Abstract
Interactive virtual environments (IVEs) are a valuable tool to systematically compare the experience of various room-acoustic attributes. In a recent study, ratings of room-acoustic attributes for a real loudspeaker in a real room were compared to virtual representations created by using head-tracked binaural auralisations and visualisation via a head-mounted display (HMD) (Stärz et al., 2023). These tests were conducted in the same room that was also rendered virtually (congruent room). Due to the room divergence effect, auralisations may be adversely affected when played in a physically divergent room compared to the room being auralised. It is unclear whether this influence persists when an audiovisual virtual presentation is presented while being in a divergent room. In this study, we investigated whether the room in which the listening test took place (congruent or divergent) affects the ratings of room-acoustic attributes for identical virtual audio-visual scenes. Participants rated room-acoustic attributes for different head-tracked binaural auralisations while being in the congruent room or in a physically different (with respect to size, acoustic characteristics, and visual appearance) room. The results show that the same ratings are obtained for both rooms, i.e., we found no effect of the room in which the listening test was conducted.