Frequency-Domain Audio Clarity Adjustment for Distortion Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio recording and processing techniques fail to accurately capture and maintain the original dynamic range, transient response, and frequency balance of sound, resulting in unintended distortion and a diminished resemblance to the original audio material.
Innovation Solution
The method involves converting audio signals into the frequency domain, adjusting the energy amplitude of energy troughs between adjacent energy peaks, and then converting back to the time domain to enhance clarity and preserve natural sound quality, using techniques such as optimizing the audio recording chain components and manipulating the Audio Spectral Dynamic Range (ASDR) to minimize distortion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If audio signal processing techniques are used to compensate for distortion, then audio quality is improved, but the processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the audio signal into multiple frequency bands and processes each band separately to adjust spectral content. This segmentation allows targeted distortion compensation without requiring complex full-spectrum processing, thereby improving audio quality while managing processing complexity through localized frequency-domain operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing stage that converts audio signals to the frequency domain, applies spectral adjustments, and then transforms back to the time domain. This intermediary frequency-domain representation serves as a mediator that simplifies distortion compensation operations compared to direct time-domain processing, resolving the contradiction between processing effectiveness and complexity.
2Measurement precision
If multiple microphone recording techniques are used to capture instrument sounds, then audio coverage is improved, but distortion from unwanted sounds increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes unwanted low-level distorted sounds from the recorded audio by analyzing the spectral content and identifying distortion byproducts that do not correspond to the desired instrument sounds. This extraction process separates the harmful distortion components from the useful audio signal, improving audio coverage while eliminating the harmful distortion introduced by multiple microphone techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful distortion byproducts into beneficial information by using spectral analysis to identify and characterize the distortion patterns. These identified distortion patterns are then used to guide the removal process, transforming the previously harmful distortion into a diagnostic tool that enables precise compensation and improvement of the final audio quality.
3Measurement precision
If tone control is used to adjust amplitude over frequency ranges, then audio balance is improved, but spectral dynamic range is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality adjustments by processing different frequency bands with different parameters tailored to each band's characteristics. Instead of uniform tone control across the entire spectrum, the system applies localized spectral adjustments that maintain the natural dynamic range within each frequency region while achieving overall audio balance, thereby avoiding the spectral dynamic range reduction caused by global tone control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by selectively adjusting only the spectral components that require correction rather than applying uniform tone control across all frequencies. This selective approach maintains the natural spectral dynamic range in regions that do not require adjustment while still achieving improved audio balance in the problematic frequency ranges, avoiding excessive action that would degrade overall spectral quality.
Data Source
AI summary
In described examples, a method of processing an audio program material includes converting the audio program material into a frequency domain audio program material; increasing or decreasing an energy amplitude of one or more energy troughs in an audio data sample in the frequency domain audio program material, ones of the energy troughs being located between respective ones of one or more pairs of adjacent energy peaks in the audio data sample, the pairs of adjacent energy peaks selected to correspond to frequencies of sounds which were captured to create the audio program material; repeating the increasing or decreasing step for multiple audio data samples in the frequency domain audio program material; and converting the frequency domain audio program material into a time domain audio program material.