Auditory resolution in auditory virtual environments

Abstract

Minimum audible angles (MAA) were estimated for listeners in the sweet spot of four‐ and eight‐loudspeaker arrays in the studio as a function of angle of incidence (0, 60, 90) and source position within the array (on the loudspeaker, midway between or one‐third of the way between loudspeakers). Vector‐based amplitude panning (VBAP) was used with a 250‐ms broadband stimulus. MAAs increased with angle of incidence in direct comparison to real sources. For frontal incidence, MAA was 7.4, 2.9 for the four‐ and eight‐speaker VBAP system (compared to 1 with real sources). A systematic effect of source position within the speaker array was found with MAAs being smallest for sources halfway between the speakers. The experiment was replicated in a concert hall for listeners at eight positions away from the sweet spot for eight‐ and 16‐loudspeaker arrays and for angle of incidence of 0, 45, and 90 relative to a listener in the sweet spot, facing forward. Participants were able to perceive change in accordance to their relative angle to the stimulus. For frontal incidence, MAA at threshold was 3.24 and 2.0 for VBAP for eight and 16 speakers, respectively. The results are investigated using binaural localization models.