Localization Curves for a Regularly-Spaced Octagon Loudspeaker Array

Multichannel microphone array designs often use the localisation curves that have been derived for 2-0 stereophony. Previous studies showed that side and rear perception of phantom image locations require somewhat different curves. This paper describes an experiment conducted to evaluate localisation curves using an octagonal loudspeaker setup. Interchannel level differences were produced between the loudspeaker pairs forming each of the segments of the loudspeaker array, one at a time, and subjects were asked to evaluate the perceived sound event’s direction and its locatedness. The results showed that the localisation curves derived for 2-0 stereophony are not directly applicable, and that different localisation curves are required for each loudspeaker pair.

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