A Low-Dimensional Projection of Sound Absorption Coefficients for a Scattering Delay Network Reverberator

Fontana M, Fantini D, Presti G, Tiraboschi M, Avanzini F. A Low-Dimensional Projection of Sound Absorption Coefficients for a Scattering Delay Network Reverberator. J Audio Eng Soc. 2026;74(4):212-223. doi:10.17743/jaes.2022.0261

@article{Fontana2026_23135,
  author = {Fontana, Marco and Fantini, Davide and Presti, Giorgio and Tiraboschi, Marco and Avanzini, Federico},
  title = {{A Low-Dimensional Projection of Sound Absorption Coefficients for a Scattering Delay Network Reverberator}},
  journal = {Journal of the Audio Engineering Society},
  volume = {74},
  number = {4},
  pages = {212--223},
  year = {2026},
  month = apr,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  doi = {10.17743/jaes.2022.0261},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2022.0261}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - A Low-Dimensional Projection of Sound Absorption Coefficients for a Scattering Delay Network Reverberator
AU  - Fontana, Marco
AU  - Fantini, Davide
AU  - Presti, Giorgio
AU  - Tiraboschi, Marco
AU  - Avanzini, Federico
T2  - Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
J2  - J. Audio Eng. Soc.
VL  - 74
IS  - 4
SP  - 212
EP  - 223
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/01
DO  - 10.17743/jaes.2022.0261
UR  - https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2022.0261
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - Scattering delay networks (SDNs), a class of artificial reverberators with physically interpretable parameters, provide an efficient synthesis of room acoustics accounting for wall absorption properties. This paper builds upon a previously proposed highly parametrized and real-time implementation of an SDN, exposing octave-band absorption coefficients for each room wall. The individual manipulation of these coefficients can be challenging due to their high dimensionality. A 2D parameter space (2PS) is proposed to facilitate the navigation of the absorption coefficients. The 2PS is obtained using principal component analysis as an initial dimensionality reduction of a dataset of absorption coefficients, followed by a relaxation procedure to create a seamless 2D representation of the coefficients. A twofold evaluation of the proposed 2PS was conducted: (a) the 2PS was compared to the original space and the raw principal component analysis in a reverb matching task for the tuning of SDN coefficients, and (b) a usability test with expert audio professionals supported the potential of the 2PS from a user standpoint.
ER  -