Elicitation of Descriptors for Comparing Binaural and Multichannel Speaker Playback

Ikeda T, Kamekawa T, Marui A. Elicitation of Descriptors for Comparing Binaural and Multichannel Speaker Playback. In: Convention Paper. Audio Engineering Society; 2025. Paper 10238. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23082

@inproceedings{Ikeda2025_23082,
  author = {Ikeda, Tsubasa and Kamekawa, Toru and Marui, Atsushi},
  title = {{Elicitation of Descriptors for Comparing Binaural and Multichannel Speaker Playback}},
  note = {Paper 10238},
  year = {2025},
  month = oct,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23082}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Elicitation of Descriptors for Comparing Binaural and Multichannel Speaker Playback
AU  - Ikeda, Tsubasa
AU  - Kamekawa, Toru
AU  - Marui, Atsushi
M1  - Paper 10238
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/10/14
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23082
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - Binaural and multichannel loudspeaker playback were compared using a controlled listening experiment based on Projective Mapping (Napping). Four playback conditions (27.0ch and three downmixes) and three program types (organ, band, and field) were tested. From 11 trained participants, we elicited 93 descriptive terms that were consolidated into four main categories: Spatial (e.g., envelopment, reverb, localization), Frequency (e.g., much low-frequency, less high-frequency), Timbre (e.g., clear, bright), and Intensity (e.g., powerful, piercing). The intensity category, in particular, has rarely been discussed in prior comparisons. MFA and HCPC showed that organ and band materials produced mixed clusters across playback conditions, whereas the field recording separated clearly along the binaural-loudspeaker axis. UFP linked these structures to descriptor vectors, with organ and band driven mainly by spatial, timbral, and intensity terms, while the field recording aligned with frequency and partly intensity terms. An auxiliary acoustic analysis (event density, short-term loudness variance, spectral centroid, spectral flux) was consistent with these perceptual structures. Overall, both playback mode and program material shape listeners impressions, and "intensity" emerges as a useful descriptor family when comparing binaural with loudspeakers.
ER  -