The effect of head orientation on the sound-image localization of a sound source near a reflective wall

The results of the sound-image localization experiments using stationary sound sources placed near the reflective wall showed that head orientation affects the localization of sound-image with interfering cues from a reflective wall. When the subject sits facing the wall, all stimuli are localized at the sound-source position, suggesting that the binaural cues from the direct wave are dominant to avoid the localization deviation of the sound image in this case. When the subject sits parallel to the wall, stimuli containing rich low-frequency components emanating from near the wall are localized to the left of the actual sound-source position or closer to the head than they actually are. This suggests that ITD is an important cue for the sound-image localization in this case. When the subject sits facing away from the wall, all stimuli emanating from near the wall are localized to the right of the actual sound-source position and those containing only high-frequency components are localized behind the head, suggesting that ILD also plays an important role in the sound-image localization in this case. Measuring the impulse responses with a subject’s head in each head-orientation conditions, calculating the ITDs and ILDs, and revealing the cues that cause the illusion remain as future works. ©2020 The Acoustical Society of Japan