Paper Archive

DAFx-2020 - Vienna (virtual)

The Synthetic Transaural Audio Rendering (STAR) method, first introduced at DAFx-06 then enhanced at DAFx-19, is a perceptive approach for sound spatialization aiming at reproducing the acoustic cues at the ears of the listener, using loudspeakers. To validate the method, several comparisons with state-of-the-art spatialization methods (VBAP and HOA) were conducted. Previously, quality comparisons with human subjects have been made, providing meaningful subjective results in real conditions. In this article an objective comparison is proposed, using acoustic cues error maps. The cartography enables us to study the spatialization effect in a 2D space, for a listening position within an audience, and thus not necessarily located at the center. Two approaches are conducted: the first simulates the binaural signals for a virtual KEMAR manikin, in ideal conditions and with a fine resolution; the second records these binaural signals using a real KEMAR manikin, providing real data with reverberation, though with a coarser resolution. In both cases the acoustic cues were derived from the binaural signals (either simulated or measured), and compared to the reference value taken at the center of the octophonic loudspeakers configuration. The obtained error maps display comforting results, our STAR method producing the smallest error for both simulated and experimental conditions.

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