FFT-based Binaural Panner

The FFT-based binaural panner is a package made for Max/Msp, that aims to aid the creation of realistic 3D-audio in headphones.

You can download the package here.

It was created in 2011 as part of a thesis on the possibilities of binaural synthesis in combination with head-tracking, in an aesthetic/experience-oriented context. In the thesis project, the FFT-based binaural panner is a small, but essential, part of a larger construction in Max, involving sensor-based head-tracking, room simulation, configurable sound- and listener positions etc..

The project is inspired by other Max projects such as Head in Space (https://sites.google.com/site/dariopizzamiglio/projects/head-in-space) and Binaural Tools (project page no longer accessible). The FFT-based binaural panner was created to reduce the substantial load on the cpu that comes with convolution in the time-domain. It uses pfft~ to perform an equivalent but ‘cheaper’ mutliplying process in the frequency-domain.

The panner uses the impulse responses from the CIPIC HRTF database (https://www.ece.ucdavis.edu/cipic/spatial-sound/hrtf-data/) but in a frequency-domain and interpolated version.