Surround Sound for Large Audiences: What are the Problems?

When replaying surround sound to large audiences it is inevitable that some people will not be in the ideal central listening position relative to the loudspeakers. As a result of this, their surround sound experience is degraded. The purpose of this paper is to outline how and why the listening experience is affected. This work is part of an ongoing study which aims to improve surround playback in large spaces both for listeners in central positions and off-centre positions.