This paper investigates the key perceptual and measurable differences between traditional stereo masters and binaural spatial audio masters during headphone playback. With headphone consumption now dominant in music listening, the translation of immersive audio formats into binaural rendering introduces measurable shifts in frequency response, stereophonic imaging behaviour, and loudness characteristics. Through comparative testing of stereo versus binaural down-mixes across calibrated headphone systems, the tonal tilt induced by HRTF-based rendering is quantified, along with the deviation in phantom center and stereo width behaviour, and variations in integrated loudness and peak-to-loudness ratios. This study provides a foundation for refining headphone-focused quality control workflows in immersive music production.
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https://aes2.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23056
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