ABSTRACT

The ultimate goal of binaural audio with loudspeakers (BAL), also known as transauralization, is to reproduce, at each of the listener's eardrums, the sound pressure signals recorded on only the ipsilateral channel of a stereo signal. Binaural playback through loudspeakers is largely immune to this head internalization of sound because, even when non-idealities in binaural reproduction are present, the sound originates far enough from the listener to be perceived to come from outside the head. Some applications of BAL, such as immersive virtual reality environments or scientific studies of spatial hearing, require binaural cues to be transmitted to a listener with a high degree of fidelity and reliability. Such transparency and robustness often require anechoic environments, individualization of the crosstalk cancellation (XTC) system for the listener and the playback set-up, precise matching of the listener's head-related transfer function (HRTF) with that used in the recording, and either constraining the position of the listener's head in the area of equalization.