Subjective and Objective Evaluation of the Optimal Source Distribution for Virtual Acoustic Imaging

[Engineering Report] An optimal source distribution (OSD) has recently been proposed that overcomes a number of the problems that are often associated with binaural synthesis over loudspeakers. Such problems include a loss of dynamic range and a high sensitivity to small errors of control performance. These problems are overcome by means of a conceptual monopole transducer pair whose span varies as a function of frequency. The results are reported of objective and subjective experiments used to evaluate a system comprised of discrete loudspeaker elements whose design is based on the principle of the OSD.