Assessing Spatial Audio: A Listener-Centric Case Study on Object-Based and Ambisonic Audio Processing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24425/aoa.2024.148798Keywords:
spatial sound technologies, Dolby Atmos, Ambisonics, music production, sound evaluationAbstract
The research explores the production and critical evaluation of two distinct mixes of “Dancing Ends”, a musical composition by Łukasz Pieprzyk. These mixes were engineered using two cutting-edge spatial sound technologies: Dolby Atmos and Ambisonics. The recording process incorporated overdub and multitrack recording techniques. Once created, the mixes were evaluated using a method of direct rating, based on an average rank system from 1 to 5, adhering strictly to the (ITU-R, 2015) BS.1116-3 and (ITU-R, 2019) BS.1284-2 standards. Evaluation criteria included factors such as mix selectivity, depth, width, and height of the sound stage, sound envelopment, tonal brightness, and quality of source localization. Additionally, some criteria were specifically tailored to evaluate characteristics unique to the composition. The evaluations were performed on three different listening systems and environments: surround systems of 5.1 and 7.1.4, and binaural listening. Although Ambisonics’ mix received higher ratings in several categories, Dolby Atmos’ mix was preferred across all listening environments. The results underscore the potential benefits of employing spatial sound technologies in music production and evaluation, offering insight into the capabilities of Dolby Atmos and Ambisonics.References
120db Sound Engineering (n.d.), 120dB ATMOS Sound Truck, https://www.120db.pl/atmos (access: 12.06.2023).
Apple (2023), About Spacial Audio with Dolby Atmos in Apple Music, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212182 (access: 12.06.2023).
AURO-3D. (2023), AURORO-CX™. Advanced next generation audio codec, NEWAURO BV, https://www.auro-3d.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Auro-Cx-White-Paper-rev1-20230714.pdf (access: 30.11.2023).
Cengarle G. (2013), 3D audio technologies: Applications to sound capture, post-production and listener perception, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
Dolby Laboratories (n.d.), The Dolby Atmos essentials course, https://learning.dolby.com/course/info.php?id=191 (access: 12.06.2023).
European Broadcasting Union (2004), Listening conditions for the assessment of sound programme material, EBU Tech 3276-E, Supplement 1.
Francombe J., Brookes T., Mason R., Woodcock J. (2017), Evaluation of Spatial Audio reproduction methods (Part 2): Analysis of listener preference, Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, 65(3): 212–225, doi: 10.17743/jaes.2016.0071.
IEM Plug-in Suite (2023), https://plugins.iem.at/ (access: 12.06.2023).
International Telecommunication Union (2015), Methods for the subjective assessment of small impairments in audio systems, Recommendation ITU-R BS.1116-3.
International Telecommunication Union (2019), General methods for the subjective assessment of sound quality, Recommendation ITU-R BS.1284-2.
International Telecommunication Union (2022), Multichannel stereophonic sound system with and without accompanying picture, Recommendation ITU-R BS.775-4.
Kelly J., Woszczyk W., King R. (2020), Are you there?: A literature review of presence for immersive music reproduction, [in:] Audio Engineering Society Convention 149.
Kleczkowski P., Król A., Małecki P. (2015), Reproduction of phantom sources improves with separation of direct and reflected sounds, Archives of Acoustics, 40(4): 575–584, doi: 10.1515/aoa-2015-0057.
Kotłownia Recording Studio (2023), https://kotlownia.agh.edu.pl/ (access: 12.06.2023).
Malecki P., Piotrowska M., Sochaczewska K., Piotrowski S. (2020), Electronic music production in ambisonics-case study, Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, 68(1/2): 87–94, doi: 10.17743/jaes.2019.0048.
Małecki P., Stefanska J., Szydłowska M., Teczynska Keska M. (2023), A listening test evaluation of spatial sound technologies in music production: Dolby Atmos and ambisonics, [in:] Audio Engineering Society Conference: AES 2023 International Conference on Spatial and Immersive Audio.
Oramus T., Neubauer P. (2020), Comparison of perception of spatial localization between channel and object based audio, [in:] Audio Engineering Society Convention 148.
Pieprzyk Ł. (2021), Dancing Ends for Symphony Orchestra and Piano (feat. Gajusz Keska), Pedagogical University in Cracow, https://open.spotify.com/track/3fCCmIQvxLeAb0WdIuSgtj (access: 12.06.2023).
Power P.J. (2015), Future spatial audio: Subjective evaluation of 3D surround systems, University of Salford.
Rumsey F., Zielinski S., Kassier R., Bech S. (2005), On the relative importance of spatial and timbral fidelities in judgments of degraded multichannel audio quality, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 118(2): 968–976, doi: 10.1121/1.1945368.
Spors S., Wierstorf H., Raake A., Melchior F., Frank M., Zotter F. (2013), Spatial sound with loudspeakers and its perception: A review of the current state, [in:] Proceedings of the IEEE, 101(9): 1920–1938, doi: 10.1109/JPROC.2013.2264784.
Wittek H. (2013), Perceptual differences between wavefield synthesis and stereophony, Ph.D. Thesis (unpublished), University of Surrey.
Zotter F., Frank M. (2019), Ambisonics: A Practical 3D Audio Theory for Recording, Studio Production, Sound Reinforcement, and Virtual Reality, Springer Nature, doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-17207-7.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright © The Author(s).
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International CC BY 4.0.
How to Cite
