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Analysis on perceptual sensitivity to head-related impulse responses in the median plane

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Abstract

This study deals with the perceptual sensitivity to Head-Related Impulse Responses (HRIRs) in the median plane based on a series of subjective listening tests using a pair of headphones. First, the non-individualized HRIRs were modeled from 12 principal components (PCs) extracted from Principal Components Analysis (PCA) of the CIPIC HRTF database. The Just Noticeable Difference (JND) in weight of PCs (PCWs) at each elevation was estimated. It was not observed the common elevation-dependent tendency or PCW-dependent tendency of JND in PCWs across the five subjects who participated in the tests, and the inter-subject variation of JND in PCWs was large. The JND in HRIRs can be estimated indirectly from the JND in PCWs because the HRIRs can be represented by a linear summation of the PCs weighted by PCWs. The common elevation-dependent tendency of JND in Directional Impulse Responses (DIRs), which are the mean-subtracted HRIRs, across the five subjects can be found. The change in PCWs does not seem to contribute to our perception of sound source characteristics; however, the resulting change in HRIRs due to the change in PCWs seems to contribute. The subjects showed larger JND in DIRs in the frontal region than in the rear region. This means that our perception of sound source characteristics is more sensitive for frontal sources than rear sources.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vibration and Noise Research Part, Marine Research Institute, Samsung Heavy Industries, Geoje, 656-710, Korea

    Sungmok Hwang

  2. Center for Noise and Vibration Control, Department of Mechanical Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, 305-701, Korea

    Youngjin Park & Youn-sik Park

Authors
  1. Sungmok Hwang
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  2. Youngjin Park
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  3. Youn-sik Park
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Correspondence to Sungmok Hwang.

Additional information

This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Yeon June Kang

Sungmok Hwang received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Yonsei University, South Korea, in 2004. He then received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from KAIST in 2006 and 2009, respectively. Dr. Hwang is currently a senior research engineer at Marine Research Institute, Samsung Heavy Industries. His research interests include sound and vibration control, audio signal processing, robot auditory system, binaural synthesis.

Youngjin Park received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University, South Korea, in 1980 and 1982, respectively. He then received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Michigan, USA, in 1987. From 1987 to 1988, he worked as a research fellow at University of Michigan. He also worked as an assistant professor at NJIT, NJ, from 1988 to 1990. He joined the faculty of KAIST in 1990, where he is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include general control theories, virtual audio synthesis, active control of noise and vibration, system identification.

Youn-sik Park received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University, South Korea, in 1972. He then received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Engineering Mechanics from Iowa State University, USA, in 1979 and 1981, respectively. From 1981 to 1984, he worked as a senior researcher at KAIST. He joined the faculty of KAIST in 1984, where he is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include vibration dynamics, system identification, experimental and analytical modal analysis, machine and manipulator dynamics.

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Hwang, S., Park, Y. & Park, Ys. Analysis on perceptual sensitivity to head-related impulse responses in the median plane. J Mech Sci Technol 23, 3340–3348 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-009-0925-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-009-0925-z

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