The generation of acoustic pulses for auditory localisation experiments

In order to obtain pulse response measurements a source of high quality acoustic pulses is required. This paper describes a method by which very high quality acoustic pulses can be produced simply, and at moderate cost. The pulses are suitable for measuring the temporal responses of acoustic systems operating to the limits of the human auditory bandwidth. The particular application for which the work was performed is in the field of auditory localisation, and in particular the role of the pinnae. It has been shown that the pinnae are essential to the ability to localise sounds in elevation, and may contribute to localisation in azimuth and range. The method of pulse generation described has enabled an extensive investigation of the temporal responses of human pinnae to be made