Headphones have become the dominant device for music playback, and their design appears to have reached a certain level of technical maturity. This workshop presents an overview of the current state of the art in headphone design and examines potential directions for future technological development, addressing both acoustic aspects—including transducer design—and signal-processing approaches.
The workshop establishes a common foundation by introducing the fundamentals of headphone acoustics and design principles, together with a brief overview of the historical development of headphones and the main headphone types in use today.
Based on this foundation, the workshop addresses current challenges and future development potential in headphone technology, including: • Transducer and acoustic development potential: materials, design methodologies and simulation techniques, and advances in measurement technology • Characteristics of a high-quality headphone: What differentiates an excellent headphone from a good one? To what extent can headphone performance be characterized using current measurement techniques, and what additional metrics, target criteria, or perceptual considerations may be required? What is the role of mechanical quality? • Signal processing potential: from advanced noise cancellation and augmented hearing to spatial audio processing • Challenges in realistic spatial reproduction: interaction between auditory and visual environments • Emerging wireless technologies: technologies such as UWB and Bluetooth 6 offer not only increased bandwidth and reduced latency but also the capability to localize the playback device. What are the implications for conventional headphone performance and for spatial audio applications? • Changes in studio workflows: professional practice has evolved from loudspeakers as the primary monitoring tools, with headphones mainly used for detailed analysis, toward headphones playing a central role in the early stages of recording and mixing. What are the consequences of this shift for headphone design and signal processing? • Technically feasible but not yet commercialized solutions: advanced headphone concepts that are achievable with current technology but have not yet been adopted due to economic or practical constraints
Join us for a panel discussion about audio design featuring some of the industry’s leading audio designers and educators. This session is meant to inspire upcoming designers and encourage dialogue with established audio designers.
The panelists will give a brief overview of their designs, their roles in the AES, and how and why educators and students should participate in the various design competitions that the AES has to offer. The panel discussion is followed by a Q&A session that allows for questions and exchange with the panelists.
Jamie Angus-Whiteoak Is Emeritus Professor of Audio Technology at Salford University and VP for Northern Europe.
Her interest in audio was crystallized aged 11 when she visited the WOR studios, NYC, in 1967 on a school trip. After this she was hooked, and spent much of her free ti... Read More →
Director of Music Media Production, AES Education Committee, Ball State University
Christoph Thompson is vice-chair of the AES audio education committee. He is the chair of the AES Student Design Competition and the Matlab Plugin Design Competition. He is the director of the music media production program at Ball State University. His research topics include audio... Read More →
Friday May 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm CEST Aud 41Technical University of Denmark Asmussens Alle, Building 303A DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby Denmark
