Convention Paper
On the bandwidth required for the perception of the top layer in 3D audio with simple sound sources
Convention Paper · Paper 10703 · June 2024
Abstract
For human auditory perception, localization of a given sound source within the horizontal plane is cued by ILD (interaural level difference) and ITD (interaural time difference), while localization in the vertical median plane relies primarily on spectral cues within the frequency response of the sound incident at the ear. Previously, the authors investigated the frequency bandwidth required to effectively reproduce the top layer within a 3D audio system by comparing the difference between various full-band 22.2 multichannel audio stimuli and stimuli filtered to restrict the frequency bandwidth of top layer reproduction. Results from an experiment using the Parameter Estimation by Sequential Testing method demonstrated cut-off frequencies required for perception of the top layer were found for some sources to be around 1 kHz. In this paper, a similar experiment was conducted using simpler source material as stimuli. Results show that for stimuli derived from pink noise and burst noise, perceptual differences exist even if the lower frequencies in the top layers are only cut off slightly. On the other hand, the first quartile of the frequency, at which the difference becomes indistinguishable for actual instruments and narration, varies from 125 Hz to 1 kHz and is dependent on the direction of playback and the complexity of the material.
