Perception and prediction of apparent source width and listener envelopment in binaural spherical microphone array...

Area of Science:

• Acoustics
• Psychoacoustics
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Binaural auralization of spherical microphone array data is crucial for realistic room simulations.
• Assessing spatial audio reproduction quality requires understanding perceptual attributes like apparent source width (ASW) and listener envelopment (LEV).
• Existing models for room acoustical perception (RAP) need validation for predicting these spatial attributes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of spherical microphone array configuration on spatial audio reproduction quality.
• To predict perceived ASW and LEV using a psychoacoustically motivated RAP model.
• To correlate model predictions with perceptual assessments from listening experiments.

Main Methods:

• Conducting listening experiments to perceptually assess ASW and LEV.
• Employing a psychoacoustically motivated RAP model to estimate ASW and LEV.
• Analyzing array configurations with varying modal resolutions across free-field, dry, and reverberant simulated environments.
• Utilizing ten diverse audio signals as test material.

Main Results:

• Perceptual quality, specifically ASW and LEV, is strongly influenced by the microphone array configuration.
• The influence of array configuration on perception is dependent on the reflection properties of the simulated room.
• The RAP model accurately predicts perceived ASW and LEV, showing good correlation with experimental results.

Conclusions:

• Spherical microphone array design is a critical factor in achieving high-fidelity spatial audio reproduction.
• The RAP model provides a reliable method for predicting spatial audio perception in simulated acoustic environments.
• This research validates the model's efficacy in assessing and predicting the spatial quality of binaural auralizations.