An investigation into the effectiveness of using headphones with integrated microphones to simulate concert hall acoustics for musicians in small acoustic environments

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this thesis fifty-one musicians participated in a structured interview testingthe effectiveness of a headset simulating the acoustics of a concert hall known tothe participants. A prototype headset was constructed by externally attachingtwo omnidirectional microphones to headphones. The microphone signal ofthe headset was processed by a convolution reverberation plugin and routed tothe headphones to simulate the hall. Additionally, the filtered dry signal wasreproduced over the headset to compensate for the headset's high frequencyattenuation. Participants rated responses concerning: 1. the accuracy of theheadset in reproducing the natural acoustic environment 2. the comfortabilityof the headset 3. the realism of the simulated concert hall. These ratings provedpositive. While open-ended responses indicate that further refinement of theheadset is required to eliminate the occlusion effect and further improve theheadset's accuracy, forty-eight of the fifty-one participants answered positivelyto whether they could imagine practicing with a similar headset. The studyconcluded that headphones with integrated microphones can indeed be effectiveat simulating concert hall acoustics in small practice rooms.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University