[mike1127]

I didn't realize until recently that I have an audible, fairly high-Q ear canal resonance that is triggered by headphones. High-Q means that a narrow range of frequencies triggers it. For me, the note C above middle C triggers it very well. It's not the fundamental of that note, but some of its harmonics in the 4K region and 8K region. Anyway that's what it sounds like--  I don't have a way to measure it.
 
Previously I have used mostly the AKG K601 and K701 headphones, and it turns out these don't really trigger the resonance much. It's there but I didn't realize it.
 
When I started listening to the Beyerdynamic T1 recently, I noticed that certain notes stuck out and it sounded like something was resonating. At first I thought the headphone must have a resonance, but then I listened to the K601 and realized the same resonance was there, only more subtle so I hadn't noticed it before. I did some research and apparently the ear canal resonance is a well-known phenomenon. It's why the ear sensitivity curve peaks around 3-4K.
 
But that's a broad peak. What I'm noticing fairly narrow (only responds to frequencies close to the harmonics of C above middle C which is has a fundamental roughly 500 Hz). Apparently there can be an interaction between headphones and the ear, and different people may hear different things. It may not be noticeable to some people.
 
And different headphones seem to trigger it more or less strongly. Here's a quick rundown of headphones I've heard recently.
 

1. AKG K601-- just a slight trigger
2. Beyerdynamic T1, Audeze LCD-2, Hifiman HE-500 -- quite a strong trigger
3. And here's a surprise-- The Ultrasone Edition 8 doesn't trigger it much, even less than the K601. I thought a seal headphone would be worse, but apparently not.

 
So I'm curious if anyone else has noticed this, and what headphones trigger it strongly.
 
Mike
 

 

[BotByte]

Have you cleaned and shaved the hair out of your ears?
 
It happens to me, but then I do above and everything is fine then.