Analysis of spatial cue distortion in HRTFs using a simplified head model
* Presenting author
Abstract:
Variability in microphone insertion and subject positioning while performing a head-related transfer function (HRTF) measurement may lead to distortions in the acquired impulse responses. Changes to monaural features (resonances and anti-resonances), as well as binaural cues (interaural time and level differences), may ensue, affecting the auditory localization of virtual sound sources and overall authenticity of binaural synthesis. A spherical measurement object with interchangeable cylindrical resonator extensions is applied to examine the impact of different error types, making use of the relatively simple directivity of the object, compared to the high degree in spatial detail present in artificial head HRTF sets. Attempts are made to draw relations between changes to the object and their impact on the measured spectra, as well as the spatial progress of localization cues, in order to quantify errors in a meaningful way.