Influence of recording technology on the determination of binaural psychoacoustic indicators in soundscape investigations

Abstract

The evaluation of soundscapes is mainly carried out through field surveys, using soundwalking methodologies. Through rating scales and annotation of comments, the experiences and expectations of the participants are collected. Acoustic and psychoacoustic indicators are also reported to achieve a complete description of the acoustic environment. Binaural measurement systems should be used for registration in order to consider the way in which humans perceive the acoustic environment. Artificial heads or in-ear binaural microphones are the usual devices for this purpose. Further recording technology such as sound field microphones or microphone arrays are also used in soundscape investigations. These methods can provide a higher level of immersion in a later reproduction of the recorded soundscape through multi-channel setups. However, in contrast to direct binaural recordings, the determination of binaural psychoacoustic indicators requires to perform binaural synthesis by means of Head-Related Transfer Functions and signal processing. In this communication, the influence of different recording devices on obtaining psychoacoustic indicators such as binaural loudness and sharpness is analysed.