Overview
Quantifying Intimacy in Wave Field Synthesis investigates how intimacy can be operationalized as a perceptual relationship shaped by spatial and acoustic parameters.
Focused-source Wave Field Synthesis provides a precise experimental tool for examining this relationship. By projecting a virtual sound source beyond the physical loudspeaker plane and into the listening space, it allows the position and distance of a voice relative to the listener to be systematically controlled.
By isolating and recombining these perceptual cues, the project asks whether mediated intimacy can be described through a relational grammar, a perceptual vocabulary that may inform the design of relationships across spatial audio, interactive systems, and human–machine interaction.
Empirical Study
The project uses an IRB-approved controlled listening study with a target sample of 40 participants. Approximately 20 participants have completed the study to date. Each participant takes part in a 20–30 minute listening session and evaluates the presented conditions using Likert-scale ratings, producing quantitative data for statistical analysis.
Research Question
A. Operationalizing Intimacy
How can intimacy be operationalized as a perceptual relationship through spatial and acoustic parameters?
B. Decoupling Intimacy from Semantic Meaning
Does perceived intimacy arise from individual acoustic and spatial cues, or from the way these cues interact? To what extent can intimacy be altered through acoustic processing while semantic content remains unchanged?
C. Relational Grammar
Can these perceptual relationships contribute to a broader grammar for designing mediated relationships across spatial media and human–machine interaction?
D. Future Research
Future studies will further separate perceptual intimacy from linguistic meaning, asking whether qualities such as proximity, level, spectral softness, and temporal behavior can shape relational perception without relying on human-like emotional language. This opens a broader question for AI and interactive systems, asking whether intimacy can be designed through perceptual behavior itself.
Experimental Design
Participants hear the same speech stimulus across 72 systematically varied listening conditions. Five acoustic and spatial parameters are manipulated in a fully crossed design, allowing both individual parameters and their interactions to be examined.
HIGH-FREQUENCY BALANCE
3 levels
−6 dB / 0 dB / +6 dB
High shelf from 3 kHz
TRANSIENT PROCESSING
2 levels
−6 dB / +6 dB
VIRTUAL DISTANCE
3 levels
0 m / 1 m / 2 m
SOURCE ANGLE
2 levels
0° / 30°
LOUDNESS
2 levels
Reference / +6 dB
What Participants Rate
1. CLOSENESS
How physically close does the voice feel?
2. ADDRESSEDNESS
How strongly does the voice feel as though it is speaking specifically to you?
3. INTIMACY
How intimate does the overall listening experience feel?
Acoustic parameters are processed in Ableton Live, while spatial position is controlled in Max/MSP and rendered through the WFS array. A browser-based interface collects participant ratings after each listening condition.
Calibration & Control
Before participant testing, the reproduction chain was calibrated at the listening position to establish consistent playback across all conditions. Acoustic and spatial manipulations were then verified independently to ensure controlled and comparable stimulus presentation.
From Experiment to Composition
The study extends into composition, using perceptual findings as compositional material. These relationships will inform Address, a single-listener Wave Field Synthesis composition in which distance, timbre, direction, and vocal presence become parameters for composing the relationship between a voice and its listener.
Writing
Quantifying Intimacy in Wave Field Synthesis: Perceptual Effects of Acoustic and Spatial Parameters
Manuscript in preparation for submission to the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC).
Credits
Research by Scarlett Shi and Qianyi (Rose) Sun