The recently introduced Open Dataset of Audio Quality (ODAQ) addresses the scarcity of available audio material with different signal impairments and associated subjective scores, focusing primarily on monaural artifacts and changes in timbre. In this paper, we present an initial study for extending ODAQ towards the impact of stereo processing and binaural hearing on perceived quality. For this purpose, monaural artifacts from ODAQ were adapted in different combinations with left-right (LR) and mid-side (MS) stereo preprocessing, across diverse stereo characteristics including monaural recordings and hard-panned mixes. The goal was to collect subjective data beyond monaural artifacts while also scrutinizing the listening test methodology. MUSHRA listening test results indicate that the preference for LR or MS coding is substantially influenced by the stereo characteristics of the test signal. Notably, the results also show that differences in ratings between LR and MS are affected significantly by the presentation context, with some conditions showing disparities only when listeners could directly compare the different stereo versions. The findings suggest that listeners primarily assess timbral impairments when spatial characteristics are consistent and focus on stereo image issues only when timbral quality is similar. The rating of an additional mono anchor was overall consistent, yet unexpectedly high, further corroborating that listeners prioritize timbral over spatial impressions.
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