Barriers for Domestic Sound Zone Systems: Insights from a Four-Week Field Study
Rune Møberg Jacobsen, Kasper Fangel Skov, Mikael B. Skov, Jesper Kjeldskov · 2023
In the past decade personal listening technologies have been through a proliferation with headphones with novel features and smart speaker systems. A technology expected to be introduced to the public in coming years is sound zone systems, that allow interface-free personal listening for multiple users in the same space without overlap. As with all new technologies, it is difficult to ascertain what barriers may lay before successful user adoption. To that end, we conducted a four-week field study in five households. Through a thematic analysis, we discovered 10 barriers for adoption concerning sound zones grouped into three different aspects; Interaction and use, Current Standards and Practices, and Limitations of sound zone technology. In addition to the barriers, we discuss our work towards current personal listening technologies.