Binaural Audio Externalization Processing

Authors: Jean-Marc Jot, Alexey Lukin, Kurt Werner, and Evan Allen

Presented at the AES Show Fall 2021 on Oct. 24, 2021.

Abstract

Headphone or earbud listening scenarios span from the home or office to mobile and automotive environments, with audio source content formats including two-channel stereo, multi-channel surround, immersive or object-based material. Post-processing methods have been developed with the intent of restoring, during headphone playback, the spatial audio cues experienced in natural or loudspeaker listening, remediating known effects of headphone-mediated audio reproduction: the perceived localization of sounds in or near the head, accompanied by timbre or balance distortions and spatial image blurring or warping. The intended benefits include alleviating listening fatigue and cognitive load. In this E-Brief presentation, we review previously reported binaural audio post-processing methods and consider a strategy emphasizing minimal signal modification, applicable to enhancing conventionally produced stereo recordings.