Transaural 3-d Audio with User-controlled Calibration

A calibration method allowing users to customize the loudspeaker layout for 2-, 4-, and 5.1-channel playback, and to steer the “sweet spot” to the position o f the listener’s head is presented. The method, which is applied to a computationally efficient transaural 3D audio system for dynamic spatialization o f multiple sound sources, is based on u ser interaction and auditory feedback. The robustness of the a uditory sensation is analyzed for small displacements of the listener near the sweet spot. A modification of the system permits continuous adjustment of the sweet spot size by the listener. The modification limits the a rtifacts due to the transaural processing for positions away from the sweet spot. For wide settings, the system gradually reduces to a discrete amplitude panning system.