Survey on the sound field evaluation of acoustic facilities using Ambisonics: Focusing on the sense of presence in acoustics

This study uses Ambisonics to examine the relationship between room acoustic parameters and the perception of acoustic presence in the sound field. Although Ambisonics has primarily been used in media and electronics to enhance spatial presence, it remains unclear how effectively Ambisonics assesses this perceptual quality compared with conventional room acoustic metrics. To examine this effectiveness, impulse responses were recorded in three music performance venues of varying sizes using both omnidirectional and Ambisonics microphones. Acoustic parameters were calculated, and subjective evaluations were conducted via listening experiments. Acoustic stimuli were generated by convolving these impulse responses with audio signals and reproduced in an anechoic chamber using a first-order Ambisonics system with eight loudspeakers. Participants evaluated their sense of acoustic presence based on these stimuli. The results indicate that larger venues with higher T30 and EDT values generally elicited stronger perceptions of acoustic presence. However, subjective evaluations varied even among venues with similar acoustic parameters, suggesting that additional factors influence acoustic spatial perception. Future research will explore whether Ambisonics-based subjective evaluations align with those from traditional acoustic assessment methods, providing further insight into the applicability of Ambisonics in acoustic research.