Virtual Sound Source Rendering Based on Distance Control to Penetrate Listeners Using Surround Parametric-array and Electrodynamic Loudspeakers

This paper proposes a new virtual sound source rendering method based on distance control to penetrate listeners using surround parametric-array loudspeakers (PALs) and electrodynamic loudspeakers (EDLs). Our method utilizes direct-to-reverberation ratio (DRR) control of room impulse responses and in-head localization based on interaural level difference (ILD) control with a virtual headphone. For distance control between the listener and the remote loudspeakers, we employ the DRR based on the amplitude panning for surround PALs and EDLs. For distance control centered on the listener, we use ILD control based on amplitude panning for the virtual headphones using surround PALs. Additionally, the type of control used is switched at a certain boundary distance, and gain coefficients are calculated for the positions and times of the moving sound images to achieve effective virtual sound source rendering. We also report on the results of evaluation experiments conducted to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.