Listener Preference for Wave Field Synthesis, Stereophony, and Different Mixes in Popular Music

Stereophony and wave field synthesis are capable of providing the listener with a rich spatial audio experience. They both come with different advantages and challenges. A direct comparison in terms of listener preference has rarely been carried out in previous research, since these methods differ in their production stage. This study generated mixes of four different popular music recordings and introduced systematic changes to the wave field synthesis mix for one song. Listeners rated their preference comparing the different mixes and reproduction systems. Part of the experiment was repeated using a binaural simulation of the involved loudspeaker setups. The results show that a presentation using a high number of loudspeakers is preferred and the differences between reproduction methods can have a larger influence than strong variations of single mixing parameter.