A Comparative Study of the Performance of Spatialization Techniques for a Distributed Audience in a Concert Hall Environment

The performance of various spatialization techniques is evaluated for a distributed audience using the non-ideal speaker arrangements found in small concert halls. The methods under evaluation are Second Order Ambisonics, Vector Base Amplitude Panning, Delta Stereophony and Spat with B-format Ambisonics encoding. Each method is assessed in terms of its localization accuracy. The data is presented by comparison of empirical high resolution binaural measurements and perceptual listening tests to simulations of the speaker arrangements in an equivalent acoustically modeled environment.