Digital Audio Stereo Imager for Headphone Spatial Perception
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Solution Overview
Problem
Stereo recordings played through headphones or non-ideal home listening environments often result in distorted spatial perception due to unintended stereo separation and differences between recording and listening environments.
Innovation Solution
A digital mixer and listener controller system that allows users to adjust the composition of stereo separated audio signals by mixing portions of the left and right channels, enabling compensation for environmental differences and enhancing spatial perception.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If headphones are used to play stereo recordings, then the listener can hear sound from both speakers simultaneously, but unintended stereo separation is introduced resulting in distorted spatial perception
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an audio signal processor as an intermediary device between the stereo recording and the listener's ears. This processor analyzes the audio signals from both speakers and dynamically adjusts them to compensate for the unintended separation caused by headphones, thereby restoring accurate spatial perception without requiring physical changes to the headphone hardware itself
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters of the audio signals by adjusting the timing, volume, and spatial positioning of sound waves. By modifying these signal parameters in real-time, the system compensates for the fixed physical limitations of headphones and restores the intended stereo image, allowing the same hardware to function accurately across different listening environments
2Adaptability or versatility
If a stereo recording is played in a home listening environment, then the listener can enjoy the music, but spatial perception is distorted due to differences between recording and listening environments
Solution Approach 1:
The audio signal processor operates dynamically by continuously analyzing the listening environment and adjusting audio parameters in real-time. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to compensate for variations in room acoustics, speaker positioning, and listener location, maintaining accurate spatial perception across different home listening environments without requiring manual configuration
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor the audio output and listening conditions, using this information to automatically adjust signal processing parameters. This feedback loop enables the system to adapt to environmental changes and maintain consistent spatial perception accuracy, transforming the rigid stereo recording into an environmentally adaptive audio experience
3Ease of operation
If the listener is positioned asymmetrically relative to the speakers, then the listener can hear sound from both directions, but the intended spatial perception is distorted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by treating the audio signals from different speakers differently based on their specific characteristics and the listener's position. The processor independently adjusts each channel's timing, volume, and spatial parameters to compensate for asymmetric positioning, allowing the listener to enjoy flexible positioning while maintaining accurate spatial perception through customized signal processing for each spatial location
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and a method for controlling, during playback, the composition of a pair of stereo separated audio signals in a stereo sound entertainment system by changing the stereo image width are disclosed. A digital mixer combines a portion of a first digital audio signal with a portion of a second digital audio signal to create a first mixed signal and a portion of the second digital audio signal with a portion of the first digital audio signal to create a second mixed signal. A listener controller independently controls, in accordance with a listener input, the portion of the first digital audio signal combined with the portion of the second digital audio signal and the portion of the second digital audio signal combined with the portion of the first digital audio signal.