Modeling perceptual characteristics of loudspeaker reproduction in a stereo setup

In this study the characteristics of compact loudspeakers in a stereo setup positioned in a standardized listening room were investigated. Perceptual evaluations of eleven loudspeakers were conducted on the basis of six selected sensory descriptors, chosen by experienced listeners during consensus meetings. Based on an analysis of the perceptual evaluation data, four of the descriptors were found suited for modeling, with the purpose of developing metrics for prediction of Bass depth, Punch, Brilliance, and Dark-Bright respectively. Bass depth and Punch were modeled as one due to high correlation between the two. The experimental setup included loudspeaker spinners, enabling fast positioning of loudspeakers. The prediction models were based on binaural recordings, processed using a loudness model, and developed on the basis of previous work on headphone modeling [1, 2]. They were trained on a subset of the data (66%) and validated on the rest. The resulting metrics had high correlations with the perceptual ratings of the validation dataset (r = 0.85-0.96).