Vertical and horizontal spreads of a sound image induced by early reflections from the lateral or vertical direction

Abstract

This study experimentally investigates the effects of early lateral and vertical reflections on the horizontal spread (HS), that is auditory source width (ASW), and vertical spread (VS) of a sound image. A psychoacoustical experiment employed early lateral energy fractions Lf and early vertical energy fractions Vf for controlling auditory stimuli. HS increases with a larger Lf. In contrast, the effect of Vf on HS is limited, although HS is larger when early vertical reflections are present. Results also reveal that VS increases with a larger Lf or Vf, but the effect of Lf on VS is greater than Vf .