Spatial audio researchers and content producers agree that the best source material for immersive audio is provided by the capture of acoustic signals at various elevations in a room. Where music recording is concerned, this technique is generally preferred over signal processing, as it provides a more natural and realistic impression of immersion. The authors’ previous work evaluated the content of rear height channels, which demonstrated that a group of listeners could not discriminate between real room sound and artificial reverberation, and showed no significant preference for either version. The current research investigates whether or not there is a preference for real source ambience over artificially generated reverberation in all four of the height channels (i.e., front and rear elevation) of a 9.1 immersive playback system. Results show some subjects can consistently discriminate between ambiences, but no consistent preference for ambience was observed.

Authors: King, Richard; Leonard, Brett; Howie, Will; Kelly, Jack
Affiliations: McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music, Media and Technology, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; BLPaudio, St. Louis, MO, USA(See document for exact affiliation information.)
AES Convention: 142 (May 2017) Paper Number: 9745
Publication Date: May 11, 2017 Import into BibTeX
Subject: Room Acoustics: Sound Field Simulation and Generation
Permalink: https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=18621

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