Discrimination of virtual auditory distance using level and direct-to-reverberant ratio cues

The study investigated how listeners used level and direct-to-reverberant ratio (D/R) cues to discriminate distances to virtual sound sources. Sentence pairs were presented at virtual distances in simulated rooms that were either reverberant or anechoic. Performance on the basis of level was generally better than performance based on D/R. Increasing room reverberation time improved performance based on the D/R cue such that the two cues provided equally effective information at further virtual source distances in highly reverberant environments. Orientation of the listener within the virtual room did not affect performance.