Correlation between middle and top layer loudspeaker signals and the listening area in 3D audio reproduction

Kamekawa T, Marui A. Correlation between middle and top layer loudspeaker signals and the listening area in 3D audio reproduction. In: Convention Paper. Audio Engineering Society; 2025. Paper 10219. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22855

@inproceedings{Kamekawa2025_22855,
  author = {Kamekawa, Toru and Marui, Atsushi},
  title = {{Correlation between middle and top layer loudspeaker signals and the listening area in 3D audio reproduction}},
  note = {Paper 10219},
  year = {2025},
  month = may,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22855}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Correlation between middle and top layer loudspeaker signals and the listening area in 3D audio reproduction
AU  - Kamekawa, Toru
AU  - Marui, Atsushi
M1  - Paper 10219
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/05/12
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22855
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - In auditory spatial perception, horizontal sound image localization and a sense of spaciousness are based on level and time differences between the left and right ears as cues, and the degree of correlation between the left and right signals is thought to contribute to the sense of horizontal spaciousness, in particular (see \[Hidaka1995, Zotter2013]). For the vertical image spread (VIS), spectral cues are necessary. The change in VIS due to the degree of correlation between the vertical and horizontal signals depends on the frequency response [Gribben2018]. This paper investigated the influence of different correlation values between the top and middle layers of loudspeaker signals within a 3D audio reproduction system on listening impressions through two experiments. The results of experiments using pink noise with different correlation values for the top and middle layers show that the lower the vertical correlation values are, the wider the listening area is, where the impression does not change from the central listening position. From the results of experiments using impulse responses obtained by setting up microphones in an actual concert hall, a tendency to perceive a sense of spaciousness at the off-center listening position was found when cardioid microphones were used for the top layer that were spaced apart from the middle layer. The polar pattern and height of the microphones may have resulted in lower correlation values in the vertical direction, thus widening the listening area of consistent spatial impression outside of the central listening position (i.e., sweet spot).
ER  -