Institute of Sound and Vibration Engineering (ISAVE)
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Prior research has reported differential roles of valence and arousal in guiding memory and attention. However, few studies have systematically examined how these affective dimensions interact across their full spectrum in audiovisual contexts, particularly when multiple images varying in emotional content are simultaneously present. To address this, we used a recognition memory paradigm in which participants viewed arrays of images representing all combinations of positive/negative valence and low/high arousal. Slightly before and during image presentation, music conveying an emotional tone, also varying in valence and arousal, was played. Memory accuracy was assessed in a later recognition phase. We further employed simple eye-tracking measures to explore how visual attention is influenced by image and music valence and arousal. Results revealed that high image arousal increases fixation duration, whilst high music arousal decreases fixation duration. Memorisation likelihood was not influenced by a four-way interaction of image and music valence and arousal, but mainly by an interaction of image valence and arousal, differently depending on music arousal. In high music arousal, all images except low arousal positive images, were memorised regardless of valence. In low arousal music, we observed that memorisation likelihood was mainly driven by high image arousal, but only paired with negative image valence was memorisation significantly higher compared to other image types. Discrimination accuracy was not observed to be influenced by image valence and arousal, but positive high arousal music significantly improved memory discrimination. By systematically manipulating both valence and arousal of images and music, we highlight how the interaction of these unimodal affective qualities can facilitate or hinder memory.
Binaural reproduction of microphone array recordings has become an important technology in the research and consumer sectors. Several commercially available spherical microphone arrays have been introduced over the years along with various methods for binaural rendering of array recordings. Most of these methods have been evaluated individually, typically using only one specific microphone array. However, a comprehensive and systematic perceptual evaluation combining different methods and various microphone arrays is lacking. This study presents the results of a listening experiment comparing the motion-tracked binaural method, various Ambisonic binaural decoders, and the parametric binaural rendering method COMPASS using loudspeaker orchestra recordings with six different microphone arrays from two rooms, the Berliner Philharmonie and a laboratory space resembling a small chamber music venue. The experiment assessed the binaural renderings with respect to overall listening experience and four perceptual attributes from the Spatial Audio Quality Inventory in comparison to a reference recorded with a head and torso simulator. The results provide detailed insights into which rendering method and array combination provides a high overall listening experience while preserving the assessed perceptual attributes externalization, coloration, source position, and presence. Moreover, the results indicate the extent to which the assessed perceptual attributes contribute to overall listening experience.
The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns disrupted social connectivity, prompting individuals to seek alternative sources of socioemotional support. This study investigated whether beat-based music, characterized by the Spotify danceability feature, served as a surrogate for social reward during the first European lockdown (March–May 2020). We integrated large-scale Spotify streaming data with psychological measures of socioemotional support from the COVIDiSTRESS global survey and governmental stringency indices across 11 European countries. Results from a linear-mixed effects model indicate that people listened to music with higher danceability during social distancing after the COVID onset (30 March – 30 May 2020) compared with the same pre-COVID period in the year before. A quasi-Bayesian multilevel mediation analysis further revealed that stricter social distancing policies predicted lower perceived socioemotional support, which in turn was associated with increased listening to more highly danceable music. This effect was specific to certain facets of socioemotional need, namely emotional attachment and reassurance of worth, which delineates the instantaneous rewarding nature of social recognition, often encountered during common activities, such as dinner parties, (band or dance) rehearsals, or (themed) excursions. These findings suggest that individuals may intuitively gravitate toward rhythmically engaging music to compensate for diminished social affirmation and bonding, highlighting beat-based music as a potential non-pharmacological tool for addressing transient socioemotional deficits during social isolation.
High-Resolution Directivity Measurements of an Artificial Head and Mouth Shaped to Three Vowels
(2026)
The directivity of the human voice has been studied since the early twentieth century using different measurement systems with progressively higher spatial resolution. Artificial heads and mouths have been used because of their ability to repeat a given sound production, hence allowing sequential measurements of directivity with a reduced number of microphones and still achieving high spatial resolution. Unlike most artificial heads, whose external geometry is abstracted, this study uses a custom 3D-printed head with detailed geometry and three different mouth openings, all based on 3D scans from magnetic resonance imaging data. The impulse response measurements were performed using a 3D robotic arm, resulting in directivity data with 5° resolution in both azimuth and elevation. The measured directivity patterns are consistent with previous research on energy distribution in space over angles (azimuth and elevation) and frequency, with a higher spatial resolution and for different mouth shapes. The resulting data set is made available in several standardized file formats to facilitate accurate voice directivity simulations in virtual acoustic environments.
This study investigates whether the visual color design of concert halls influences the room acoustic impression during musical performances. While previous research has failed to show effects on the perceived loudness and reverberance of music venues, the present audiovisual experiment explores the cross-modal impact of vision on a broader set of room acoustic properties, including timbre-related attributes such as brilliance, warmth, clarity, and roughness. For this purpose, 48 participants rated eight room acoustic attributes while listening to motion-tracked musical performances in virtual concert halls with systematically varied color schemes. Musical experience and expertise of the participants were assessed as moderating variables using the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index. The results showed no significant effects of color on perceived loudness or reverberance, suggesting that these attributes remain predominantly unimodal. However, a significant visual influence was observed on the perceived acoustic “Warmth” and overall “Liking” of the performance. These effects were significantly moderated by the participants' musical experience. Thus, this study suggests that concert hall color design can affect auditory timbre perception through semantically mediated cross-modal interactions, highlighting the interplay between visual aesthetics and auditory experience during musical performances.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Virtual Listening Tests for Balanced Armature Headphone Drivers
(2025)
Influence of mental effort on sound evaluations in virtual and real experimental environments
(2025)
Psychoacoustic research increasingly relies on virtual reality (VR) to account for the complexity of acoustic scenarios and enhance the ecological validity of laboratory findings. However, recent studies suggest that virtual environments can alter mental effort compared to real-world settings, for example, through increased perceptual complexity which in turn may affect auditory perception.This could bias experimental outcomes and compromise the ecological validity of studies conducted in VR. To investigate this, a 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment was conducted to assess whether VR environments increase mental effort and thereby influence auditory perception. A real office environment was visually reconstructed in Unity and presented to the participants via a head-mounted display (HMD) and compared to its real counterpart. Participants in both environments were asked to retrospectively rate the loudness and unpleasantness of dynamically rendered binaural office noise scenarios presented via headphones and to report perceived sound sources. Moreover, participants were divided into two groups to induce different levels of mental effort. One group was asked to listen only to the sounds, while the other performed the Stroop Color-Word interference test in parallel. The results show no significant difference in the overall induced mental effort between environment conditions. Furthermore, performing the Stroop test had an effect on loudness and unpleasantness that was mediated by subjective effort. The results also suggest that auditory jugment depend primarily on individual sound properties, regardless of the visual environment.
Supplemental material for https://doi.org/10.1051/aacus/2025062
To investigate loudness biases in the lab, where outdoor sounds are perceived as being too loud if reproduced with physically accurate levels in the lab, a listening experiment was conducted, where thirty-one participants visited a street and listened to the environmental sounds for one minute. These sounds were also recorded using a dummy head. Afterwards, participants listened to the recording in a quiet laboratory and adjusted its level as they remembered it. About half of the sample did this immediately, the other half about 20 min after the recording, during which the performed another listening tests. Afterwards, previous experience with acoustics, musical sophistication and noise sensitivity were assessed. The results revealed a mean gain adjustment of 8.9 dB below the original. The data uploaded here comprises participants gain adjustment, the recording levels averaged other A) the entire recording and B) the first and last 7.5s or 15s, respecitvely and all questionnaire responses as well as aggregate scores for musical sophistication and noise sensitivity, as well as a binary categorization of the respondent into laymen and experienced, based on their previous experience with acoustics. For sociodemographic information, participants age, sex and educational degree are reported as well.
Content
- 00_Description:
- Description of the data files
- Includes a list of explanation of the columns names in "data_questionnaires_aggregateLevels.csv
- data_questionnaires_aggregateLevels.csv
- Participants' adjusted recordings levels
- Several level and loudness aggregates of each participant's recording that were analyzed in the paper
- Participants' responses to the administered questionnaires
- level_envelopes.zip
- Archive with 31 CSV files containing level envelopes of each participant's recording.
- A-weighted and unweighted level envelope for the dummy head's left and right ear
- One-minute recordings with a temporal resolution of 125ms
