Continuous and Overall Evaluation of Spatial Audio Reproduction Systems With Spatially Dynamic Content

Porysek Moreta PN, Bech S, Francombe J, Østergaard J, van de Par S. Continuous and Overall Evaluation of Spatial Audio Reproduction Systems With Spatially Dynamic Content. J Audio Eng Soc. 2026;74(4):199-211. doi:10.17743/jaes.2022.0258

@article{PorysekMoreta2026_23134,
  author = {Porysek Moreta, Pia Nancy and Bech, Søren and Francombe, Jon and Østergaard, Jan and van de Par, Steven},
  title = {{Continuous and Overall Evaluation of Spatial Audio Reproduction Systems With Spatially Dynamic Content}},
  journal = {Journal of the Audio Engineering Society},
  volume = {74},
  number = {4},
  pages = {199--211},
  year = {2026},
  month = apr,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  doi = {10.17743/jaes.2022.0258},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2022.0258}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Continuous and Overall Evaluation of Spatial Audio Reproduction Systems With Spatially Dynamic Content
AU  - Porysek Moreta, Pia Nancy
AU  - Bech, Søren
AU  - Francombe, Jon
AU  - Østergaard, Jan
AU  - van de Par, Steven
T2  - Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
J2  - J. Audio Eng. Soc.
VL  - 74
IS  - 4
SP  - 199
EP  - 211
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/01
DO  - 10.17743/jaes.2022.0258
UR  - https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2022.0258
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - This study addresses potential challenges in evaluating reproduction systems with complex, spatially dynamic audio material because current standardized methods may lead to biased or unreliable results. To investigate this, a listening experiment was conducted comparing two assessment methods—continuous and overall evaluation—applied to two attributes, basic audio quality and surrounding, using spatially dynamic content reproduced on two reproduction systems (a stereo and a 3D surround configuration). To enable comparison with overall evaluations, continuous ratings were summarized using different strategies. Although ratings were mainly influenced by the reproduction system, spatial variation, and program item, the choice of evaluation method also had a significant effect on the scores. This effect varied depending on the attribute and the metric used to summarize the continuous data. In cases where differences were observed, continuous evaluations consistently produced higher scores than overall ratings, regardless of the summary metric. These findings indicate that continuous evaluation can capture perceptual variations over time that are lost in overall ratings, suggesting it can be a useful approach when assessing attributes influenced by spatially dynamic changes.
ER  -