A surround sound field reproduction system and method is disclosed by which,
in
such a case that a listener changes its posture so that a portion of a video image
to which attention should be paid may be observed in front of the listener, a sound
image can be localized accordingly in a direction in which the video image is observed
in front of the listener. Specifically, the surround sound field reproduction apparatus
includes a plurality of horizontal panners for receiving a plurality of sound signals
from microphones disposed horizontally and cooperating with each other to control
the horizontal localization, and a vertical panner for receiving sound signals
from microphones disposed vertically to control the vertical localization. The
horizontal panners level-distribute the received sound signals to a plurality of
output channels provided corresponding to surround reproduction output channels.
The vertical panner changes the level distribution of the sound signals in the
vertical direction to produce a sound signal and outputs the produced sound signal
to an output channel for the front center.