Influence of Binaural Processing on Objective Perceptual Quality Assessment

Objective spatial audio quality measurement systems attempt to predict the perceived quality degradation reported in subjective tests by comparing an original reference and a processed version of the same signal. In this context, binaural processing can be used in conjunction with a perceptual model for improved prediction performance. This paper investigates how variations in the binaural processor - namely head rotations, added reverberation and simulated room properties - impact the prediction performance of a standardized objective audio (Perceptual Evaluation of Audio Quality - PEAQ) quality measurement scheme that has been extended to include spatial aspects.