The effect of head movement on sound localization using stereo microphones: Comparison with dummy heads

Abstract

This study examined the effect of head movement on sound localization with a pair of microphones providing no head‐related transfer function (HRTF) information, and with individualized, nonindividualized, and downsized dummy heads providing HRTF information with different degrees of distortion. In an anechoic room, white noise was presented for 5 s from one of 12 loudspeakers. A dummy head or a microphone pair was placed at the observation point. Listeners heard the sound via headphones outside the anechoic room and judged the direction of the source and whether the sound image was extracranial. Without head movement, localization accuracy with the microphone pair was significantly worse than that with dummy heads. When voluntary head movement was allowed and the dummy head was moved in accord with the listener’s movement, accuracy with nonindividualized and downsized dummy heads improved nearly to the individualized level. Accuracy with the microphone pair also improved with head movement, but did not reach the level of dummy heads. An extracranial image was perceived with dummy heads in most cases, but not often with the microphone pair even with head movement. Head movement cannot completely compensate for the lack of HRTFs.