Extending Realism for Digital Piano Players: A Perceptual Comparison of 3DoF and 6DoF Head-Tracked Binaural Audio

Chen P, Boren B. Extending Realism for Digital Piano Players: A Perceptual Comparison of 3DoF and 6DoF Head-Tracked Binaural Audio. In: Convention Paper. Audio Engineering Society; 2025. Paper 10243. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23087

@inproceedings{Chen2025_23087,
  author = {Chen, Pingkang and Boren, Braxton},
  title = {{Extending Realism for Digital Piano Players: A Perceptual Comparison of 3DoF and 6DoF Head-Tracked Binaural Audio}},
  note = {Paper 10243},
  year = {2025},
  month = oct,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23087}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Extending Realism for Digital Piano Players: A Perceptual Comparison of 3DoF and 6DoF Head-Tracked Binaural Audio
AU  - Chen, Pingkang
AU  - Boren, Braxton
M1  - Paper 10243
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/10/14
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23087
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - This paper investigates how to achieve and perceptually evaluate the benefits of extending head-tracked binaural audio from three-degrees-of-freedom (3DoF) to six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) for digital piano players. Building on previous 3DoF research that tracked only rotational head movements, this study evaluates a 6DoF system that captures both rotational and translational movements during digital piano performance. A real-time HRTF-based binaural rendering system was developed using a custom plugin integrated with face-tracking technology in a Max/MSPDAW environment to process 6DoF movement data alongside MIDI input from the digital piano. Perceptual evaluation comparing 3DoF and 6DoF tracking modes across five attributes: Dynamic Spatial Realism, Spatial Clarity, Source Stability, Envelopment, and Preference demonstrated significant improvements for 6DoF tracking in four of five attributes. These findings validate the importance of capturing pianists' natural translational head movements and demonstrate that 6DoF head-tracked binaural audio offers enhanced realism and immersion that more closely approximates the acoustic piano experience.
ER  -