Convention Paper
An Experimental Verification of Localization in Two-Channel Stereo
AES Convention 121 · Paper 6968 · October 2006
Abstract
In two-channel stereo the ratio of intensities between two loudspeakers is varied, and at low frequencies the differences in times-of-arrival of the sounds create phase differences between the two ears. These phase differences mimic those experienced in natural hearing, and thus the perceived localization is similar. The experiments described in this paper test the localization provided by stereo in actual use. The perceptions of listeners were collected and the acoustic signals at the entrance to their ear canals were recorded for analysis. Localization under optimum conditions gave results which are substantially similar to what is predicted by theory. Localization in sub-optimum conditions, such as at very low frequencies and such as are encountered in automobiles, was found to be substantially in error.
