Perceptual Validation of Virtual Acoustic Models

The objective of a virtual acoustic model is to faithfully reproduce the sound of the acoustic environment that is represented in the model. Therefore, the model is often calibrated by in situ acoustic measurements. The usual procedure to calibrate the model is to compare the values of the room acoustical parameters obtained by measurements with those calculated in the acoustic model. In this work a simplified perceptual validation procedure of virtual acoustic models is presented, in which, by means of a listening test, the listeners compare an anechoic signal emitted and recorded in the real environment with the same signal convolved with the impulsive response obtained from the virtual acoustic model. The results of the application of this method to some case studies are shown and compared with those of the traditional calibration methods of virtual acoustic models.