Effects of Reduced Information in the Performance of Low-Frequency Sound Zones

Cadavid J, Bo Møller M, Van Waterschoot T, Bech S, Østergaard J. Effects of Reduced Information in the Performance of Low-Frequency Sound Zones. J Audio Eng Soc. 2025;73(7/8):429-445. doi:10.17743/jaes.2022.0207

@article{Cadavid2025_22922,
  author = {Cadavid, José and Bo Møller, Martin and Van Waterschoot, Toon and Bech, Søren and Østergaard, Jan},
  title = {{Effects of Reduced Information in the Performance of Low-Frequency Sound Zones}},
  journal = {Journal of the Audio Engineering Society},
  volume = {73},
  number = {7/8},
  pages = {429--445},
  year = {2025},
  month = jul,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  doi = {10.17743/jaes.2022.0207},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2022.0207}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Effects of Reduced Information in the Performance of Low-Frequency Sound Zones
AU  - Cadavid, José
AU  - Bo Møller, Martin
AU  - Van Waterschoot, Toon
AU  - Bech, Søren
AU  - Østergaard, Jan
T2  - Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
J2  - J. Audio Eng. Soc.
VL  - 73
IS  - 7/8
SP  - 429
EP  - 445
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/07/07
DO  - 10.17743/jaes.2022.0207
UR  - https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2022.0207
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - Sound zone techniques enable separate audio playback at distinct listening areas in rooms. This requires using loudspeaker arrays, multiple control microphones per zone, and carefully designed control filters. The filters are based on room impulse responses between all loudspeaker-microphone pairs that, in some cases, can be obtained with very short acquisition times. Low frequencies, featuring longer wavelengths, allow for fewer spatial sampling points inside the sound zones, simplifying the setup and decreasing data processing requirements. This study evaluates the effects of reducing room impulse responses acquisition times and sampling points in low-frequency sound zone rendering. Different combinations of both strategies and multiple spatial sampling arrangements were explored. Their performance was evaluated in two acoustic conditions under objective metrics, and the area of influence of the system around the sound zones was also studied. Both strategies were found effective in reducing the amount of information included while performing as good as cases comprising all information available. For instance, under short reverberation time, four microphones and 150-ms acquisition time performed comparably to 15 microphones and 16-s acquisition time. Using more sampling points reduced the effects of their arrangement in the performance. Both strategies resulted in faster control filter calculations, suggesting improved efficiency.
ER  -