The S3A Project
Audioscenic started in 2015, when I met Professor Filippo Fazi, working together on the S3A audio project. The S3A program was a 5-year UK research project that aimed to bring spatial audio into people's living rooms and develop innovations that would increase the in-house adoption of spatial audio consumption, which at that time was stagnant due to the slow sales of home cinema systems, mainly caused by surround home systems being complex and bulky and hard to set up. This was in 2015, so ambisonics for headphones and virtual reality (VR) had not yet arrived on the market.
At that time, I had just graduated with a PhD in personal audio, specifically experimenting with using loudspeaker arrays to create boosted audio zones to increase speech intelligibility for hard of hearing TV viewers. Filippo Fazi was the principal investigator of the S3A project at the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR) at the University of Southampton.
The ISVR had a long tradition with the development of crosstalk cancellation systems, dating back to the early 1990s. Filippo and I were both fascinated by the breathtaking spatial audio performance that a good crosstalk cancellation system could provide. We were driven by the idea of a soundbar that could provide full 3D audio as a method of bringing spatial audio to the people. A soundbar was something more appealing to put in the living room than a full surround setup, and this idea had been tried previously commercially by companies such as Opsodis and Comhear.
Until then, crosstalk cancellation systems were designed to work with a single, fixed, sweet spot. This was a real problem as they were only working effectively if a user was placed exactly in front of them. This was not ideal, as consumers would not widely accept such a system and therefore crosstalk cancellation systems were only used in academic and niche, enthusiast applications.
This story is from the June 2023 edition of audioXpress.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2023 edition of audioXpress.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Perspectives on Automotive Sound Design - In the Era of Electric Vehicles
From combustion engine vehicles to fully electric vehicles, and from sound systems in the car to sound design and synthesis for the car itself, everything is changing in the automotive industry. This conversation with two members of the DSP Concepts automotive team with vast experience in the field, John Whitecar, VP of Product Management, and Steve Ernst, Head of Business Development, offers valuable insights on how things are evolving.
Audioscenic: From Vision to Product
Audioscenic is an innovative 3D audio beamforming technology company spun off from the University of Southampton. It is a remarkable example of perseverance, from early development to the first commercial implementation, which audioXpress considered Best of Show at CES 2023. This article shares the story so far, as Audioscenic continues its groundbreaking journey exploring consumer applications for its forward-thinking approach to spatial audio.
The Changing Audio-Ecosystem in Electric Vehicles
The rapid shift to plug-in hybrid and full-battery electric vehicles is having a significant and long-lasting impact on how audio systems are integrated into cars. While some noises are much more prominent due to the absence of the familiar engine noise, the transition offers exciting possibilities for sound systems, passenger entertainment, and enhancing the overall automotive experience.
A (Z)OTL with 300Bs: Part 1-The Makeover
Rebuilding an amplifier for reasons of better reliability, better aesthetics, or bringing it up to the latest standard can be very rewarding. And if it is a classical, technological grandstand, even more so. Thomas Perazella embarked on such an adventure with a famous David Berning ZOTL amplifier. In Part 1 of this article, Tom presents the amplifier and discusses its unique circuitry. In Part 2, he will proceed to dismantle and rebuild the amp for the new owner and place it in a new chassis
The Hypex NCORE NCx500 Amplifier Module
NCORE (NC) amplifier modules are the flagship product from Dutch manufacturer Hypex Electronics and its success among the high-end audio brands is well documented. In 2022, Hypex announced the introduction of its improved NCOREX technology, starting with the NCx500 OEM module, which audioXpress received for review
Monoblock Power Amplifier with Precision Bias Control
In Part 2, Bruce Gillingham discusses the remainder of the MB1's circuitry, its mechanical design, and its performance measurements
A Trip Down Memory Lane
The history of tube application began with radio receivers, the telephone system, and cinema sound systems. Later, tubes began to be used in home stereo systems, and in amplifiers for electric guitars. Today, the primary markets for tubes are high-end stereo and musical instrument amplifiers. In this article Richard Honeycutt remembers his first contact with \"starter\" guitar amps as a teenager, progressing throughout his days as a semi-pro musician
The Vanderveen Trans PP80 Valve Amplifier
This new push-pull (PP) valve amplifier, featuring the Trans technique, delivers 80W power, refined resolution, valve-sound envelopment, and low distortion plus good speaker damping. And... the amp is simple to construct
Accuracy in LTspice Modeling
Sometimes we need to consider the human factor when using circuit design simulation tools. In this article, our hollow-state expert details an error that occurred in a past article, which is now being corrected.
Transitioning Audio Tests from R&D to the Production Line
Production line audio testing poses many challenges such as noisy environments, harsh operating conditions, high throughput, relative limits, and more. In this article, Steve Temme shares his observations and outlines the main considerations to ensure a successful operation.
