Perception of Reverberation in Domestic and Automotive Environments

nrpages: 227status: publishe

Evaluation of Car Cabin Acoustics Using Auralisation over Headphones

The auralization schemes in the domain of automotive audio have primarily utilized dummy head recordings in the past. Recently, spatial reproduction allowed the auralization of cabin acoustics over large loudspeaker arrays. Yet no direct comparisons between those methods exist. In this study, the efficacy of headphone presentation is explored in this context. Six acoustical conditions were presented over headphones to experienced assessors (n=23), who were asked to compare them over six elicited perceptual attributes. In 24 out of 36 cases, the results indicate an agreement between headphone- and loudspeaker-based auralisation of identical stimuli sets. It is concluded that, when compared to loudspeakers-based rendering, headphones-based rendering reveals similar judgment on timbral attributes, while certain spatial attributes should be assessed with caution

Perception and preference of reverberation in small listening rooms for multi-loudspeaker reproduction

An experiment was conducted to identify the perceptual effects of acoustical properties of domestic listening environments, in a stereophonic reproduction scenario. Nine sound fields, originating from four rooms, were captured and spatially reproduced over a three-dimensional loudspeaker array. A panel of ten expert assessors identified and quantified the perceived differences of those sound fields using their own perceptual attributes. A multivariate analysis revealed two principal dimensions that could summarize the sound fields of this investigation. Four perceptual constructs seem to characterize the sensory properties of these dimensions, relating to Reverberance, Width & Envelopment, Proximity, and Bass. Overall, the results signify the importance of reverberation in residential listening environments on the perceived sensory experience, and as a consequence, the assessors' preferences towards certain decay times.Peer reviewe