Localization of Virtual Sound Source Reproduced by the Crosstalk Cancellation System Under Different Reflective Conditions

Abstract

This study explores the localization of virtual sound sources reproduced by a crosstalk cancellation system under different reflective conditions in virtual rooms, analyzing the results with binaural cues. Binaural room impulse responses were generated using the high-order image source method. By modifying the acoustic parameters of the virtual room to manipulate reflection intensity and temporal structure, psychoacoustic experiments were conducted using headphone reproduction. Results show that variations in reflection intensity within a certain range, achieved by altering the room reverberation time (RT), do not significantly affect virtual source localization. However, increasing the loudspeaker–listener distance (altering the temporal structure of reflections) deteriorates localization performance. The main difference between changes in loudspeaker–listener distance and RT lies in whether the reflection’s temporal structure changes. The study highlights the critical role of reflection temporal structure in virtual source localization. Binaural cue analysis shows that even in reverberant environments, interaural time difference (ITD) remains more consistent with localization accuracy than interaural level difference (ILD).