A user-centered taxonomy of factors contributing to the listener experience of reproduced audio

Abstract

The traditional paradigm for the assessment of audio quality is that of a listener positioned in the geometric center of a standardized loudspeaker setup, fully attending to the reproduced sound scene. However, this is not how listeners generally interact with audio technology. Audio is consumed in a variety of environments and situations, over devices with varying quality, and by listeners with different expectations and needs. Drawing on research from soundscapes, human computer interaction, and multimedia quality of experience, this paper proposes a user-centered taxonomy of factors that influence the listener experience of reproduced audio. The taxonomy is supported by data from recent research into the perception of complex reproduced sound scenes, and by new data from a web-based survey investigating the structure of experiences with audio technology. In this survey, participants were asked to consider previous experiences with audio technology, and data were collected on the experience itself (psychological need fulfillment and affect), perceptual attributes related to the reproduced audio, and the importance of audio quality to the experience. Results point toward a model of listener experience that can be used to profile listener experiences in different contexts and can be used as a measurement tool in future controlled experiments.