Auditory spatial resolution studies in the Helsinki Music Centre

摘要

One factor in the appreciation of symphonic music is the listener's ability to spatiallysegregate the various orchestral sections and even individual instruments. This abilitydepends on the acoustic conditions in the concert hall, and is investigated here withmeasurements from the recently opened main concert hall of the Helsinki Music Centre.Binaural room impulse response measurements using loudspeakers distributed at closespacing across the stage were taken, and assessment of spatial resolution at variouslistening positions was conducted using psychoacoustic experiments with male and femalespeech signals. Furthermore, listening experiments were conducted with impulse responseswindowed or truncated at various time steps. Auralizations made with partial impulseresponses allowed insight in to the most perceptually relevant portions of the roomresponse, and hence determination of the most critical properties of the room. Spatialresolution is gauged using an adaptive up-down threshold procedure in which the listeneris asked to distinguish which of two sources is to the left of the other. These tests wereconducted for three listening positions and compared to previous experiments in a theaterand simulated concert hall. It is found that this hall allows for very accurate spatialjudgments of only 1.5° even at some of the furthest seats.