The relationship between the cross-correlation coefficient of two-channel acoustic signals and sound image quality.

In order to investigate sound image quality, white and bandlimited noises with various cross-correlation coefficients are reproduced from two loudspeakers placed in anechoic or echoic chambers. Subjects are asked to make similarity judgments and some subjective evaluations of pairs of the noises. The experimental data are analyzed by Kruskal's multidimensional scaling (MDS) program. The analysis of the experimental data shows the following: (1) sound image quality depends mostly on the width and the distance of the sound image, (2) the width of the sound image depends on the absolute value of the cross-correlation coefficient, (3) the distance of the sound image depends on the cross-correlation coefficient itself, (4) with respect to physical and psychological factors governing sound image quality, there is no fundamental difference between anechoic and echoic chambers.