Real-Time Implementation of Personal Sound Zones Using Partitioned Convolution in Purr Data

Beuchet J, Lefrançois T, Pagès G, Melon M. Real-Time Implementation of Personal Sound Zones Using Partitioned Convolution in Purr Data. In: Express Paper. Audio Engineering Society; 2026. Paper 454. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23267

@inproceedings{Beuchet2026_23267,
  author = {Beuchet, Jean and Lefrançois, Titouan and Pagès, Guilhem and Melon, Manuel},
  title = {{Real-Time Implementation of Personal Sound Zones Using Partitioned Convolution in Purr Data}},
  note = {Paper 454},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23267}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Real-Time Implementation of Personal Sound Zones Using Partitioned Convolution in Purr Data
AU  - Beuchet, Jean
AU  - Lefrançois, Titouan
AU  - Pagès, Guilhem
AU  - Melon, Manuel
M1  - Paper 454
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/28
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23267
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - Personal sound zones aim to reproduce distinct audio contents in separate spatial regions using loudspeaker arrays, while minimizing acoustic interference between zones. Although well established theoretically, their real-time implementation remains challenging due to the long impulse responses involved and the latency constraints of audio processing systems. This work presents a real-time implementation of personal sound zones based on the pressure matching method in a static context, i.e. transfer functions between the loudspeakers and the zones are assumed to remain constant. Sound zone filters are computed in the frequency domain from experimentally measured impulse responses between an array of 18 loudspeakers and two microphone arrays of 9 microphones defining a bright zone and a dark zone. The system performance is then evaluated in terms of acoustic contrast, reproduction error, and effective frequency range. To meet real-time constraints, a fast partitioned convolution algorithm has been used, namely the Uniformly-Partitioned Overlap Save (UPOLS). This methods has been implemented in C++ as an external block for the Purr Data real-time audio environment. Experimental results, obtained in a semi-anechoic environment, demonstrate that it enables stable real-time multichannel convolution with negligible numerical error compared to offline convolution. The proposed system results in a functional real-time sound zones demonstrator, suitable for experimental and interactive spatial audio applications. The codes are shared in a GitHub repository so that the scientific community can benefit from them.
ER  -