Evaluation of artificial head recording systems

Abstract

Artificial head (or dummy head) recording and playback systems are increasingly used. The main advantage of these systems is their ability to reproduce three-dimensional spatial aspects of sound. However, the exact reproduction of direction has been questioned from time to time. The study presents an objective and subjective evaluation of eight artificial heads. In the objective test, the head-related transfer functions of the heads were compared to those of humans. Significant deviations were seen for all heads, and none of them can be characterized as a mean, median, or typical head. In the subjective test a panel of listeners indicated direction and distance to sound sources recorded by the head and reproduced by means of carefully equalized headphones. The reproduction of direction was in general poor, especially in the median plane.