Research and experimentation is described which aims to prove the hypothesis that by allowing a listener to choose a single non-individualised profile of HRTFs from a subset of maximally different best representative profiles extracted from a database, improved localisation and externalisation can be achieved for the listener. k-means cluster analysis of entire impulse reponses is used to identify the subset of profiles. Experimentation in a controlled environment shows that test subjects who were offered a choice of a preferred HRTF profile were able to consistently discriminate between a front centre or rear centre virtualised sound source 78.6% of the time, compared with 64.3% in a second group given an arbitrary HRTF profile. Similar results were obtained from virtualisations in uncontrolled environments.
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