loudspeakers - Sound Zones

Paper: Multizone Soundfield Reproduction With Privacy- and Quality-Based Speech Masking Filters

In this work, the authors present a comprehensive methodology for multizone sound field reproduction using specially designed speech masking filters. The masking filters are designed to maximise speech privacy and quality. Trade-offs between speech privacy and quality are shown to exist and parameters are provided in the methods to control those trade-offs. An accurate and precise formulation of grating lobes from spatial aliasing in multizone reproduction scenarios is provided and used to enhance the masking filters. The mathematical descriptions and thorough methodology are evaluated using simulations and a real world implementation of a multizone sound field reproduction system.

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Paper: On the Comparison of Two Room Compensation / Dereverberation Methods Employing Active Acoustic Boundary Absorption

Using a planar array of microphones and loudspeakers, the authors show in this work a theoretical approach to actively suppressing the reflection of sound from boundaries, such as room walls. The filters that are proposed are applicable to real-time implementations and it is shown that the active absorption is similar to that of passive fibre panel absorption.

Continue reading Paper: On the Comparison of Two Room Compensation / Dereverberation Methods Employing Active Acoustic Boundary Absorption

Paper: Active Speech Control using Wave-Domain Processing with a Linear Wall of Dipole Secondary Sources

Ever wondered if you could cancel someones voice without the need for a physical wall or partition? In this work presented at ICASSP 2017 in New Orleans, USA, we investigate the possibilities of cancelling speech over a loudspeaker wall. The method is not limited to speech, in-fact, it works much better for periodic signals as the non-stationarity of speech degrades the performance.

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Paper: Reproducing Personal Sound Zones Using a Hybrid Synthesis of Dynamic and Parametric Loudspeakers

A hybrid loudspeaker system consisting of dynamic point sources and parametric loudspeaker models shows great results above, generally inevitable, soundfield aliasing frequencies.
This work was presented at APSIPA ASC 2016 in Jeju, Korea.

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How to create sounds that only you can hear in a venue

Jacob Donley, University of Wollongong and Christian Ritz, University of Wollongong

Picture your typical busy cafe or restaurant that’s full of people. The diners are usually all forced to listen to the same music that’s pumped into the venue via the speakers.

What if you could create sound that was tailored to each table’s taste so the people there could listen to their own music, sports event, news or just enjoy the silence?

It might sound impossible but it’s closer to becoming a reality than you think. Continue reading How to create sounds that only you can hear in a venue