Comparison of Lateral Localization and Distance Estimation for Single- and Multiple-Source Speech Signals
Mark B. Gardner · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1967
Lateral localization of a single source of speech can be made to a relatively high degree of accuracy under anechoic room conditions. For multiple sources of equal intensities (loudspeakers arranged in a line, from left to right, in front of the listener), all of the energy, except for a slight lateral broadening, appears to come from the loudspeaker that is directly in front of the listener (Precedence Effect). The above results are independent of absolute level over a wide range. Distance estimation, on the other hand, is considerably affected by the level of the received speech and is therefore a much more difficult judgment to make. This is true for both single and multiple sources [loudspeakers arranged in lines of increasing distance from, and in front of, the listener]. The accuracy of distance estimation improves when a live voice is substituted for either of the above arrangements.