Comparison of Higher-Order Ambisonics, Vector- and Distance-Based Amplitude Panning using a hearing device beamformer

The main advantages and drawbacks of Higher Order Ambisonics (HOA) versus Vector-Based Amplitude Panning (VBAP) for 3D audio sound reproduction are well documented. However, few studies focused on the effect of 3D audio reproduction artifacts and errors on the behaviour of hearing devices. This study compares the effect of HOA, VBAP, and Distance-Based Amplitude Panning (DBAP) sound reproduction on the 3D directivity index of a hearing device beamformer at the sweet spot and for two off-centered positions in a non-anechoic room using 29 loudspeakers. Preliminary results at the sweet spot show little difference between the directivity patterns obtained with HOA, VBAP, DBAP, and real sources. At off-centered positions, the difference between HOA and real sources increases.