Behavioral study on the sound contents and the preferences of stereo volume balance

Abstract

The stereo and surround audio systems that are most generally used today are for static audiences within a limited listening area. To construct the stereo or surround systems for a walking-around listener, some basic data should be acquired on our perceptual inclination regarding directional hearing and the volume balances between multiple speakers. Using the behavioral evaluation method applying the comfortable listening level measurement, we found that different sound contents showed different variation between monaural and stereo reproduction conditions.