Equalized distributed mode loudspeakers rival conventional ones in listening tests

The application of distributed mode loudspeakers (DMLs) is increasing, whereas the technology has some deficiencies that can be compensated for. This brings up a question: which of the two loudspeaker types is subjectively preferred by listeners in the home environment - conventional, or DML? This work reports an experiment designed to answer this question. Two types of DMLs were compared with a state-of-the-art conventional box loudspeaker system in a listening experiment, participated by 77 subjects. The DMLs were compensated for their shortcomings. A reproduction format was stereophonic, and an evaluation was carried out according to six perceptual attributes. The multiple comparison experimental paradigm was used. The results implied significant differences among the evaluations of the following attributes: stage width, envelopment, and localization. Effects and interactions for the system, excerpt, and experience experimental variables were considered. The hypothesis that DMLs provide more perception of envelopment than conventional loudspeakers was proven. The results indicated that compensated DMLs attain sound quality close to that of reference conventional systems, surpassing them in spatial attributes.