Mixing intensity and delay stereo cues produces spurious cues that confuse the ear

Evidence

Such processing converts the phase or time delays between the loudspeakers at low frequencies to a perception of level differences between the ears, and at high frequencies the perception remains as a time difference in the signal between the ears. This effect makes the virtual source direction depend on the signal itself (Cooper, 1987; Lipshitz, 1986). The produced binaural cues vary with frequency, and different cues suggest different directions for virtual sources (Pulkki, 2001b). The cue may thus generate a ‘spread’ perception of the direction of sound, which is desirable in some cases. The effect is also dependent on listening position. For example, if the sound signal is delayed by 1 ms in one loudspeaker, the listener can compensate for the delay by moving a bit towards the delayed loudspeaker. Time delay panning thus resembles spaced microphone techniques, since the spacing between the microphones causes time delays between microphone signals and since the resulting spatial image is similar. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1911 (#expands, via linked claim)

Repetition pitch is perceived (by most but not all listeners) if a non-periodic noisebased signal, for example the sound of a waterfall, the consonants in see, shoe, fee, or a noise generator, is added to a delayed version of itself and played to listeners. When the delay is altered a change in pitch is perceived. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 939 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Coincident delayed sounds are far harder to detect than spatially separated ones; Acoustical interference dips cannot serve as reliable elevation cues; Combining stereo cues produces spurious cues that confuse localization (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Stereo loudspeakers create directional illusion through summed phase shifts mimicking time delays #expands (0.85) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1911
• Inter-loudspeaker delay shifts perceived virtual source position toward the earlier sound. #complicates (0.80)
• Mixing noise with its own delayed copy can create a sense of pitch #qualifies (0.72) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 939