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SPAT most genereral HRTF

Spat
#1

Hi All,

I’m using the Flux SPAT (I know it is not the same thing as the max bundle), but I thought you guys developed it, so you know all about it! :slight_smile:

First of all - thank you for this creation, it is truly an amazing plugin!

I’m working at an internship in RadioFrance, trying out different aspects of binaural mixing, and I am interested if you can lead me towards research in which of the HRTF profiles fit most people, given I want to export music (or any material really) in binaural, and have people have somewhat the same experience that I have when I mix?

Also - are there any research in segments of people in relation to HRTF profiles? Meaning “people from asia are most likely to find profile number… most suiting” ?

All the best,
Lasse

#2

Hi,

Thanks for your comment.

Categorizing suitable HRTFs is a hot topic of ongoing research.
I assume you are aware of the BiLi project (http://www.bili-project.org).
In this framework, we expect to assess quality of binaural listening and that could be of interest to you.

Regarding Flux Spat, the following HRTFs has been recognized as « pleasant » by many users (including sound engineers and mixers) for they provide a rather « neutral » spectrum while preserving decent localization cues :
1040, 1004, 1014, 1018, 1023, 1028, 1029, 1045, 1047, 1052
However we dont have (yet) solid scientific grounds to confirm such a list.

Also it is worth noting that 9001 and 9002 correspond to dummy heads which are thus supposed to be « generic », to some extent.

We dont have information regarding segments of people, but you could find some scientific publications dealing for instance with anthropometric profiling.

Getting Transaural working in Spat and max
Finding the right .sofa HRTF file?
Best Ambisonic - Binaural combination?
#3

Hi T.C.,

Thank you for your help, this was exactly a kind of answer I was looking for!

I know of BiLi but I am not part of it in any way - it is very interesting though, and I need to look into it deeper, thank you for reminding me :slight_smile: !

Do you think it will be possible (sorry for being unaware if it’s possible in the max bundle) to incorporate other HRTF measurements into SPAT? The option is there for instance in Wavearts Panorama, and I hear it works well. But anyhow - it would be interesting to try many different profiles inside the Spat environment! :slight_smile:

Do you know of commercial applications choice of HRTF profiles? I read on some forum post a while back, that the iOS game “papa sangre” uses Ircam HRTF measurements, and at least that game works well for me.

Anthropometric is the new word of the day - thank you for your pointer!

Lasse

#4

Yes, it will be possible to load HRTF measurements into Spat.
Many institutions and HRTF providers have agreed on a common file format for storing/exchanging HRTFs.
This format is called SOFA (Spatially Oriented Format for Acoustics, http://www.sofaconventions.org).
SOFA has been proposed as a standard of the Audio Engineering Society. The standardization process (X212) is ongoing now and open for contributions.

This means that as soon as the standardization process is approved you will be able to load any other HRTF measurements into Spat.
I plan a full integration in Spat Max/MSP in a matter of weeks (if not days), and in the next few months for Flux Spat plugins.

Concerning commercial applications, I dont know which HRTF set they are using or what was the choice of profile.

#5

T.C. This is truly great news! Thank you for your replies,

I hope you wake up with hot coffee and fresh baguettes tomorrow, with open windows looking into the summer… oh wait. Nevermind - anyway, have a great evening!

Haha :slight_smile: Lasse