This two-part study explored the efficacy of binaural renderers to accurately reproduce the placement of objects within a three-dimensional, virtual soundscape. Many previous works have only tested localization on the horizontal plane (Part I) whereas this research expanded on prior methodology by adding vertical targets along the medial and two sagittal planes (Part II). Two industry leading binaural renderers were compared. The subject task was to map where each sound source was perceived onto a planar response sheet. Results were consistent with previous research in that renderer performance was found to be weak in the horizontal domain. Findings presented here support the notion that horizontal plane localization cannot be solely relied upon to assess the quality of binaural renderers. In part two, further analysis of loci along the medial and sagittal planes will provide a more complete understanding of renderer performance and areas for potential improvement.

Authors: LaFountaine, Lisa; Plasse, Raymond; Bulla, Wesley
Affiliations: Belmont University; Belmont University; Belmont University(See document for exact affiliation information.)
Express Paper 173; AES Convention 155; October 2023
Publication Date: October 25, 2023 Import into BibTeX
Subject: Immersive & Spatial Audio
Permalink: https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=22327

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