Aspects of Hearing and Reproduction of Extended Sound Sources and Diffuse Sound Fields

A diffuse sound field was created in a reverberation chamber. Broadband impulsive sounds with different temporal density of the impulses were employed. Tests were performed with listeners in the reverberant chamber as well as with the binaural recordings of the reverberant chamber tests. The results of these tests showed a strong lateral concentration of the auditory events when a low temporal density of the impulses was employed. The presentation of the binaural recordings to the subjects over headphones produced qualitatively similar results, although a higher variability was observed. Similar results were obtained for tests performed in an anechoic chamber employing eight uncorrelated sound sources uniformly distributed in an horizontal circle. These results suggest that the lateral concentration of the auditory events evoked by impulsive sounds in a diffuse sound field is an intrinsic characteristic of the human auditory system.