Ms. Shinbara reporting EXOFIELD technology.
A lecture meeting on EXOFIELD, an externalization technology of auditory images for headphone listening, was held at the meeting room of JVCKENWOOD; this face-to-face meeting was the first in two and half years, because the Covid-19 pandemic was very active in the 2.5 years. The lecture meeting was also distributed via the Internet using the Zoom webinar. Ms. Shinbara introduced the technology of EXOFIELD, including measurement and analysis of the sound unique to the individual characteristics, different types of speakers, and condition of the listening room. A simple form of the technology is realized by measuring ECTF (Ear Canal Transfer Function) via small built-in microphones inside the headphone housing and selecting adequate HRTF (Head Related Transfer Function) from an extensive HRTF database based on the personally measured ECTF. Headphone listening using personalized ECTF and HRTF is significantly more effective for externalizing auditory images than conventional technologies. EXOFIELD is currently intended to use an audio-visual appreciation and widen its application to gaming programs and VR applications.
Twenty participants at JVCKENWOOD moved on to the listening room, which provided five headphone systems (XP-EXT1) with EXOFIELD technology, and participated in an audition. Their ECTF was measured personally, then they experienced and compared conventional stereo headphone listening and EXOFIELD, listening to 7.1.4 channel loudspeakers emitting pink noise and a few contents by Dolby ATMOS demonstration disk. Most of the participants enthusiastically discussed the technology of the externalization of auditory images and their auditory experiences with each other and Ms. Shinbara while waiting for their turn in the audition.
