Localization performance of binaurally recorded sounds with and without training

摘要

One of the problems associated with listening to binaurally recorded sound events is localization confusions. The main objective of this investigation was to find out whether a short training session prior to listening to binaural recordings through headphones would facilitate correct spatial perception of the sound field. Focus was on the localization of the sound stimuli in median plane. Sound signals were recorded with an artificial head in three different conditions namely, anechoic, highly reverberant and moderately reverberant. Fourteen subjects participated in the listening tests. All subjects were required to localize all virtual sound stimuli under two different conditions. The first condition had a short training session binaurally recorded in the same environments as preceeding sound stimuli, and only sound stimuli recorded in the same environment were presented. The second condition did not have a training session, and sound stimuli recorded in different environments were presented. Results showed that a short training session prior to listening to binaurally recorded sounds through headphones was useful as it facilitated localization performance. The biggest effect was in reduced amount of sounds perceived inside the head. It was most pronounced for sound stimuli recorded in anechoic environment.