A Statistical Model That Predicts Listeners' Preference Ratings of In-Ear Headphones: Part 2 - Development and Validation of the Model

摘要

Part 1 of this paper presented listening test results where 71 listeners gave preference ratings for 30 different models of in-ear (IE) headphones. Both trained and untrained listeners preferred the headphone equalized to Harman IE target curve. Acoustic measurements indicated that the frequency magnitude response of the headphone was a good indicator of its overall sound quality. The further its response deviated from the Harman IE target curve, the less it was preferred. Part 2 presents a statistical model that predicts the preference rating of the headphone based the deviations in its magnitude response The agreement between the predicted and measured headphone preference ratings is r = 0.91 with an error of 5.5% or 5.5 ratings on a 100-point preference scale. Two separate validation tests indicate the model is robust and not over-fitted.