Near-field binaural rendering: evaluating the natural channel separation of loudspeakers mounted in a headrest

Stanhope E, Hobden LJ, Oxnard SG. Near-field binaural rendering: evaluating the natural channel separation of loudspeakers mounted in a headrest. In: AES Conference: AES 2023 International Conference on Spatial and Immersive Audio. Audio Engineering Society; 2023. Paper 12. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22206

@inproceedings{Stanhope2023_22206,
  author = {Stanhope, Ethan and Hobden, Laurence J. and Oxnard, Stephen G.},
  title = {{Near-field binaural rendering: evaluating the natural channel separation of loudspeakers mounted in a headrest}},
  booktitle = {AES Conference: AES 2023 International Conference on Spatial and Immersive Audio},
  note = {Paper 12},
  year = {2023},
  month = aug,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22206}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Near-field binaural rendering: evaluating the natural channel separation of loudspeakers mounted in a headrest
AU  - Stanhope, Ethan
AU  - Hobden, Laurence J.
AU  - Oxnard, Stephen G.
T2  - AES Conference: AES 2023 International Conference on Spatial and Immersive Audio
M1  - Paper 12
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/08/06
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22206
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - This paper investigates the feasibility of binaural rendering using drive units mounted in an automotive headrest without the utilisation of crosstalk cancellation. Binaural audio is being utilised at an increased rate to create spatialised 3D sound experiences, and trends in the automotive industry indicate the desire to mount loudspeakers within vehicle seats for in-car entertainment purposes. When binaural audio is played back over a loudspeaker pair, the effect of crosstalk decreases the listener’s ability to localise the intended positions of the virtual sound sources in the audio signal, leading to the requirement for crosstalk cancellation processing. As a case study, test signals were rendered over loudspeakers mounted in a headrest and measurements of natural channel separation were conducted with a binaural dummy head. Results from these measurements indicate that, in anechoic conditions with no distance between the head and the headrest, there is sufficient natural channel separation for broadband binaural audio reproduction without crosstalk cancellation. The same conditions in a vehicle cabin imply that there is the possibility of band limited binaural reproduction without crosstalk in a reverberant environment. Implications from these findings suggest the possibility of rendering binaural content over headrest mounted loudspeakers without the need for crosstalk cancellation processing.
ER  -