Exploring Acoustics Perception Through XR Spatial Audio Experiences: Experiments and Data Collection for the ‘Listen To the Theatre’ Project

The experience of a musical performance in a concert hall transcends the acoustic dimension, engaging all senses in an integrative manner to yield a holistic perceptual outcome. Despite this integrative nature, studies focusing on the auditory aspects of performances, employing spatial audio technologies, virtual acoustics, and immersive audiovisual renderings, contribute to a deeper understanding of performance space acoustics as a form of intangible cultural heritage. XR experiences could be considered not merely a product of research but also a process that could be analyzed through tests and surveys. Testing the model can be useful not only to evaluate its Quality of Experience and the realism of the rendering, but also for accessing data about the object of study, impossible to obtain otherwise. This research examines the application of tests and surveys within the XR project Listen To The Theatre, elucidating its utility and implications.