread will be dedicated to the circumaural types that many on the go users like for their ability to close out the unwanted outside sounds yet offer perhaps a more comfortable feel when wearing. And while many may debate whether a can is "portable" or not, I will not and will include dimensions of all circumaural cans that are sent to me.
Many users have noted (as have I) that some very good sounding cuircumaural cans just do not fit the larger ears of some potential users. I think manufacturers should take note of this when designing circumaural types and try to make cups large enough to fit a large portion of the populace and to help users avoid the dreaded "Tacophone Effect".
What the heck is the Tacophone Effect? It is an effect (which I named) that involves the natural folding of the ear (like a taco) when a larger eared listener tries to get the top and bottom of the ear inside the cup of a too small circumaural headphone cup. The Tacophone Effect is simply what occurs when the size of the opening of the cup from top to bottom is smaller than the natural top to bottom dimensions of the ear. For example, my right ear is 67mm from the uppermost top to the bottom of my free hanging lobe. Now to get that into a 55 mm top to bottom cup opening is going to take some folding when adjusting the headphones around your ear. One could have some difficulty with the size on the left to right cup axis but I think most folks have more of an issue with the top to bottom axis.
To visualize the Tacophone Effect merely stand in front of mirror and place your right thumb on the bottom of your right ear. Now take you index finger and place it on the uppermost top of your ear. Bing thumb and index finger toward ear other to decrease the distance from top to bottom. This is the Tacophone Effect. Depending on whether you have free hanging or attached lobes may dictate how much top of ear fold you are likely to endure with smallish cups. In any case, you will be folding your ear to some degree to get it to fit and attain the circumaural seal the manufacturer had in mind when designing the cans. I am not sure of how the Tacophone Effect will affect perceived frequency response, but I am sure it does. Even inner canal shape affects what you hear based on different resonance points of said canal. Perhaps Tyl or some other fortunate soul who has a dummy head and ear and measuring equipment will humor me and do some tests (maybe for next years April 1 edition of Inner Fidelity). One indisputable effect of the Tacophone Effect is that it places the ear in an unnatural position that will cause some discomfort over time. The Tacophone Effect is most likely to affect users comfort more than any user perceived frequency abnormalities because the user is not really sure what the can is supposed to sound like since they cannot get their ear into the cup naturally. You might be able to simulate what the cans are supposed to sound like by resting the pads on your bottom lobe or perhaps on part of the top of your ear, but you are not going to get the seal they manufacturer designed the cans around. For those users who do not experience this fit issue with many cans, count yourself lucky. You get to hear the headphones in the state the manufacturer envisioned. Many of you lucky folks will not need this guide. But many of us will and lots of the older sect of the head-fi community will since ears do grow as we age.
Well enough of the "science"
, on to how we can help each other when it comes to determining if we will have an experience with the Tacophone Effect when we buy our new cans.
The way I would like this to work will be for folks who actually OWN circumaural cans to post in the thread two dimensions gathered by measuring the top to bottom cup opening and the left to right cup opening. Post the figures in millimeters in the thread and I will tabulate into a table over time. Hopefully this will help folks who are on the hunt for some new cans. These additional data coupled with your ear size should be helpful when comparing potential cans.
Sony MDR-7520 Circumaural Studio Headphones. Top to bottom = 68mm Left to Right = 38mm
Many users have noted (as have I) that some very good sounding cuircumaural cans just do not fit the larger ears of some potential users. I think manufacturers should take note of this when designing circumaural types and try to make cups large enough to fit a large portion of the populace and to help users avoid the dreaded "Tacophone Effect".
What the heck is the Tacophone Effect? It is an effect (which I named) that involves the natural folding of the ear (like a taco) when a larger eared listener tries to get the top and bottom of the ear inside the cup of a too small circumaural headphone cup. The Tacophone Effect is simply what occurs when the size of the opening of the cup from top to bottom is smaller than the natural top to bottom dimensions of the ear. For example, my right ear is 67mm from the uppermost top to the bottom of my free hanging lobe. Now to get that into a 55 mm top to bottom cup opening is going to take some folding when adjusting the headphones around your ear. One could have some difficulty with the size on the left to right cup axis but I think most folks have more of an issue with the top to bottom axis.
To visualize the Tacophone Effect merely stand in front of mirror and place your right thumb on the bottom of your right ear. Now take you index finger and place it on the uppermost top of your ear. Bing thumb and index finger toward ear other to decrease the distance from top to bottom. This is the Tacophone Effect. Depending on whether you have free hanging or attached lobes may dictate how much top of ear fold you are likely to endure with smallish cups. In any case, you will be folding your ear to some degree to get it to fit and attain the circumaural seal the manufacturer had in mind when designing the cans. I am not sure of how the Tacophone Effect will affect perceived frequency response, but I am sure it does. Even inner canal shape affects what you hear based on different resonance points of said canal. Perhaps Tyl or some other fortunate soul who has a dummy head and ear and measuring equipment will humor me and do some tests (maybe for next years April 1 edition of Inner Fidelity). One indisputable effect of the Tacophone Effect is that it places the ear in an unnatural position that will cause some discomfort over time. The Tacophone Effect is most likely to affect users comfort more than any user perceived frequency abnormalities because the user is not really sure what the can is supposed to sound like since they cannot get their ear into the cup naturally. You might be able to simulate what the cans are supposed to sound like by resting the pads on your bottom lobe or perhaps on part of the top of your ear, but you are not going to get the seal they manufacturer designed the cans around. For those users who do not experience this fit issue with many cans, count yourself lucky. You get to hear the headphones in the state the manufacturer envisioned. Many of you lucky folks will not need this guide. But many of us will and lots of the older sect of the head-fi community will since ears do grow as we age.
Well enough of the "science"
The way I would like this to work will be for folks who actually OWN circumaural cans to post in the thread two dimensions gathered by measuring the top to bottom cup opening and the left to right cup opening. Post the figures in millimeters in the thread and I will tabulate into a table over time. Hopefully this will help folks who are on the hunt for some new cans. These additional data coupled with your ear size should be helpful when comparing potential cans.
Sony MDR-7520 Circumaural Studio Headphones. Top to bottom = 68mm Left to Right = 38mm
