Convention Paper
Directional Bands Revisited
AES Convention 138 · Paper 9278 · May 2015
Abstract
Listening tests were undertaken as part of a comprehensive analysis of directional bands. The effects of frequency, loudspeaker position, signal duration, and bandwidth were all considered. The results confirmed the existence of directional bands for 1, 4, and 8 kHz 1/3-octave band bursts. A relationship between pitch and height was also observed, leading to the suggestion that the pitch-height effect and directional bands are part of the same localizational mechanism. Bandwidth was found to have a variable effect on localization, depending on frequency, indicating that the spectral cues used in vertical localization are not of equal bandwidth. Loudspeaker position and signal duration also had some influence on localization judgments although this was found to be somewhat erratic.
