The sound isolation of over-ear headphones for listening to music is a significant factor in the final quality of sound transmission to the listener. Headphone manufacturers invest heavily in the development and optimization of passive noise attenuation, which affects the reduction of ambient noise. To empirically verify the effectiveness of different types of ear pads, we developed an experimental system that allows for the measurement of passive noise attenuation from a point external source. This system can also be used for binaural sound recording. We conducted measurements in the time and frequency domains using developed software code
in Python and the LabVIEW environment. The software enables the evaluation of the sound isolation of different foams in the frequency domain and simultaneously identifies the transfer functions between the ears in the time domain via impulse response. The work presents the results of an experimental analysis of the correlation between the volume, size and the material of the ear pads on the passive attenuation of surrounding noise. We compared the experimental results with theoretical calculations. We synthesized the results of the experimental and analytical work, evaluated them, and sought explanations for any discrepancies between the expected theoretical and experimental values.
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