The benefit of using individual head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) in binaural audio is well documented with regards to improving localization precision. However, with the increased use of binaural audio in more complex scene renderings, cognitive studies, and virtual and augmented reality simulations, the perceptual impact of HRTF selection may go beyond simple localization. In this study, the authors develop a list of attributes which qualify the perceived differences between HRTFs, providing a qualitative understanding of the perceptual variance of non-individual binaural renderings. The list of attributes was designed using a Consensus Vocabulary Protocol elicitation method. Participants followed an Individual Vocabulary Protocol elicitation procedure, describing the perceived differences between binaural stimuli based on binauralized extracts of multichannel productions. This was followed by an automated lexical reduction and a series of consensus group meetings during which participants agreed on a list of relevant attributes. Finally, the proposed list of attributes was then evaluated through a listening test, leading to eight valid perceptual attributes for describing the perceptual dimensions affected by HRTF set variations.
References
1.
Afonso
, A.
, Blum
, A.
, Katz
, B.
, Tarroux
, P.
, Borst
, G.
, and Denis
, M.
(2010
). “Structural properties of spatial representations in blind people: Scanning images constructed from haptic exploration or from locomotion in a 3-D audio virtual environment
,” Memory Cognit.
38
, 591
–604
.2.
Andreopoulou
, A.
, Begault
, D. R.
, and Katz
, B. F.
(2015
). “Inter-laboratory round robin HRTF measurement comparison
,” IEEE J. Sel. Topics Signal Process.
9
, 895
–906
.3.
Andreopoulou
, A.
, and Katz
, B. F. G.
(2016
). “Subjective HRTF evaluations for obtaining global similarity metrics of assessors and assessees
,” J. Multimodal User Interfaces
10
(3
), 259
–271
.4.
Baumgartner
, R.
, Majdak
, P.
, and Laback
, B.
(2014
). “Modeling sound-source localization in sagittal planes for human listeners
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
136
, 791
–802
.5.
Begault
, D. R.
, Lee
, A. S.
, Wenzel
, E. M.
, and Anderson
, M. R.
(2000
). “Direct comparison of the impact of head tracking, reverberation, and individualized Head-Related Transfer Functions on the spatial perception of a virtual speech source
,” in Audio Engineering Society Convention
, San Jose, CA
, paper number 5134.6.
Berg
, J.
, and Rumsey
, F.
(1999
). “Identification of perceived spatial attributes of recordings by Repertory Grid Technique and other methods
,” in Audio Engineering Society Convention
, Münich, Germany
, paper number 4924.7.
Blauert
, J.
(1996
). Spatial Hearing
(MIT Press
, Cambridge
, 1996), 508
pp.8.
Bondu
, A.
, Busson
, S.
, Lemaire
, V.
, and Nicol
, R.
(2006
). “Looking for a relevant similarity criterion for HRTF clustering: A comparative study
,” in Audio Engineering Society Convention
, Paris, France
, paper number 6629.9.
Cairncross
, S.
, and Sjostrom
, L.
(2004
). “Flavor profiles: A new approach to flavor problems
,” in Descriptive Sensory Analysis in Practice
, edited by M. C.
Gacula
, Jr. (Food & Nutrition Press, Inc.
, Trumbull, CT
), pp. 15
–22
.10.
Choisel
, S.
, and Wickelmaier
, F.
(2007
). “Evaluation of multichannel reproduced sound: Scaling auditory attributes underlying listener preference
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am
121
, 388
–400
.11.
Colomes
, C.
, Le Bagousse
, S.
, and Paquier
, M.
(2010
). “Families of sound attributes for assessment of spatial audio
,” in Audio Engineering Society Convention
, San Francisco, CA
, paper number 8306.12.
Delarue
, J.
, and Sieffermann
, J.-M.
(2004
). “Sensory mapping using Flash profile. Comparison with a conventional descriptive method for the evaluation of the flavour of fruit dairy products
,” Food Qual. Preference
15
, 383
–392
.13.
Guastavino
, C.
, Katz
, B. F.
, Polack
, J.-D.
, Levitin
, D. J.
, and Dubois
, D.
(2005
). “Ecological validity of soundscape reproduction
,” Acta Acust. Acust.
91
, 333
–341
.14.
Guillon
, P.
, Guignard
, T.
, and Nicol
, R.
(2008
). “Head-Related Transfer Function customization by frequency scaling and rotation shift based on a new morphological matching method
,” in Audio Engineering Society Convention
, San Francisco, CA
, paper number 7550.15.
Huopaniemi
, J.
, Zacharov
, N.
, and Karjalainen
, M.
(1999
). “Objective and subjective evaluation of head-related transfer function filter design
,” J. Audio Eng. Soc.
47
, 218
–239
.16.
Hur
, Y.
, Lee
, S.-P.
, Park
, Y.-C.
, and Youn
, D.-H.
(2008
). “Efficient individualization of HRTF using critical-band based spectral cues control
,” in Audio Engineering Society Convention
, Amsterdam
, paper number 7447.17.
Iida
, K.
, Ishii
, Y.
, and Nishioka
, S.
(2014
). “Personalization of head-related transfer functions in the median plane based on the anthropometry of the listener's pinnae
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am
136
, 317
–333
.18.
ISO
(1994
). ISO 11035.1994, “Sensory analysis—Identification and selection of descriptors for establishing a sensory profile by a multidimensional approach
” (International Organization for Standardization
, Geneva, Switzerland
).19.
ISO
(2006
). ISO 13300-2.2006, “Sensory analysis—General guidance for the staff of a sensory evaluation laboratory—Part 2: Recruitment and training of panel leaders
” (International Organization for Standardization
, Geneva, Switzerland
).20.
Katz
, B. F. G.
, and Parseihian
, G.
(2012
). “Perceptually based head-related transfer function database optimization
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am
131
, EL99
–EL105
.21.
Kelly
, G. A.
(1955
). The Psychology of Personal Constructs
(Norton
, New York
), 208
pp.22.
Kirkeby
, O.
, Lorho
, G.
, Virolainen
, J. K.
, Shenoy
, R.
, and Patwardhan
, P. P.
(2012
). “Multi-way analysis for audio processing
,” U.S. patent 20120207310 A1.23.
Kistler
, D. J.
, and Wightman
, F. L.
(1992
). “A model of head-related transfer functions based on principal components analysis and minimum-phase reconstruction
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am
91
, 1637
–1647
.24.
Kraft
, S.
, and Zolzer
, U.
(2014
). “BeaqleJS: HTML5 and JavaScript based framework for the subjective evaluation of audio quality
,” in Linux Audio Conference
(Karlsruhe).25.
Lawless
, H. T.
, and Heymann
, H.
(2010
). Sensory Evaluation of Food
, Food Science Text Series (Springer
, New York
), 471
pp.26.
Lawless
, L. J. R.
, and Civille
, G. V.
(2013
). “Developing lexicons: A review
,” J. Sensory Studies
28
, 270
–281
.27.
Le
, S.
, and Worch
, T.
(2014
). Analyzing Sensory Data with R
(Chapman and Hall/CRC
, Boca Raton, FL
), 374
pp.28.
Lindau
, A.
, Erbes
, V.
, Lepa
, S.
, Maempel
, H.-J.
, Brinkman
, F.
, and Weinzierl
, S.
(2014
). “A spatial audio quality inventory (SAQI)
,” Acta Acust. Acust.
100
, 984
–994
.29.
Lokki
, T.
, Patynen
, J.
, Kuusinen
, A.
, and Tervo
, S.
(2012
). “Disentangling preference ratings of concert hall acoustics using subjective sensory profiles
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am
132
, 3148
–3161
.30.
Lorho
, G.
(2005a
). “Evaluation of spatial enhancement systems for stereo headphone reproduction by preference and attribute rating
,” in Audio Engineering Society Convention
, Barcelona, Spain
, paper number 6514.31.
Lorho
, G.
(2005b
). “Individual vocabulary profiling of spatial enhancement systems for stereo headphone reproduction
,” in Audio Engineering Society Convention
, New York
, paper number 6629.32.
Lorho
, G.
(2010
). “Perceived quality evaluation: An application to sound reproduction over headphones
,” Ph.D. thesis, Aalto University
, Finland
.33.
Lorho
, G.
, Huopaniemi
, J.
, Zacharov
, N.
, and Isherwood
, D.
(2000
). “Efficient HRTF synthesis using an interaural transfer function model
,” in European Signal Processing Conference, EUSIPCO
, pp. 1
–4
.34.
Martens
, W. L.
, and Zacharov
, N.
(2000
). “Multidimensional perceptual unfolding of spatially processed speech I: Deriving stimulus space using INDSCAL
,” in Audio Engineering Society Convention
.35.
Nicol
, R.
(2010
). Binaural Technology
, AES Monograph (Audio Engineering Society
, New York
), 77
pp.36.
Parseihian
, G.
, Jouffrais
, C.
, and Katz
, B. F.
(2014
). “Reaching nearby sources: Comparison between real and virtual sound and visual targets
,” Front. Neurosci.
8
(269
), 1
–13
.37.
Parseihian
, G.
, and Katz
, B. F. G.
(2012
). “Rapid head-related transfer function adaptation using a virtual auditory environment
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am
131
, 2948
–2957
.38.
Pedersen
, T. H.
, and Zacharov
, N.
(2015
). “The development of a sound wheel for reproduced sound
,” in Audio Engineering Society Convention
.39.
Picinali
, L.
, Afonso
, A.
, Denis
, M.
, and Katz
, B. F.
(2014
). “Exploration of architectural spaces by the blind using virtual auditory reality for the construction of spatial knowledge
,” Int. J. Human-Comput. Stud.
72
, 393
–407
.40.
Piggott
, J. R.
(1991
). “Selection of terms for descriptive analysis
,” in Sensory Science Theory and Application in Food
(Dekker
, New York
), pp. 339
–351
.41.
Pulkki
, V.
, and Karjalainen
, M.
(2001
). “Localization of amplitude-panned virtual sources I: Stereophonic panning
,” J. Audio Eng. Soc.
49
, 739
–752
.42.
Schönstein
, D.
, and Katz
, B.
(2010
). “HRTF selection for binaural synthesis from a database using morphological parameters
,” in International Congress on Acoustics
(Sydney, Australia
), pp. 1
–6
.43.
Seeber
, B. U.
, Fastl
, H.
, Akustik
, A. T.
, and München
, T.
(2003
). “Subjective selection of nonindividual head-related transfer functions
,” in International Conference on Auditory Display
(Boston, MA
), pp. 259
–262
.44.
Stone
, H.
, Sidel
, J.
, Oliver
, S.
, Woolsey
, A.
, and Singleton
, R. C.
(1974
). “Sensory evaluation by quantitative descriptive analysis
,” Food Technology
28
, 22
–43
.45.
Suzuki
, Y.
, Brungart
, D.
, Kato
, H.
, Iida
, K.
, Cabrera
, D.
, and Iwaya
, Y.
, eds. (2011
). Principles and Applications of Spatial Hearing
(World Scientific Publishing Company
, Hackensack, NJ
), 520
pp.46.
Warusfel
, O.
(2003
). “Listen HRTF database
,” http://recherche.ircam.fr/equipes/salles/listen/ (Last viewed October 24, 2016).47.
Wenzel
, E. M.
, Arruda
, M.
, Kistler
, D. J.
, and Wightman
, F. L.
(1993
). “Localization using nonindividualized head-related transfer functions
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am
94
, 111
–123
.48.
Xie
, B.
(2013
). Head-Related Transfer Functions and Virtual Auditory Display
, 2nd ed. (J. Ross Publishing
, Plantation, FL
), 504
pp.49.
Zacharov
, N.
, and Koivuniemi
, K.
(2001
). “Unravelling the perception of spatial sound reproduction: Language development, verbal protocol analysis and listener training
,” in Audio Engineering Society Convention
(New York
), paper number 5424.50.
Ziegelwanger
, H.
, Majdak
, P.
, and Kreuzer
, W.
(2015
). “Numerical calculation of listener-specific head-related transfer functions and sound localization: Microphone model and mesh discretization
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am
138
, 208
–222
.© 2016 Acoustical Society of America.
2016
Acoustical Society of America
You do not currently have access to this content.
