Variable Directivity Loudspeaker Matching for Consistent Audio
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional audio systems face challenges in maintaining a consistent direct-to-reverberant ratio due to non-ideal loudspeaker placement, leading to audible differences in sound quality despite time, level, and spectrum equalization.
Innovation Solution
An audio system with multiple speaker arrays that can generate various beam patterns, such as omnidirectional, cardioid, and fourth order, adjusts these patterns based on distance and room characteristics to achieve a preferred direct-to-reverberant ratio, ensuring consistent sound delivery to the listener.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If loudspeakers are placed at non-ideal positions due to room layout constraints, then ease of installation is improved, but direct-to-reverberant ratio consistency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the beam pattern of each loudspeaker based on its actual position relative to the listening location. By making the directivity characteristics adjustable rather than fixed, the system can compensate for non-ideal placement while maintaining consistent direct-to-reverberant ratios across all channels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the directivity parameter (beam pattern) of each loudspeaker to optimize performance. By selecting from multiple beam patterns (omnidirectional, cardioid, second order, fourth order) or adjusting directivity indices, the system compensates for variations in loudspeaker placement without requiring repositioning.
2Reliability
If different beam patterns are used for each loudspeaker to compensate for placement variations, then direct-to-reverberant ratio consistency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from measured or calculated loudspeaker positions and room characteristics to automatically select appropriate beam patterns. This closed-loop approach simplifies the user experience while maintaining consistent direct-to-reverberant ratios, as the system autonomously manages the complexity of coordinating multiple beam patterns.
Data Source
AI summary
An audio system that maintains an identical or similar direct-to-reverberant ratio for sound produced from a first speaker array and sound produced by a second speaker array at the location of a listener is described. The audio system may determine characteristics of the first and second speaker arrays, including the distance between the first speaker array and the listener and the second speaker array and the listener. Based on these characteristics, beam patterns are selected for one or more of the speaker arrays such that sound produced by each of the speaker arrays maintains a preferred direct-to-reverberant ratio at the location of the listener.