Binaural Recording

Binaural recording is an audio capture technique that uses two microphones placed at the ear positions of a dummy head or in a human’s ear canals to preserve the three-dimensional spatial cues that the listener would experience. The resulting recording, when played back over headphones, recreates the original spatial sound field including direction, distance, and envelopment. In room acoustics, binaural measurements are used to evaluate lateral fraction (LF), inter-aural cross-correlation (IACC), and spatial impression per ISO 3382-1:2009. Binaural impulse responses can be used for auralization, allowing designers and clients to "hear" a proposed acoustic design before construction. The technique captures interaural time differences (ITD), interaural level differences (ILD), and pinna-related spectral cues. Binaural recordings require standardized dummy heads (e.g., Brüel & Kjær Type 4128-C) for reproducible results across different measurement campaigns.