The effect of various source signal properties on measurements of the interaural crosscorrelation coefficient

Abstract

Measurements that attempt to predict the perceived spatial impression of musical signals in concert halls typically are conducted by calculating the interaural cross-correlation coefficient (IACC) of an impulse response. The causes of interaural decorrelation are investigated and it is found that this is affected by frequency dependent interaural time and level differences and variations in these over time. It is found that the IACC of impulsive and of narrowband tonal signals can be very different from each other in a wide range of acoustical environments, due to the differences in the spectral content and the duration of the signals. From this, it is concluded that measurements made of impulsive signals are unsuitable for attempting to predict the perceived spatial impression of musical signals. It is suggested that further work is required to develop a set of test signals that is representative of a wide range of musical stimuli.