I have followed this site with, what can best be described with amusement for many years, watching, popcorn in hand, for what may be said next. I must say, I have finally been tempted to answer, at least to the Op, the posted of this question.
Let's review what you have done. You have asked a user group, who I will estimate:
- 99.5% of users have never engineered a commercial audio product
- 99% of users probably have not engineered any commercial product
- 98% I would expect have only a limited and likely inaccurate knowledge of how our hearing and brain processes information (before the screaming starts, we don't know all the details, but we know quite well the response mechanisms to external stimuli)
- 97% would have no knowledge, or at best only a cursory knowledge of how to measure anything like what you would require
- 96% would have no or at best only cursory knowledge of how to interpret those measurements to equate to something simulating a lifelike sound environment
- 95% would have no or at best limited or cursory knowledge of how live instruments sound, when one sits relatively close. Most will have limited experience from infrequent live performances, or worst, the sound of their own playing colored by their location.
I am 99.9% certain that you will receive answers 100% confident, communicated with great gusto, that one could never measure for something such as this. Please see my list above when evaluating the veracity of these comments.
I can assure you, that, if, you limit the goal to, as stated, lifelike, and not an individuals interpretation of what they think is lifelike, then indeed measurements will guide you far closer to this goal than any other method. However, the measurements are not simple, and would be almost exclusively in the acoustic domain.
We must take a step back at this point, though, and accept that 2 channel audio, the usual way, via speakers, is fundamentally flawed in its attempt to simulate what are normally sounds originating from a single point. There are many tricks that are played, and inherent information in the recording, and those measurements can be used to maximize the effectiveness of those tricks and inherent information to realize your goal. It would be best to start with a goal of an effective 2D lifelike presentation. That fundamental flaw of 2 speakers to create an effective 2D illusion struggles even further with 3D illusion.
I think you will find that those who most ardently and likely vehemently disagree with this position, don't possess the knowledge or measurement skills, and unlikely the practical experience of even attempting what your goal is. Fortunately, though, there is a lot of real knowledge, hence why concert halls keep getting better, both with acoustic and amplified performances. That is the result of professionals with experience and professional tools.
