Reproducing applause-type signals with directional audio coding

Applause-type signals are known to be challenging for parametric multichannel coding and spatial audio reproduction techniques. This phenomenon is investigated in the context of directional audio coding (DirAC), and it is found that the artifacts originate from the decorrelator processing of the transients of individual handclaps at the decoder. Commonly the decorrelation causes temporal smearing of the transients, producing prominent artifacts. It is shown that very good audio quality can be obtained with applause signals if the temporal resolution in encoding is high enough to analyze each distinct handclap in the signal separately. An implementation of DirAC for the reproduction of surround sound is shown, which is fine-tuned with special focus on applause signals. In addition the results from formal listening tests showing the subjective quality obtained with two well-known applause recordings are presented.