In situ evaluation of surround sound system performance

Abstract

Surround sound systems are produced with the intention of reproducing the spatial aspects of sound, such as localization and envelopment. As part of his work on Ambisonics, Gerzon developed two metrics, the velocity and energy localization vectors, which are intended to predict the localization performance of a system. These are used during the design process to optimize the decoder that supplies signals to the loudspeaker array. At best, subjective listening tests are conducted on the finished system, but no objective assessments of the spatial qualities are made to verify that the realized performance correlates the predictions. In the present work, binaural recordings were made of a 3-D 24-loudspeaker installation at Stanford’s Bing Studio. Test signals were used to acquire the binaural impulse response of each loudspeaker in the array and of Ambisonic reproduction using the loudspeaker array. The measurements were repeated at several locations within the hall. Subsequent analysis calculated the ITDs and ILDs for all cases. Initial results from the analysis of the ITDs and ILDs for the center listening position show ITDs, which correspond very closely to what is expected in natural hearing, and ILDs, which are similar to natural hearing.