Effect of Audio Production Experience, Musical Training, and Age on Listener Performance in 3D Audio Evaluation

Influence of the Listening Environment on Recognition of Immersive Reproduction of Orchestral Music Sound Scenes

“…In the current study, it is not possible to say which of the two previous experience types, audio production or immersive audio listening, had a greater impact on the perception of the experience group, since they are fundamentally correlated within the data. In Howie et al's study [42], previous experience "hearing 3D audio" was not found to have an effect on listener performance. However, the focus of that study was consistency of making evaluations, not how the experience modulated a listener's perception of the sound scene or listening space.…”

“…The listeners' previous audio production experience and multichannel immersive music listening experience, however, may be an important factor for the quantification of perceived impressions. A recent study by Howie et al found audio production experience to be a strong predictor of listener performance in 3D audio evaluation [42]. However, that same study found that previous experience hearing 3D audio had no effect on listener performance.…”

“…In the current study, listeners can be broadly separated into two different "experience" groups: those with previous experience or proficiency with audio production and hearing 3D audio reproduced through a 22.2-channel system and those without either of said types of experience. Howie et al have examined the effect of different types of previous experience on listener performance [42] and skill level [55] in 3D audio evaluation. As with the current study, Howie et al used immersive recordings of orchestral music as stimuli.…”

“…As with the current study, Howie et al used immersive recordings of orchestral music as stimuli. In [42], it was found that among several different types of previous experience, audio production experience was the best predictor of listener consistency in making preference or ranking judgments of 3D audio stimuli. For those trained or working as audio engineers, even in stereo, it is normal to divide and analyze a sound scene based on many complex factors covering a wide range of spatial, timbral, dynamic, and musical considerations.…”

A New Technical Ear Training Game and Its Effect on Critical Listening Skills

“…BS.1534-3 [8] requires experienced listeners. Recent studies on spatial attributes for three-dimensional (3D), immersive sound recording, and reproduction also revealed cognitive differences between naive and experienced listeners [9,10]. According to ( [6], p. 91), the difference between the expert and naive listeners lies in that "the small expert panel may have the experience to discriminate repeatably complex stimuli using the scale with confidence".…”