AES Europe 2025: Full Schedule

9:15am CEST

Investigating Individual, Loudness-Dependent Equalization Preferences in Different Driving Sound Conditions

Friday May 23, 2025 9:15am - 9:35am CEST

In automotive audio playback systems, dynamically increasing driving sounds are typically taken into account by applying a generic, i.e., non-individualized, increase in overall level and low-frequency amplification to compensate increased masking. This study investigated the degree of individuality regarding the preferences of noise-dependent level and equalizer settings. A user study with 18 normal-hearing participants was conducted in which individually preferred level-dependent and frequency-dependent amplification parameters were determined using a music-based procedure in quiet and in nine different driving noise conditions. The comparison of self-adjusted parameters suggested that, on average, participants adjusted higher overall levels and more low-frequency amplification in noise than in quiet. However, preferred self-adjusted levels differedmarkedly between participants for the same listening conditions but were quite similar in a re-test session for each participant, indicating that individual preferences were stable and could be reproducibly measured with the employed personalization scheme. Furthermore, the impact of driving noise on individually preferred settings revealed strong interindividual differences, indicating that listeners can differ widely with respect to their individual optimum of how equalizer and level settings should be dynamically adapted to changes in driving conditions.

Speakers

Jan Rennies

Head of Group Personalized Hearing Systems, Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT

I am headin´g a group at Fraunhofer IDMT dedicated to developing new solutions for better communication, hearing, and hearing health in various applications together with partners from industry and academia. I am particularly interested in networking and exploring opportunities for... Read More →

Andreas Volgenandt

Sina Buchholz

Tobias Bruns

Christian Rollwage

Jens-E. Appell

Friday May 23, 2025 9:15am - 9:35am CEST
C2 ATM Studio Warsaw, Poland

Automotive Audio

Presentation Type Paper Presentation

9:35am CEST

Subjective test of loudspeaker virtualization

Friday May 23, 2025 9:35am - 9:55am CEST

In this contribution we present subjective tests of loudspeaker virtualization, a technique enabling the application of specific target behaviors to the physical loudspeaker system. In this work, loudspeaker virtualization is applied to virtualize a closed box car audio subwoofer to replicate the performance of a larger vented enclosure. The tests are designed to determine if any reduction in sound quality is detected by a panel of listeners when a virtualized loudspeaker is used.

Speakers

Camillo Di Antonio

Matteo Acerbi

Lucio Bianchi

Friday May 23, 2025 9:35am - 9:55am CEST
C2 ATM Studio Warsaw, Poland

Automotive Audio

Presentation Type Paper Presentation

9:55am CEST

Objective measurements for basic sound quality and special audio features in cars

Friday May 23, 2025 9:55am - 10:15am CEST

Car audio systems aim to provide information, entertainment, and acoustic comfort to drivers and passengers in cars. In addition to basic audio functions for broadcasting, playing chimes, warning sound, and music, there are special audio features such as vehicle noise compensation, spatial sound effects, individual sound zone, and active noise control. In this paper, commonly used objective measurement methods for basic sound quality and special features in cars are reviewed and discussed. All objective measurements are proposed to use the 6-unit microphone array specified in the White Paper for In-car Acoustic Measurements released by AES Technical Committee on Automotive Audio in 2023, and the main parameters to be measured are frequency responses and sound pressure levels in the car when the specially designed test signals are played back. General measurement frameworks and procedures for basic sound quality and each feature are presented. The advantages and weakness of using these parameters to characterize the basic sound quality and special features of a car audio system are discussed, and the challenges and future directions are explored.

Speakers

Xiaojun Qiu

Huawei

Dr. Xiaojun Qiu is currently a Chief Scientist in Audio and Acoustics at Huawei. Before he joined Huawei in late 2020, he had been a professor in several universities for nearly 20 years. He is a Fellow of Audio Engineering Society and a Fellow of International Institute of Acoustics... Read More →

Friday May 23, 2025 9:55am - 10:15am CEST
C2 ATM Studio Warsaw, Poland

Automotive Audio

Presentation Type Paper Presentation