Array-Aware Ambisonics and HRTF Encoding for Binaural Reproduction With Wearable Arrays

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel array-aware Ambisonics encoding method that incorporates HRTF pre-processing to enhance binaural spatial accuracy for wearable microphone arrays, improving perceptual and objective performance.

Contribution

It introduces a new array-aware optimization approach that integrates array-specific information into Ambisonics encoding using HRTF pre-processing, enhancing binaural reproduction.

Findings

Superior spatial accuracy in simulated wearable-array scenarios

Higher perceptual ratings in timbre and spatial quality

Better performance under head rotations compared to conventional methods

Abstract

This work introduces a novel method for binaural reproduction from arbitrary microphone arrays, based on array-aware optimization of Ambisonics encoding through Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF) pre-processing. The proposed approach integrates array-specific information into the HRTF processing pipeline, leading to improved spatial accuracy in binaural rendering. Objective evaluations demonstrate superior performance under simulated wearable-array and head rotations compared to conventional Ambisonics encoding method. A listening experiment further confirms that the method achieves significantly higher perceptual ratings in both timbre and spatial quality. Fully compatible with standard Ambisonics, the proposed method offers a practical solution for spatial audio rendering in applications such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and wearable audio capture.