Loudspeaker and listener positions for optimal low-frequency spatial reproduction in listening rooms

Abstract

This paper will briefly describe the physical and physiological mechanisms that enable low-frequency externalization and spatial reproduction in listening rooms. These mechanisms depend on reproducing a time-varying interaural time difference at the listening position through interference between symmetric and asymmetric room modes. The effect works successfully when the symmetric and asymmetric room modes are driven by independent portions of a multi-channel signal, typically the in-phase and the anti-phase component of a two-channel recording. The paper will describe how this overlap can be optimized by adjusting the loudspeaker and listener positions for a variety of playback rooms. The results show that certain common room shapes yield low spatiality regardless of loudspeaker and listener positions.