Sound localization of stereo reproduction with parametric loudspeakers

A parametric loudspeaker radiates an audible signal by the interaction of the primary wave that is amplitude modulated and is known as a super-directivity loudspeaker. The parametric loudspeaker is one of the prominent applications of nonlinear acoustics. So far, the applications have been limited monaural reproduction sound system for public address in museum, station, street etc. In this paper, we investigated sound localization of stereo reproduction using two parametric loudspeakers in comparison with that using two ordinary dynamic loudspeakers. In subjective tests, the binaural information ILD (Interaural Level Difference) or ITD (Interaural Time Delay) was focused on. To investigate the characteristics of sound localization in a wide listening area, three typical listening positions were picked up. Signals were 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz and 4 kHz pure tones and pink noise. The used parametric loudspeaker was an equilateral hexagon. The subjective test led to the results that when the parametric loudspeakers were used, the listeners at the three typical listening positions perceived the correct sound localization of not only pure tone but also pink noise and when the ordinary dynamic loudspeakers were used, except for the case of pure tone with ITD, the tendency was almost similar to those using the parametric loudspeakers. The second subjective tests were conducted in order to investigate in details the difference between parametric loudspeakers and ordinary dynamic loudspeakers by increasing the number of subjects. In the case of ITD and 500 Hz using the ordinary dynamic loudspeakers, three types of sound localization were categorized, in which the reversed type was major and the normal and the other types were minor. The ILDs which were measured with a dummy head and were calculated with several formulas were almost the same and indicated the reasons of the reversed typed sound localization and a serious influence of the crosstalk. It was found that in the case of pure tone with ITD, the contradiction between the binaural information ILD and ITD is remarkable, because the directivity of the ordinary dynamic loudspeakers was so dull that the crosstalk components had a serious influence on sound localization. It was determined the parametric loudspeaker could transmit correct binaural information to the listener, because the directivity of the parametric loudspeakers was so sharp that it suppressed the cross talk components.     

一种用于手持式播放装置的立体声扩展方法

手持式播放装置的一对立体声扬声器相对倾听者的张角窄、距离近,影响立体声重放效果。针对这类应用提出了一种立体声扩展方法,它采用远场和近场头相关传输函数(HRTF)设计听觉传输滤波器并将低频信号滤除。该方法适应了近距离扬声器重放并避免了窄张角扬声器布置带来的信号处理中过分的低频提升问题。该方法不但能改善重放性能,且对计算和存储量要求较低,适合于手持式播放装置的信号处理硬件配置。声像定位实验验证了该方法的效果。     

头部尺寸对虚拟声像定位的影响

本利用立体声像的相关理论分析方法，分析了用扬声器重发虚拟声时，倾听的头部尺寸对声像定位的影响。结果表明,当实际倾听的头部尺寸与虚拟声信号处理所用头部模型的尺寸有差别时，前方范围内的声像位置畸变较小，但侧向的声像位置畸变较大，因而本特别指出，倾听头部尺寸的不同是虚拟声重发时侧向的声像位置畸变的重要原因，声像定位实验证实了理论分析。     

Influence of loudspeaker directivity and measurement geometry on direct acoustic levels over façades for acoustic insulation tests with the International Standard ISO 140-5

The International Standard ISO 140-5 on field measurements of airborne sound insulation of façades establishes that the directivity of the measurement loudspeaker should be such that the variation in the local direct sound pressure level (ΔSPL) on the sample is ΔSPL < 5 dB (or ΔSPL < 10 dB for large façades). This condition is usually not very easy to accomplish nor is it easy to verify whether the loudspeaker produces such a uniform level. Direct sound pressure levels on the ISO standard façade essentially depend on the distance and directivity of the loudspeaker used. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the test geometry for measuring sound insulation and explains how the loudspeaker directivity, combined with distance, affects the acoustic level distribution on the façade.The first sections of the paper are focused on analysing the measurement geometry and its influence on the direct acoustic level variations on the façade. The most favourable and least favourable positions to minimise these direct acoustic level differences are found, and the angles covered by the façade in the reference system of the loudspeaker are also determined. Then, the maximum dimensions of the façade that meet the conditions of the ISO 140-5 standard are obtained for the ideal omnidirectional sound source and the piston radiating in an infinite baffle, which is chosen as the typical radiation pattern for loudspeakers.Finally, a complete study of the behaviour of different loudspeaker radiation models (such as those usually utilised in the ISO 140-5 measurements) is performed, comparing their radiation maps on the façade for searching their maximum dimensions and the most appropriate radiation configurations.     

两扬声器虚拟声重放的双耳声压控制与定位性能

在两扬声器虚拟声重放中,通过精确重构双耳声压而产生不同的空间听觉感知。其重放的定位性能应该是由双耳声压控制的代价和稳定性所共同决定的。过去研究主要对双耳声压控制的稳定性进行分析,并以此作为扬声器布置和信号处理的依据。该文研究表明仅对双耳声压的稳定性分析是不足以完全衡量扬声器虚拟声重放的定位性能的。进一步采用虚拟声信号处理滤波器响应平均功率对双耳声压控制的代价进行分析。结果表明,缩窄左右对称扬声器布置的张角或采用非对称扬声器布置会明显增加产生侧向目标虚拟源时的双耳声压控制代价。虚拟源(虚拟声像)定位实验表明,双耳声压控制代价增加会引起虚拟源定位缺陷。实际应用中,为了有效产生侧向虚拟源,应避免采用过窄张角(如立体声偶极)和非对称的扬声器布置。     

Interior and exterior sound field control using two dimensional higher-order variable-directivity sources

Spatial sound reproduction systems aim to produce a desired sound field over a volume of space. At high frequencies, the number of loudspeakers required is prohibitive. This paper shows that the use of loudspeakers with up to Nth order directivity allows reproduction over N times the bandwidth and produces a significantly attenuated exterior sound field. If the constraint on exterior cancellation of the field is removed, reproduction is possible over approximately 2N times the bandwidth. The use of higher order loudspeakers thus allows a significant reduction in the number of loudspeaker units, at the expense of increased complexity in each unit. For completeness, results are included for the generation of an exterior field with or without cancellation of the interior field.     

Sound-field reproduction in-room using optimal control techniques: simulations in the frequency domain

This paper describes the simulations and results obtained when applying optimal control to progressive sound-field reproduction (mainly for audio applications) over an area using multiple monopole loudspeakers. The model simulates a reproduction system that operates either in free field or in a closed space approaching a typical listening room, and is based on optimal control in the frequency domain. This rather simple approach is chosen for the purpose of physical investigation, especially in terms of sensing microphones and reproduction loudspeakers configurations. Other issues of interest concern the comparison with wave-field synthesis and the control mechanisms. The results suggest that in-room reproduction of sound field using active control can be achieved with a residual normalized squared error significantly lower than open-loop wave-field synthesis in the same situation. Active reproduction techniques have the advantage of automatically compensating for the room's natural dynamics. For the considered cases, the simulations show that optimal control results are not sensitive (in terms of reproduction error) to wall absorption in the reproduction room. A special surrounding configuration of sensors is introduced for a sensor-free listening area in free field.     

Controlled sound field with a dual layer loudspeaker array

Controlled sound interference has been extensively investigated using a prototype dual layer loudspeaker array comprised of 16 loudspeakers. Results are presented for measures of array performance such as input signal power, directivity of sound radiation and accuracy of sound reproduction resulting from the application of conventional control methods such as minimization of error in mean squared pressure, maximization of energy difference and minimization of weighted pressure error and energy. Procedures for selecting the tuning parameters have also been introduced. With these conventional concepts aimed at the production of acoustically bright and dark zones, all the control methods used require a trade-off between radiation directivity and reproduction accuracy in the bright zone. An alternative solution is proposed which can achieve better performance based on the measures presented simultaneously by inserting a low priority zone named as the “gray” zone. This involves the weighted minimization of mean-squared errors in both bright and dark zones together with the gray zone in which the minimization error is given less importance. This results in the production of directional bright zone in which the accuracy of sound reproduction is maintained with less required input power. The results of simulations and experiments are shown to be in excellent agreement.     

紧凑型双单元声系统的波束形成研究

紧凑型扬声器系统的空间感增强是目前便携式移动电声设备面临的一个重要难题。该文基于拓宽视在声源宽度以增强空间感的理念,进行了紧凑型扬声器系统的波束形成研究。该文基于圆柱形刚性障板的声学特性,利用两只扬声器单元设计了紧凑型双单元声系统,分别利用基于相位对齐的最小均方误差算法实现左/右声道的波束形成和利用最小均方误差算法并设计半空间指向性的目标实现虚拟中央声道的波束形成。通过分析波束宽度和扬声器单元的工作状态验证了波束形成效果符合目标设计。考虑到实际使用情况,一方面,该文利用边界元方法仿真分析了有限长障板对扬声器单元指向性以及波束形成的影响,仿真结果表明有限长障板会使得单元整体的指向性变宽,该结果更有利于声系统实现目标;另一方面,该文基于有限元仿真的条件实际设计了双单元声系统,通过实验测量进一步验证了算法的性能。     

Maximization of the directivity ratio with the desired audible gain level for broadband design of near field loudspeaker arrays

This paper mainly addresses design methods for near field loudspeaker arrays. These methods have been studied recently since they can be used to realize a personal audio space without the use of headphones. From a practical view point, they can also be used to form a directional sound beam within a short distance from the sources especially using a linear loudspeaker array. In this regard, we re-analyzed the previous near field beamforming methods in order to obtain a comprehensive near field beamforming formulation. Broadband directivity control is proposed for multi-objective optimization, which maximizes the directivity with the desired gain, where both the directivity and the gain are commonly used array performance measures. This method of control aims to form a directive sound beam within a short distance while widening the frequency range of the beamforming. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that broadband directivity control achieves higher directivity and gain over our whole frequency range of interest compared with previous beamforming methods.     

基于 L-曲线参数优化的均匀声场重建算法

为了得到最小二乘法声场重建问题的稳定解,通常需要引入Tikhonov正则化方法。然而正则化程度取决于正则化参数的选择。针对这一问题,提出了一种基于L-曲线法参数选择的均匀声场重建算法。该算法根据重建误差与扬声器功率计算得到L-曲线,该曲线上曲率最大的点所对应的参数值作为Tikhonov正则化参数的选值。确定正则化参数后可进一步得到扬声器权系数以及重建均匀声场。针对不同正则化参数取值方法,对控制区域进行均匀声场重建以及重建性能仿真。仿真结果及实验表明,L-曲线法实现了重建误差与扬声器驱动信号功率之间的平衡。     

骨导振子佩戴位置对重放声的影响*

骨导振子佩戴位置会影响骨传导声重放的性能,但已有研究还不够全面和完善。针对11名双耳听力正常的受试者,采取不同的骨导振子佩戴位置,对骨传导声重放在听力阈值、主观音质评价和语言清晰度3个方面进行了研究。实验结果表明不同的佩戴位置会影响骨传导声重放性能,髁骨位置在3个实验都表现最好,髁骨的听力阈值比乳突位置平均低8.7 dB,主观音质评价得分平均高乳突38.4分。该文的研究可为骨导振子佩戴位置的选择提供依据,并为声重放质量的改进提供参考。     

Objective and subjective analysis of effects of listening angle on crosstalk cancellation in spatial sound reproduction

A comprehensive study was conducted to explore the effects of listening angle on crosstalk cancellation in spatial sound reproduction using two-channel stereo systems. The intention is to establish a sustainable configuration of crosstalk cancellation system (CCS) that best reconciles the separation performance and the robustness against lateral head movement, not only in theory but also in practice. Although crosstalk can in principle be suppressed using multichannel inverse filters, the CCS does not lend itself very well to practical application owing to the fact that the sweet spot is being so small. Among the parameters of loudspeaker deployment, span angle is a crucial factor that has a profound impact on the separation performance and sweet spot robustness achievable by the CCS. This paper seeks to pinpoint, from a more comprehensive perspective, the optimal listening angle that best reconciles the robustness and performance of the CCS. Two kinds of definitions of sweet spot are employed for assessment of robustness. In addition to the point source model, head related transfer functions (HRTF) are employed as the plant models in the simulation to emulate more practical localization scenarios such as the high-frequency head shadowing effect. Three span angles including 10, 60, and 120 deg are then compared via objective and subjective experiments. The Friedman test is applied to analyze the data of subjective experiments. The results indicate that not only the CCS performance but also the panning effect and head shadowing will dictate the overall performance and robustness. The 120-deg arrangement performs comparably well as the standard 60-deg arrangement, but is much better than the 10-deg arrangement.     

波场合成与波场分析的有源房间补偿方法

波场合成是一种空间声重放技术,利用扬声器阵列在宽阔的听音区域内重建声场。为消除或者消减听音房间的反射对重建波场的影响,利用测量环绕听音区域的闭合曲线上声压和声压梯度来分析波场,推导了基于圆形阵列进行波域分解的公式,利用多通道逆滤波进行了平面波域的房间补偿,实验结果显示该算法在整个听音区域内都是有效的。与传统补偿方法相比,边界元法所需的测量传声器数目少计算复杂度低,而波域分解具有更充分的波场分析能力,因此是一种更有效的有源房间补偿方法.      

微型扬声器摆动模态对其辐射声场的影响*

与传统电动式扬声器单元相比,微型扬声器单元由于缺少定位支片等部件,更容易受到摆动模态的影响。该文利用激光传感器采集微型扬声器单元振膜各点振动位移,通过理论计算,从辐射声压级、辐射指向性等角度探究矩形微型扬声器单元摆动模态对其辐射声场的影响。经过研究发现,摆动模态会造成微型扬声器单元频响凹陷、中低频存在指向性等现象,对其辐射声场产生明显的影响。     

恒定束宽扬声器线阵列优化研究

为了保持恒定束宽扬声器(Constant beamwidth transducer,CBT)线阵列高频指向性恒定,解决单元间距过小的问题,减小阵元数目,提出了利用声波导代替扬声器单元,建立了波导CBT阵列的声场模型。基于数值计算结果和数据分析,比较了不同阵元数目的波导CBT阵列和CBT阵列的指向性和声场分布,讨论了有效辐射率和使用阵元数目的关系。通过提高有效辐射率可以有效降低CBT阵列所需阵元数目,解决了扬声器单元间距过小的问题。     

An alternative method to measure the on-axis difference-frequency sound in a parametric loudspeaker without using an acoustic filter

The self-demodulation characteristic of finite-amplitude ultrasonic sound waves can be applied with parametric loudspeaker to reproduce audible sound with highly directivity. But measuring the difference-frequency sound is still a problem due to the spurious sound generated as a result of nonlinearity caused by the product of the primary waves at the receiving system. In this paper, based on the phase-cancellation method and the Gaussian beam expansion technique, an alternative method is proposed to measure the on-axis difference-frequency sound accurately without using any traditional acoustic filter, where the spurious sound can be greatly reduced or even eliminated. The proposed method is more suitable for the case where the piston source in the parametric loudspeaker comprises multiple small piezoelectric transducers (PZTs) and each transducer element in the array may have different frequency response. The validity of the proposed method is confirmed both by simulations and experiments.     

Perceptual evaluation of multi-dimensional spatial audio reproduction

Perceptual differences between sound reproduction systems with multiple spatial dimensions have been investigated. Two blind studies were performed using system configurations involving 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D loudspeaker arrays. Various types of source material were used, ranging from urban soundscapes to musical passages. Experiment I consisted in collecting subjects' perceptions in a free-response format to identify relevant criteria for multi-dimensional spatial sound reproduction of complex auditory scenes by means of linguistic analysis. Experiment II utilized both free response and scale judgments for seven parameters derived form Experiment I. Results indicated a strong correlation between the source material (sound scene) and the subjective evaluation of the parameters, making the notion of an "optimal" reproduction method difficult for arbitrary source material.     

The characteristics of acoustic line array prototypes for scale model experiments

The sound fields created by three different settings of a 5 m long linear loudspeaker array were studied experimentally in the present investigation in an attempt to find out a method to produce a reasonable sound field for scaled down model experiments. The first setting was with all the loudspeakers facing vertically upward, while the second setting was with all the loudspeakers facing the horizontal. The last one resembled the first setting but the loudspeakers were put inside a small partial enclosure whose opening was facing vertically upward. Results show that the last setting can produce a sound field with characteristics close to those of a two-dimensional sound field. The second setting results in a sound directivity pattern relevant to that of the measured A-weighted traffic noise.     

On preprocessing techniques for bandlimited parametric loudspeakers

The self-demodulation property of finite-amplitude ultrasonic waves can be applied with parametric loudspeaker to produce audible sound. A special characteristic of the reproduced sound waves using parametric loudspeaker is its high directivity. However, the demodulated signal from parametric loudspeaker suffers from high distortion. To reduce the distortion in the demodulated signal, preprocessing of the modulating signal is usually employed. To determine the effectiveness of the preprocessing technique, an important practical constraint on the bandwidth of the ultrasonic transducer of the parametric loudspeaker should be accounted. In this paper, we shall discuss a class of preprocessing techniques that is based on quadrature amplitude modulation. As compared to the conventional preprocessing methods used with bandlimited ultrasonic transducer, the demodulated signal from our proposed preprocessing techniques exhibits lower distortion.