Perception of Sound Source Localization in Wave Field Synthesis

Abstract

The subjective perception of traditional spatial sound reproduction is limited by the position of the listener. Wave field synthesis (WFS) generate accurate sound reproduction in a large area by using speaker array without the limitation of the position of the listener. In the past, the research of WFS mainly focused on theoretical algorithm and simulation experiment. In this paper, the subjective location perception of sound source in actual WFS system is studied. The subjective experiments use three types of virtual sound sources with different distances and angles. It is found that distance has little effect on location perception overall. Subjective location perception is most accurate when the virtual sound source is 0 degrees. Perception of virtual sound source directions at 15 degrees, 30 degrees, and 45 degrees are all around 30 degrees, and the standard deviation of perception of virtual sound sources location at 45 degrees is largest. In terms of sound source type, there is not much difference between pure tone and narrow band noise.