Hiroyuki Okubo

Evaluation of spatial impression of sound in horizontal and depth directions for the purpose of developing an advanced multichannel live sound reproduction system

A prototype of an advanced multichannel live sound reproduction system was developed. In this system, multiple loudspeakers are arranged in the horizontal and depth directions in front of listeners to reproduce a sense of sound depth and width [K. Hamasaki et al., Proc. 119th AES Convention, (2005) p. 6559 ]. Using this prototype, a number of subjective tests were conducted to evaluate the listeners sense of sound depth and width. The results revealed that while the direct sound source was perceived near the predicted horizontal location, the sense of depth varied largely from subject to subject. Another listening test was conducted in which reflections from the upper‐front of the listeners were reproduced. Simulated reflections of a virtual space were divided into 11 directional room impulse responses (RIRs). The RIRs were convoluted with individual sound sources (male vocals), and subjects compared their spatial impressions of the sound sources reproduced with and without such reflections. The results o...