Sound Image Reproduction Based on Weighted Room Impulse Responses Using Head-Enclosed Back Surround Loudspeaker Array
Misaki Otsuka, Yukoh Wakabayashi, Takahiro Fukumori, Masato Nakayama, Takanobu Nishiura · Journal of Signal Processing · 2018
This study proposes a loudspeaker system called the head-enclosed back surround loudspeaker array (HEBLA) that creates high realistic sound sensations. The proposed system can be combined with video to reproduce a sound field around the listener's head, but it is difficult to reproduce sound distance cues because the power ratio of direct sound to reverberation at the point of the listener's ears is different from that in an actual environment. The power ratio is an important cue for perceiving sound distance. Thus, this study proposes a sound image reproduction method which controls sound distance cues by restoring virtual front loudspeakers' room impulse responses (RIRs) with HEBLA. Evaluation experiments confirmed that the proposed method allows sound distance perception.