A Subjective Comparison of Discrete Surround Sound and Soundbar Technology by Using Mixed Methods

Walton T, Evans M, Kirk D, Melchior F. A Subjective Comparison of Discrete Surround Sound and Soundbar Technology by Using Mixed Methods. In: AES Convention 140. Audio Engineering Society; 2016. Paper 9592. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=18290

@inproceedings{Walton2016_18290,
  author = {Walton, Tim and Evans, Michael and Kirk, David and Melchior, Frank},
  title = {{A Subjective Comparison of Discrete Surround Sound and Soundbar Technology by Using Mixed Methods}},
  booktitle = {AES Convention 140},
  note = {Paper 9592},
  year = {2016},
  month = may,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=18290}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - A Subjective Comparison of Discrete Surround Sound and Soundbar Technology by Using Mixed Methods
AU  - Walton, Tim
AU  - Evans, Michael
AU  - Kirk, David
AU  - Melchior, Frank
T2  - AES Convention 140
M1  - Paper 9592
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/05/06
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=18290
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - In recent years, soundbars have seen a rise in interest from consumers of home audio. Such technology offers an alternative means to experience surround sound content compared to conventional discrete multichannel systems. This paper presents a subjective comparison between two soundbars—a discrete 5 channel surround system and a discrete stereo system for a range of content and listener experience—in order to evaluate how soundbar technology compares to conventional discrete systems. A mixed methods approach, Open Profiling of Quality, was used in order to deeper understand preference ratings for the various reproduction systems. The results show that the discrete surround system was significantly preferred to the soundbars for all content due to a combination of timbral and spatial factors.
ER  -