Reverberation enhances the relative potency of onset cues for sound localization

Abstract

Onset dominance in spatial hearing has been repeatedly demonstrated through studies of the precedence effect, Franssen effect, and temporal weighting in sound localization. Such effects are often cited as evidence that onset dominance enhances spatial perception, particularly in reverberant environments where post-onset cues are degraded by echoes and reverberation. Most studies, however, have presented sounds in anechoic space or via headphones. Thus, the actual effects of reverberation on onset dominance are not well understood. This study adapted the approach of Stecker & Hafter (2002; JASA 112:1046-57) to measure temporal weighting functions (TWF) for freefield localization of Gabor click trains (4 kHz; 200 Hz click rate) in the presence or absence of simulated reverberation. Reverberant conditions simulated a 10m x 10m room with modestly absorptive walls (α = 0.5). For each potential source location, direct sound and all reflections up to 13th order were synthesized at correct azimuths, intensities, ...