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Abstract:
In this paper we study the differential contribution of the
monaural and interaural spectral cues to human sound localization.
A psychophysical and analytical approach was undertaken, in which
the cues to a sound's location were correlated on an individual
basis with the human localization data. The spectral cues derive
from the acoustical filtering of an individual's outer ear
(represented by the recorded head-related transfer functions,
HRTFs). Psychoacoustical experiments were conducted in virtual
auditory space (VAS) in which the amplitude spectra of the sound
stimulus was varied {\it independently} at each ear while
preserving the normal timing cues, an impossibility in the
free-field environment. The sound localization performance of four
normal hearing subjects was measured in VAS using broadband sound
stimuli. These stimuli were filtered using the subject's HRTFs to
produce three sound conditions in which the monaural and interaural
spectral cues were systematically varied. All subjects showed
systematic mislocalizations on the spectrally altered sounds. The
pattern of mislocalizations varied among subjects but in a
systematic manner related to the available acoustical cues. The
analysis of the different cues along with the subjects'
localization responses suggests there are significant differences
with respect to the monaural and interaural spectral cues and sound
condition.
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