The Haas Effect - Lateral extent and perceptual weighting of localization cues

Abstract

The Haas effect is a well-known manifestation of the precedence effect. Originally Haas measured the echo threshold as a function of the primary auditory event and its single reflection equally loud. What is not well known is the lateral extent of the Haas effect in the localization dominance region of the precedence effect, as this was not the focus of Haas' experiments. We investigate how robust the Haas effect is in the localization dominance region, adjusting the level difference between lead and lag, using 200 ms band-passed noise presented dichotically over headphones. In addition, the onset and offset cues are removed for half the trials and left intact for the other half to investigate the roles of onset and offset cues versus ongoing. Lateral displacement of the auditory event is recorded with an acoustic pointer. Analysis of these results will help reveal the perceptual weighting of localization cues and the lateral extent of the Haas effect. © 2013 Acoustical Society of America.