Method and system for replicating headphone sound using frontal and supplementary speakers

A method for replicating headphone sound using a pair of frontal stereo speakers and a pair of supplementary speakers in an audio system, the method comprising:

• positioning the pair of frontal stereo speakers and the pair of the supplementary speakers near a user's ears in a predetermined configuration;
• applying a delay to either the pair of frontal stereo speakers or the pair of supplementary speakers;
• playing test audio signals through the pair of frontal stereo speakers and the pair of supplementary speakers;
• measuring interaural level differences (ILD) at the user's ears across a frequency range of about 1 kHz to about 10 kHz to obtain a measured ILD;
• comparing the measured ILD to a generic ILD that represents a headphone-like spatial audio effect;
• deriving a set of equalization (EQ) settings for the pair of supplementary speakers to reduce differences between the measured ILD and the generic ILD;
• and
• storing the set of EQ settings for use in the audio system.