title: Comparing perceived auditory width to the visual image of a performing ensemble in contrasting bi-modal environments.
abstract: Despite many studies investigating auditory spatial impressions in rooms, few have addressed the impact of simultaneous visual cues on localization and the perception of spaciousness. The current research presents an immersive audiovisual environment in which participants were instructed to make auditory width judgments in dynamic bi-modal settings. The results of these psychophysical tests suggest the importance of congruent audio visual presentation to the ecological interpretation of an auditory scene. Supporting data were accumulated in five rooms of ascending volumes and varying reverberation times. Participants were given an audiovisual matching test in which they were instructed to pan the auditory width of a performing ensemble to a varying set of audio and visual cues in rooms. Results show that both auditory and visual factors affect the collected responses and that the two sensory modalities coincide in distinct interactions. The greatest differences between the panned audio stimuli given a fixed visual width were found in the physical space with the largest volume and the greatest source distance. These results suggest, in this specific instance, a predominance of auditory cues in the spatial analysis of the bi-modal scene.
authors.affiliation: Communication Acoustics and Aural Architectural Research Laboratory, School of Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, New York 12180, USA. daniel.valente@boystown.org
authors.forename: Daniel L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Valente
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Braasch
authors.forename: Shane A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Myrbeck
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003463:Cues; D006801:Humans; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D013017:Sound Localization / Q000502:physiology; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult