Abstract
This article studies the effects of inter-channel time and level differences in stereophonic reproduction on perceived localization uncertainty, which is defined as how difficult it is for a listener to tell where a sound source is located. Towards this end, a computational model of localization uncertainty is proposed first. The model calculates inter-aural time and level difference cues, and compares them to those associated to free-field point-like sources. The comparison is carried out using a particular distance functional that replicates the increased uncertainty observed experimentally with inconsistent inter-aural time and level difference cues. The model is validated by formal listening tests, achieving a Pearson correlation of 0.99. The model is then used to predict localization uncertainty for stereophonic setups and a listener in central and off-central positions. Results show that amplitude methods achieve a slightly lower localization uncertainty for a listener positioned exactly in the center of the sweet spot. As soon as the listener moves away from that position, the situation reverses, with time-amplitude methods achieving a lower localization uncertainty.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 9004547 |
Pages (from-to) | 1000-1015 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Ieee Transactions On Audio Speech And Language Processing |
Volume | 28 |
Early online date | 20 Feb 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 28 Feb 2020 |
Keywords
- Stereophony
- auditory modeling
- localization uncertainty
- panning
- recording and reproduction