An Assessment of Virtual Surround Sound Systems for Headphone Listening of 5.1 Multichannel Audio

It is now common for broadcast signals to feature 5.1 surround sound. It is also increasingly common that audiences access broadcast content on portable devices using headphones. Binaural techniques can be applied to create a spatially enhanced headphone experience from surround sound content. This paper presents a subjective assessment of the sound quality of 12 state-of-theart systems for converting 5.1 surround sound to a two channel signal for headphone listening. A multiple stimulus test was used with hidden reference and anchors, the reference stimulus was an ITU stereo down-mix. Dynamic binaural synthesis, based on individualised binaural room impulse response measurements and head orientation tracking, was also incorporated into the test. The experimental design and detailed analysis of the results are presented in this paper. This work was presented at the 134th Audio Engineering Society Convention in Rome on May 4th 2013. Additional key words: audio, binaural, surround, 5.1, headphone, quality c BBC 2013. All rights reserved. White Papers are distributed freely on request. Authorisation of the Chief Scientist or General Manager is required for publication. c BBC 2013. Except as provided below, no part of this document may be reproduced in any material form (including photocoping or storing it in any medium by electronic means) without the prior written permission of BBC Research & Development except in accordance with the provisions of the (UK) Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The BBC grants permission to individuals and organisations to make copies of the entire document (including this copyright notice) for their own internal use. No copies of this document may be published, distributed or made available to third parties whether by paper, electronic or other means without the BBC’s prior written permission. Where necessary, third parties should be directed to the relevant page on BBC’s website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/whp for a copy of this document.

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