Real-Time Demonstration of Personal Audio and 3D Audio Rendering Using Line Array Systems

Abstract

Control of sound fields using array loudspeakers has been attempted in many practical areas, such as 3D audio, active noise control, and personal audio. In this work, we demonstrate two real-time sound field control systems involving a line array of loudspeakers. The first one, a personal audio system, aims to reproduce two independent sound zones with different audio programs at the same time. By suppressing acoustic interference between two sound zones, the personal audio system allows users at different locations to enjoy independent sounds. In the second demonstration, active control of spatial audio scene is presented. It has been found that the interaction between the radiation from a sound source and surrounding environment is linked with many perceptual cues of spaciousness. Especially, the perceived stage width and distance are strongly related to the interaural cross-correlation and directto-reverberation ratio, which can be easily manipulated by changing the directivity of a loudspeaker array. The smooth transition of spaciousness is demonstrated by changing the shapes of multiple beam patterns radiated from the line array.