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V. Pulkki, H. Pöntynen, and O. Santala, "Spatial Perception of Sound Source Distribution in the Median Plane," J. Audio Eng. Soc., vol. 67, no. 11, pp. 855-870, (2019 November.). doi: https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2019.0033 V. Pulkki, H. Pöntynen, and O. Santala, "Spatial Perception of Sound Source Distribution in the Median Plane," J. Audio Eng. Soc., vol. 67 Issue 11 pp. 855-870, (2019 November.). doi: https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2019.0033
Abstract: Modern spatial audio reproduction techniques with headphones or loudspeakers seek to control the perceived spatial image as accurately as possible in three dimensions. The mechanisms of spatial perception have been studied mainly in the horizontal plane, and this article attempts to shed some light on the corresponding phenomena in the median plane. Spatial perception of concurrently active sound sources was investigated in an exploratory listening experiment. Incoherent noise source distributions of varying spatial characteristics were presented from loudspeaker arrays in anechoic conditions. The arrays were coinciding with the ±45° angular sectors in the frontal median and horizontal planes. The task for immobile subjects was to report the directions of loudspeakers they perceived emitting sound. The results from median plane distributions suggest that two concurrent sources located along the vertical midline can be perceived individually without resorting to head movements when they are separated in elevation by 60° or more. With source pairs separated by less than 60°, and with more complex physical distributions, the distributions were perceived inaccurately, biased, and spatially compressed but nevertheless not as point-like auditory images.

@article{pulkki2019spatial,
author={pulkki, ville and pöntynen, henri and santala, olli},
journal={journal of the audio engineering society},
title={spatial perception of sound source distribution in the median plane},
year={2019},
volume={67},
number={11},
pages={855-870},
doi={https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2019.0033},
month={november},} @article{pulkki2019spatial,
author={pulkki, ville and pöntynen, henri and santala, olli},
journal={journal of the audio engineering society},
title={spatial perception of sound source distribution in the median plane},
year={2019},
volume={67},
number={11},
pages={855-870},
doi={https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2019.0033},
month={november},
abstract={modern spatial audio reproduction techniques with headphones or loudspeakers seek to control the perceived spatial image as accurately as possible in three dimensions. the mechanisms of spatial perception have been studied mainly in the horizontal plane, and this article attempts to shed some light on the corresponding phenomena in the median plane. spatial perception of concurrently active sound sources was investigated in an exploratory listening experiment. incoherent noise source distributions of varying spatial characteristics were presented from loudspeaker arrays in anechoic conditions. the arrays were coinciding with the ±45° angular sectors in the frontal median and horizontal planes. the task for immobile subjects was to report the directions of loudspeakers they perceived emitting sound. the results from median plane distributions suggest that two concurrent sources located along the vertical midline can be perceived individually without resorting to head movements when they are separated in elevation by 60° or more. with source pairs separated by less than 60°, and with more complex physical distributions, the distributions were perceived inaccurately, biased, and spatially compressed but nevertheless not as point-like auditory images.},}

TY - paper
TI - Spatial Perception of Sound Source Distribution in the Median Plane
SP - 855 EP - 870
AU - Pulkki, Ville
AU - Pöntynen, Henri
AU - Santala, Olli
PY - 2019
JO - Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
IS - 11
VO - 67
VL - 67
Y1 - November 2019 TY - paper
TI - Spatial Perception of Sound Source Distribution in the Median Plane
SP - 855 EP - 870
AU - Pulkki, Ville
AU - Pöntynen, Henri
AU - Santala, Olli
PY - 2019
JO - Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
IS - 11
VO - 67
VL - 67
Y1 - November 2019
AB - Modern spatial audio reproduction techniques with headphones or loudspeakers seek to control the perceived spatial image as accurately as possible in three dimensions. The mechanisms of spatial perception have been studied mainly in the horizontal plane, and this article attempts to shed some light on the corresponding phenomena in the median plane. Spatial perception of concurrently active sound sources was investigated in an exploratory listening experiment. Incoherent noise source distributions of varying spatial characteristics were presented from loudspeaker arrays in anechoic conditions. The arrays were coinciding with the ±45° angular sectors in the frontal median and horizontal planes. The task for immobile subjects was to report the directions of loudspeakers they perceived emitting sound. The results from median plane distributions suggest that two concurrent sources located along the vertical midline can be perceived individually without resorting to head movements when they are separated in elevation by 60° or more. With source pairs separated by less than 60°, and with more complex physical distributions, the distributions were perceived inaccurately, biased, and spatially compressed but nevertheless not as point-like auditory images.