Notes
Slide Show
Outline
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Room Acoustics
Measurements And Auralization
  • Angelo Farina   and  Lamberto Tronchin


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Introduction
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Physical nature of sound
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Transducers: loudspeakers
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Basic loudspeaker conformation
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Loudspeaker modeling
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Transducers: microphones
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Microphone directivity patterns
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Microphones
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Cables
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Preamplifiers
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ADC (Analog to Digital Converter)
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ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) 2
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ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) 3
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ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) 4
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ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) 5
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ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) 6
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Digital Signal Processing
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Digital Signal Processing 2
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Digital Signal Processing 3
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Digital Signal Processing 4
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Digital Signal Processing 5
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Sound propagation in rooms
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Measurement process
  • We are interested in the linear impulse response h(t). This can be estimated by the knowledge of the input signal x(t) and of the output signal y(t).
  • The influence of the not-linear part K and of the noise n(t) has to be minimized.


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THE MLS method
  • X(t) is a periodic binary signal obtained with a suitable shift-register, configured for maximum lenght of the period.


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MLS deconvolution
  • The re-recorded signal y(i) is cross-correlated with the excitation signal thanks to a fast Hadamard transform. The result is the required impulse response h(i), if the system was linear and time-invariant
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MLS example
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MLS example
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Test signal: Log Sine Sweep
  • x(t) is a sine signal, which frequency is varied exponentially with time, starting at f1 and ending at f2.
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Test Signal – x(t)
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Measured signal - y(t)
  • The not-linear behaviour of the loudspeaker causes many harmonics to appear
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Deconvolution of Log Sine Sweep
  • The “time reversal mirror” technique is employed: the system’s impulse response is obtained by convolving the measured signal y(t) with the time-reversal of the test signal x(-t). As the log sine sweep does not have a “white” spectrum, proper equalization is required


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Inverse Filter – z(t)
  • The deconvolution of the IR is obtained convolving the measured signal y(t) with the inverse filter z(t) [equalized, time-reversed x(t)]
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Result of the deconvolution
  • The last impulse response is the linear one, the preceding are the harmonics distortion products of various orders
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Measurement Setup
  • It is possible to measure impulse responses in various formats:
    • Mono (Omnidirectional)
    • Stereo (ORTF)
    • Binaural (Dummy Head)
    • B-format (1st order Ambisonics, Soundfield microphone)
    • WFS (Wave Field Synthesis, circular array)
    • M. Poletti high-order virtual microphones
  • Employing a multichannel sound card, all of these measurements can be performed simultaneously




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Measurement Parameters
  • Test Signal:  pre-equalized sweep
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Transducers (sound source #1)
  • Equalized, omnidirectional sound source:
    • Dodechaedron for mid-high frequencies
    • One-way Subwoofer (<120 Hz)
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Transducers (sound source #2)
  • Genelec S30D reference studio monitor:
    • Three-ways, active multi-amped, AES/EBU
    • Frequency range 37 Hz – 44 kHz (+/- 3 dB)
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Transducers (microphones)
  • 3 types of microphones:
    • 2 Cardioids in ORTF placement (Neumann K-140)
    • Binaural dummy head (Neumann KU-100)
    • B-Format 4 channels (Soundfield ST-250)
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Other hardware equipment
  • Rotating Table:
    • Outline ET-1
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Measurement procedure
  • A single measurement session play backs 36 times the test signal, and simultaneusly record the 8 microphonic channels
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Theatres measured
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Theaters measured (Waves, 2003)
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Acoustical Parameters (ISO 3382)
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Acoustical Parameters (ISO 3382)
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Analysis of spatial attributes
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Polar diagrams of IACC and (1-LF)
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Auralization by convolution
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Convolution (1):
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Convolution (2):
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Filtering in the frequency domain:
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Overlap & Save algorithm:
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Uniformly-partitioned O&S (1)
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Uniformly-partitioned O&S (2):
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Auralization types
  • Stereo (ORTF on 2 standard loudspeakers at +/- 30°)
  • Binaural on headphones
  • Binaural on loudspeakers (Stereo Dipole)
  • Full 3D Ambisonics 1st order (decoding the B-format signal)
  • ITU 5.1 (from different 5-mikes layouts)
  • 2D Ambisonics 3rd order (from Mark Poletti’s circular array microphone)
  • Wave Field Synthesis (from the circular array of Soundfield microphones)
  • Hybrid methods (Ambiophonics)
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ORTF Stereo
  • Playback occurs over a pair of loudspeakers, in the standard configuration at angles of +/- 30°, each being fed by the signal of the corresponding microphone
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Theory of inverse filters
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Combined transfer functiom
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Theory of Kirkeby inversion
  • Step 1 – pass to frequency domain through FFT
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Regularization parameter e(w)
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Inverse filter example
  • System’s impulse response
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Inverse filter example
  • Convolution of inverse filter with the system’s impulse response
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Binaural (Stereo Dipole)
  • Reproduction occurs over 2 loudspeakers angled at +/- 10°, being fed through a “cross-talk cancellation” digital filtering system
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Binaural (Stereo Dipole#2)
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Binaural (Stereo Dipole#3)
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Binaural (Dual Stereo Dipole)
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Binaural (Dual Stereo Dipole#2)
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Ambisonics 3D 1st order
  • Reproduction occurs over an array of 8-24 loudspeakers, through an Ambisonics decoder
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The B-format components
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Ambisonics decoding
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Ambisonics reproduction system
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A software Ambisonics decoder
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Rooms for Ambisonics 3D 1st order
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ITU 5.1 surround
  • Williams MMA
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ITU 5.1 surround
  • OCT
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Virtual high-order microphones (M. Poletti)
  • One of the two ORTF cardioid is employed, which samples 36 positions along a 110 mm-radius circumference
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Wave Field Synthesis (WFS)
  • Flow diagram of the process
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Hybrid methods (Ambiophonics)
  • Stereo Dipole + Virtual Ambisonics
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Listening room for Ambiophonics playback
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Noiseless playback system setup
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Software for automatic collection of questionnaires
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Conclusions
  • The experimental setup allows for measurements of high-quality mono, binaural and B-format IRs
  • A proper listening room is required in order to reproduce sound field with Stereo Dipole and/or Ambisonic methodology
  • The sound quality of different theatres can be assessed in real-time in the listening room
  • Questionnaires can be collected through an interactive-driven software
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Current and future developments
  • Thanks to novel zero-latency convolution software, musicians can play a keyboard and listen to a virtual spatial sound environment in real time.
  • Spatial auralisation can be imediately switched or morphed while the musician plays the keyboard.
  • This technology has been made avaliable also for processing music in recording studios, thanks to plugins developed by Sony, Waves, Voxengo, Tascam, Altiverb
  • The next step will be to port this “sampled reverberation” method also for live applications