EP0465460B1

EP0465460B1 - Signal enhancement processor for stereo system

Info

Publication number: EP0465460B1
Application number: EP89902800A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Geoffrey James Barton
Original assignee: BARTON Geoffrey James
Current assignee: BARTON Geoffrey James
Priority date: 1989-02-09
Filing date: 1989-02-09
Publication date: 1995-05-17
Anticipated expiration: 2009-02-09
Also published as: DE68922745D1; WO1990009728A1; EP0465460A1; JPH04503286A

Abstract

The enhancement processor disclosed herein includes left (10) and right (11) channels through which the components of the stereo signal are fed, and a side channel (12) that receives a difference signal derivedfrom the main left and right channel signals. The side channel difference signal is shifted in quadrature, (e.g. + or - 90') relative to the main channels of the processor, adjusted by a variable gain control (17), low pass filtered (36) and added back (18, 20) into the main left and right channels prior to the stereo outputs. Further enhancement is achieved in the processor by combining with the above effect, a gain adjusted anti-phase cross-feed (30, 32) between the main left and right channels to produce an image-widening characteristic that compensates for some undesired image alteration resulting from the quadrature shifted side channel. An advantageous form of thecombined quadrature shifted difference signal and anti-phase cross-feed signals is provided by a single user controlled gang potentiometer that jointly and dependently vary the gain of these combined effects according to a unique control law described herein.

Description

The present invention concerns audio signal processing and particularly relates to circuits and system for enhancing the sound qualities in stereo systems, and also for overcoming certain signal degradation problems that occur when reducing some types of stereo signals to mono.
When the spatial signal components picked up by stereo microphoning are reproduced in the usual manner, it is believed that during reproduction some of the signal information contained in phase opposed (i.e., 180° opposite) components is masked by the stereo reproduction process.
GB-A-2180727 discloses a signal processor comprising a first main channel having an input for receiving a first spatial component of an audio stereo signal, a second main channel having an input for receiving a second spatial component of said stereo signal and a side channel for producing auxiliary signal. The first main channel has means for combining the first main channel signal with the auxiliary signal to provide a modified first spatial component as the output of the first main channel and the second main channel has means for combining a second main channel signal with the auxiliary signal to produce a modified second spatial component as the output of the second main channel. A signal differencing means feeds to the side channel a different signal derived from the first and second main channels. The embodiment of Fig. 1 of this prior art document discloses the combining means of the first main channel as being an adder and the combining means of the second main channel as being a subtracter. This document, which is concerned with expanding the stereo base of a stereophonic apparatus is used to form the preamble of the appended claims 1 and 10.
US-A-4,356,349 discloses a processor for enhancing stereo images by processing the left and right spatial signal components of a stereo signal which processor comprises first and second inputs for respectively receiving left and right spatial signal components of a stereo signal, and first and second outputs which should enhance left and right stereo signal components are produced. An input sum and difference network receives the first and second input and has a sum signal channel in which is produced a sum signal representing the sum of the left and right spatial signal components. A difference signal channel produces a difference signal representing the difference of left and right signal components. An output sum and difference network has a sum input connected to the sum signal channel and the difference input connected to the difference signal channel. This document is used to form the preamble of the appended claim 12.
It is an object of this invention to process the source signals in a way that enhances the signal information when recording, broadcasting and reproducing stereo signals so that distinctive qualities of the stereo source are perceived by the listener. This also applied to recordings where the stereo is derived from a multiplicity of mono sources.
According to the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a signal processor comprising a first main channel having an input for receiving a first spatial component of an audio stereo signal, and a second main channel having an input for receiving a second spatial component of said stereo signal and a side channel for producing an auxiliary signal, wherein said first main channel has means for combining a first main channel signal with said auxiliary signal to provide a modified first spatial component as the output of said first main channel and said second main channel has means for combining a second main channel signal with said auxiliary signal to provide a modified second spatial component as the output of said second main channel, and a signal differencing means arranged in use to feed to said side channel a difference signal derived from said first and second main channels; characterised by said side channel having phase shifting means arranged in use to introduce a phase shift in the difference signal of 90° ± 30° relative to said first and second main channel signals to produce said auxiliary signal; and said means for combining adding the auxiliary signal to said first main channel signal and said second main channel signal respectively.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided signal processor comprising a first main channel having an input for receiving a first spatial component of an audio stereo signal, and a second main channel having an input for receiving a second spatial component of said stereo signal and a side channel for producing an auxiliary signal, wherein said first main channel has means for combining a first main channel signal with said auxiliary signal to provide a modified first spatial component as the output of said first main channel and said second main channel has means for combining a second main channel signal with said auxiliary signal to provide a modified second spatial component as the output of said second main channel and a signal differencing means arranged in use to feed to said side channel a difference signal derived from said first and second main channels; characterised by circuit means for cross-feeding anti-phase portions of the spatial components of the stereo signal between said first and second main channels; said side channel having phase shifting means arranged in use to introduce a phase shift in the difference signal of 90° ± 30° relative to said first and second main channel signals to produce said auxiliary signal; a first user adjustable gain control in said side channel for setting to adjust the amplitude of the quadrature shifted difference signal; a second user adjustable gain control in said means for cross-feeding for setting the amount of the opposed phase portions of the stereo component signals that are cross-fed between said main channels; control means for jointly controlling said second variable gain control by said first available gain control so that the effects of said quadrature shifted difference signal and said cross-feeding of opposed phase portions of the stereo component signals are dependent on a signal user control, and said means for combining adding the auxiliary signal to said first main channel signal and said used second channel signal respectively.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a proccessor for enhancing stereo images by processing left and right signal components of a stereo signal, the processor comprising first and second inputs for respectively receiving the left and right spatial signal components of a stereo signal, and first and second outputs at which enhanced left and right stereo signal components are produced an input sum and difference network receiving said first and second inputs and having a sum signal channel in which a sum signal is produced representing the sum of the left and right spatial signal components, and a difference signal channel in which a difference signal is produced representing the difference of the left and right signal components; an output sum and difference network having a sum input connected to said sum signal channel and having a difference input connected to said difference signal channel, and having means providing said first and second outputs; characterised by a side channel connected to receive said difference signal from said difference channel said side channel having low pass filter means, quadrature phase shifting means for shifting the phase of the signal by 90° ± 30° in the side channel in quadrature relative to the sum and difference signals and manually controllable gain adjusting means for adjusting the gain of the signal in said side channel prior to an output thereof; combining means for adding the output of said side channel with either the sum signal channel or difference signal channel prior to said output sum and difference network.
Thereby there is described a signal processor in which the sound images of a stereo signal, are enhanced when a signal processor receives input left and right stereo signal components that are passed through main left and right signal channels, and develops a difference signal by subtracting the two input signal components which is then fed to a side channel where it is phase shifted and added back into the main channels. The side channel difference signal is shifted in quadrature (e.g. + or -90°), relative to the main channels of the processor. In the preferred embodiment, the side channel signal is also low pass filtered and adjusted in gain by a variable user control. The quadrature phase shift of the difference signal, when combined back into the main channels seems to add or recover certain signal information that may be otherwise lost.
Further enhancement is achieved in an alternative processor embodiment by combining, in accordance with a predetermined control law ratio, the above quadrature shifted side channel difference signal with gain adjusted anti-phase cross-feed between the main left and right channels. The control law is implemented by a single combined manual adjustment of ganged potentiometers connected in the side channel to simultaneously vary (according to the control law) anti-phase cross-feed and quadrature shifted difference signal effects. The single control effects produce both image enhancement as described above together with image-widening in the optimum ratios to compensate for a subjective perception of image narrowing attributed to the signal information made more distinctive by the side channel.
Therefore there is provided a processor for the above purpose, which also has the advantage of being compatible with combining certain types of encoded stereo, such a Dolby MP, into a monaural signal, and to pass without degradation monaural source signals, such as required in certain broadcasting and recording applications.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a generalized block diagram of the processor in accordance with one embodiment of the invention showing, in addition to the main left and right stereo signal channels, a side channel for developing the quadrature shifted difference signal.
Figure 2 is also a generalized block diagram similar to Figure 1 but showing a somewhat different configuration and the addition of a low pass filter in the side channel and phase compensating all-pan filters in the main channels.
Figure 3 is a further generalized block diagram again similar to Figures 1 and 2 but showing a configuration of the processor according to the invention in which the difference signal for the side channel is derived from the difference output of a cross-channel sum and difference network at the input of the processor.
Figure 4 is a more detailed block and schematic diagram of a processor constructed in accordance with the embodiment of Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a detailed schematic diagram of the processor circuitry corresponding to the embodiment of Figures 3 and 4.
Figure 6 is a block diagram of an alternative enhancement processor having a common manual control with ganged potentiometers for adding the quadrature shift difference effect and anti-phase cross-feed effect, according to a unique control law that governs the ganged potentiometers.
Figure 7 is a phase diagram useful in explaining the operation of the processor of Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a detailed schematic diagram of that portion of Figure 6 which includes the ganged potentiometers connected to implement the control law described herein.
The processor 5 of the invention, shown in a generalized and simplified form in Figure 1, provides for enhancing the subjective qualities of the stereo image associated with spatially derived left and right signal components applied to the inputs Li and Ri, with the resulting enhanced stereo image signal being passed to outputs Lo and Ro.
The processor 5 shown in Figure 1, has in addition to the left and right main signal channels 10 and 11, a third or side channel 12 which when added to the main channels enhances the sound image reproduced from the stereo output signal components Lo and Ro. The side channel 12 is provided by taking the difference of the left and right signals Li and Ri by means of a differencing network 14 connected to channels 10 and 11 as indicated. A relative quadrature phase shift of substantially + or -90° is then introduced in channel 12 by phase shifting network 16 in series with the output of differencing network 14. The quadrature shifted difference signal is then adjusted in gain, preferably by a manually operated gain control G1 indicated at 17 in side channel 12, and the resulting signal is then combined back into the left and right main signal channels 10 and 11 by means of combining or summing networks 18 and 20. The side channel signal in this embodiment is jointly combined back into the main channels with the same phase sense by networks 18 and 20 as indicated in Figure 1.
The quadrature phase shift, which is + or -90° but may vary by 30° either side of 90°, is believed to distribute the difference signal information into a relative phase position not dominated by the 180° phase opposed relationship of the primary left and right signal components. By so doing, the quadrature shifted difference signal is believed to make greater use of the available phase circle enabling this signal information to be more readily perceived by the listener.
The addition of the side channel 12 does have, in some cases, a subjectively undesirable side effect which may be perceived as a kind of narrowing of the sound image. To compensate for this narrowing effect, the processor 5 of Figure 1 is also provided with anti-phase cross-feed, known per se, and provided in this embodiment by a pair of manually adjustable gain controls G2 indicated at 30 and 32 and connected respectively to the phase inverting inputs of combining networks 18 and 20.
Thus, in operation, the gain control G2 at 30 provides for cross-feeding a variable amount of the right signal component with relative phase inversion into the left main channel 10 at adding network 18. Similarly, variable gain G2 indicated at 32 provides opposed phase cross-feed of a portion of the left channel signal Li to the right main channel 11 at the negative phase input of combiner 20.
As described more completely hereinafter, as the amount of gain in the side channel 12 is increased by adjustment of gain control G1 provided at 17 to enhance the resulting image, any subjective narrowing of the resulting image can be compensated for by introducing a variable amount of anti-phase cross-feed by adjusting the G2 controls at 30 and 32. When the gain controls G1 at 17 and G2 at 30 and 32 are adjusted to reduce the associated signal path to 0 amplitude, then the processor 5 functions to throughput the stereo signals without enhancement or other modification.
Figure 2 shows a processor 5′ being a somewhat more refined embodiment of processor 5 of Figure 1 in that a low pass filter 36 is placed in the signal path of side channel 12. Furthermore, the relative quadrature phase shift in the side channel is produced by the combined relative effects of phase shifting filter 16a in channel 12, relative to phase shifts in filters 16b and 16c in channels 10 and 11. As indicated, the filters 16b and 16c of the main left and right channels 10 and 11 represent a relative phase shift of 0° with respect to the +90° shift of filter 16a in the side channel 12. Additionally, the main left and right channels 10 and 12 are provided with identical all pass filters 38 and 40 which are designed in a manner well known in the art to compensate for any phase shift introduced by low pass filter 36 in side channel 12. As in the case of the Figure 1 embodiment, the net effect of the phase shifts indicated at filters 16a, 16b and 16c and the filters 36, 38 and 40 is to introduce a net relative phase shift of substantially 90° lagging in side channel 12 relative to the main left and right channels 10 and 11. This 90° or quadrature shift is substantially independent of frequency over the audio spectrum of from about 20 Hz to 20 kilo Hz. The relative phase shifts of filters 16a, 16b, and 16c can in practice be incorporated into filters 36, 38 and 40 or into other components of the respective channels so long as the relative quadrature phase shift is maintained.
While the precise frequency response characteristics of low pass filter 36 can be varied, preferably this filter passes frequencies below about 2 kilo Hz although the range of pass frequencies can vary above or below this cut off frequency by about 1 octave. By using a low pass filter in the enhancement side channel, sound effects associated with quickly decaying transients and harmonic partials, including reverberation returns and other discrete transient sounds, are recovered with surprising clarity and spatial positioning.
A further and still more refined embodiment is shown in Figure 3. Here, the difference taking network for developing the side channel 12 is provided by a difference or delta ( Δ ) output of a summing and differencing network 50 provided adjacent the input of processor 5˝. The input summing and differencing network 50 is a companion to an output summing and differencing network 60 that is cascaded in the main signal channels with network 50, in a manner known per se, to restore the left and right hand senses to the stereo signal components at outputs Lo and Ro. The function of networks 50 and 60 is explained in greater detail in connection with Figure 4 below, but in general provides for recovering middle and side sound images from the stereo components. Networks 50 and 60 each contain a pair of multi-input summing and differencing networks 50a, 50b, and 60a, 60b. Interposed between the summing and differencing networks 50 and 60, is the side channel 12 which includes low pass filter 36 in series with the relative phase shifting filter at 16a and the manually adjustable gain control G1 indicated at 17. The output of the side channel 12, including the low pass filtered, quadrature phase shifted signal is mixed back into the left and right hand main signal channels by the in-phase inputs of summing and differencing network 60 at the processor output. As in the embodiment of Figure 2, the relative 90′ phase shift network 16a is associated with phase shifting filters 16b and 16c to provide the relative quadrature phase shift in the difference channel. All pass filters 38 and 40 in the sum and difference channels are identical to all pass filters 38 and 40 in the main left and right signal channels of processor 5′ of Figure 2.
The processor 5˝ in Figure 3 also differs from the above embodiments of Figures 1 and 2 in that the gain adjustable anti-phase cross-feed is provided in a somewhat different form by the addition of summing network 70 located in the difference channel between networks 50 and 60 as illustrated, and the relocation of the G2 variable gain control indicated at 72. Variable gain control G2 indicated at 72 is disposed downstream of low pass filter 36 to boost the difference channel signal by an adjustable amount of low pass filtered difference signal at summing network 70. The variable gain G2 provided at 72 controls the amount of low pass filtered difference signal that is ultimately mixed back into the left and right main channels 10 and 11 by output summing and differencing network 60. The net effect is to provide an adjustable amount of anti-phase cross-feed between the main left and right channels as in the case of the G2 gain controls of the processors 5 and 5′ shown in Figures 1 and 2.
As described below in connection with the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in detail in Figures 4 and 5, the low pass filtered, quadrature shifted signal in side channel 12 of Figure 3, may alternatively be converted in phase and added back into either the sum channel or the difference channel at the output summing and differencing network 60.
Figures 4 and 5 depict block and schematic diagrams respectively of the preferred form of processor 5˝ introduced above in connection with the more generalized Figure 3 diagram. First, with reference to Figure 4, processor 5˝ preferably incorporates an A/B enhancement mode selection switch S1, and a low frequency contour switch S2. Switch S1 is a two pole, two position switch in which a first section, S1a, alternately connects the adjustable gain output of the side channel 12 at G1B to either the sum channel (at contact A) or the difference channel (at contact B). The contacts A and B of S1a are shown to be connected into in phase summing networks 60a1 and 60b1, respectively of the sum and difference channels delta (Δ) and sigma (Σ). In this embodiment, summing junction 60a1 and 60b1 are integrated into the summing and differencing network 60 and thus precede the summing and differencing junction 60a2 and 60b2 of network 60 as best shown in the more detailed schematic diagram of Figure 5, described below.
The enhancement gain signal of side channel 12 is, in this embodiment, varied in gain by one of a pair of ganged potentiometers indicated at 17 as G1B which receives the quadrature shifted enhancement signal from 90° phase shifting network 16a.
Ganged to the enhancement gain control potentiometer G1B is another potentiometer G1A indicated at 75 which is connected to switch pole S1b to provide an in phase boost to the signal in the difference channel when switch S1 is in the A enhancement mode position. It is observed that the signal passing through potentiometer control G1A at 75 is not phase shifted relative to the main sum and difference channels. Rather, it receives the difference signal either through low pass filter 36 or all pass filter 40 upstream of phase shifting network 16a. In the B enhancement mode position of switch S1, the switch section S1b terminates the G1A gain control at an unused contact B as indicated. Thus in the B enhancement mode, the G1A variable gain boost in the difference channel is inoperative.
The other control switch S2 of processor 5˝ as shown in Figure 4, allows the user to select either a low pass filtered or all pass difference signal, respectively at the LF and AP contacts as illustrated. Thus in the LF position of S2, the difference signal from the summing and differencing network 50 is limited to the frequency components, such as below 2 kilo Hz at low pass filter 36. This low pass filter difference signal is then communicated through switch S2 into summing network 80, the output of which is fed to the 90° phase shifting filter 16a.
In the AP position of switch S2, the 90° phase shift side channel difference signal is derived from the output of all pass filter 40 as indicated and thus the enhancement function is not in this case limited to the lower frequency components of the stereo signal.
As shown at the top of Figure 4, the sum and difference signals resulting from the summing and differencing network 50 are proportional to the sum and difference, respectively, of the stereo input components Li and Ri, by a factor of 1 divided by the square root of 2. The output stereo signal components Lo and Ro contain a certain amount of cross-feed from both channels as indicated by the relationship shown at the top of Figure 4 in which both the left and right outputs contain some signal components of both the sum and difference signal values Σo and Δo. These relationships hold true when the influence of the side channel enhancement is ignored or gain controls G1 and G2 are turned to 0 gain. The same relationships are know per se from the teachings of Allen Blumlein disclosed in British Patent 394,325, and are provided by the cascading of an input summing and differencing network 50 and an output summing and differencing network 60, without the additional summing input signals from side channel 12 at summing junction 60a1 and 60b1 provided by this invention. However, I have found that the enhancement effect provided by the quadrature shifted difference signal in side channel 12 when added back into the sum and difference signal paths as described herein, provide a unique interaction of effects that is not provided by the summing and differencing network 50 and 60 per se.
Now with regard to Figure 5, additional schematic detail is shown for the preferred embodiment of processor 5˝. Thus the summing portion of summing and differencing network 50 is shown to be provided by an amplifier A1 connected with input resistors R1 and R3 and a feedback resistor R2; and the differencing portion of network 50 is provided by amplifier A2 connected with input resistors R4 and R5 and a feedback resistor R6, wherein resistors R3 and R5 provide the necessary cross-channel feed to form the sum and difference signal outputs. Similarly, network 60 is shown to have a summing portion 60a including an amplifier A3, input resistors R7, R8 and R10 and a feedback resistor R9. The difference portion of network 60 is shown to be provided by an amplifier A4, input resistors R11, R12, R13 and R15 and a feedback resistor R14, all of which are connected in a manner well known per se to provide the relative summing and differencing functions described above in connection with the block diagram of network 60 in Figure 4.
Summing network 70 includes amplifier A5 connected with a feedback resistor R22 and input resistors R16, R17 and R18 for summing the input signals as described above and adding the results into the difference channel passing from the output of network 50 to the input of network 60. Finally, the summing network 80 is shown to be provided by an amplifier A6, feedback resistor R20 and input resistors R19 and R21 to sum the outputs from the S2 low frequency contour selection switch with a variable width gain output from potentiometer G2 at 72.

Operation of the Embodiment in Figures 4 and 5

The preferred embodiment shown as processor 5˝ in Figures 4 and 5 provide different modes of enhancement depending on the settings of G1, G2 and S1 and S2. In use, it is recommended that the processor be initially set with both the enhancement gain (G1A, G1B) and the width gain (G2) turned fully counterclockwise to a 0 gain positions. The low frequency contour switch S2 should be set in the all pass position and the A/B enhancement mode selection switch S1 is set in the B position.
Now, the enhancement gain is increased by rotating G1B toward a clockwise position. The enhancement is pleasing but difficult to describe; it seems to cause the image to have a spatial clarity in which a greater amount of the original signal information appears to be recovered. This is especially so of quickly decaying transients and harmonic partials. Reverberation returns sound more discrete and there is a greater sense of spatial positioning of the sound sources, i.e., the ability to discern where the pick-up microphones were located relative to the original performance. In some music, the all pass enhance mode may cause muddling of the sound in the upper bands. By switching the S2 to the LF contour position, the enhancement mode is limited to the low pass frequencies of 2 kilo Hz and below, thereby reducing the immediately above described effect.
When S1 is switched to the A mode and the enhancement gain is increased, the image may tend to noticeably narrow even though the other desirable effects of the enhancement are still present. To overcome this narrowing of the image, the ganged potentiometer control G1A adds variable in-phase gain boost (not shifted by phase shifter 16a) in the difference channel to even out the different effects. Also, the image widening effect of the G2 gain control can be used in either the A or B modes to compensate for image narrowing that may occur with the enhancement gain. The relative settings of the enhancement gain G1A, G1B and the width gain G2 will vary depending upon the music source and listener. Normally, best results are obtained by combining both the enhancement gain G1 with the width broadening gain G2.
The type B enhancement mode is particularly effective for use with headphones, but it is also useful for livening up recordings made with pick-ups having back-to-back cardioids gain patterns. In mode B, there tends to be a greater separation of the sound image in the middle of the stereo stage.
The mode selection switch S1 is also useful in setting processor 5˝ so as to be compatible with systems requiring stereo to monaural combining, such as for broadcast or recording purposes. By setting switch S1 to the A mode, processor 5˝ can be used when the outputs Lo and Ro are combined into a monaural signal. This operation, sometimes called mono-ing, is especially effective for certain types of encoded stereo signals such as Dolby (trademark).
Also, the processor is compatible with a monaural source signal applied jointly to the processor inputs. In such case, the enhancement does not effect the monaural signal because the differencing signal tends to drop to zero level. This effect can be very useful for certain broadcasting, record cutting and sound track recovery applications in which compatibility between stereo and monaural systems is required.
In general, the processor in accordance with the present invention is useful in a wide variety of audio recording, broadcasting and reproduction applications. It is particularly useful during the original recording of live performances in which the various sound tracks are mixed in a manner, such as by the use of "panpots" which tend to concentrate the original signal information in the dominant opposed phase regions of the phase circle. This can occur during mixing, sub-mixing and mastering processes. The invention is also useful for enhancing prerecorded stereo music, such as in the use of professional and consumer audio equipment for reproducing recorded sound or receiving broadcasts.

Description of Combined User Control Enhancer Shown in Figures 6 and 8

An alternative preferred embodiment of the stereo enhancer is shown in Figures 6 and 8 having a different topology and in which the quadrature shift difference and anti-phase cross-feed signal components are jointly varied by a single user control in accordance with a unique control law or algorithm. The consolidation of user controls into one combined variable eliminates inappropriate settings of the independent variables G1 (enhancement with subject stage narrowing) and G2 (stage widening) in the embodiments of Figures 1-5, reduces cost of manufacture, and increases reliability. This improved version is characterized by the following equations: $Lo = Li+A(Li-Ri)-jB(Li-Ri)$
$Ro = Ri-A(Li-Ri)-jB(Li-Ri)$
Lo and Ro are the complex output signals resulting from the application of the complex input signals Li and Ri. 'A' and 'B' are real positive gains and 'j' is the square root of -1. The term -j may be substituted for j throughout without affecting the desired operation of the circuit.
A circuit diagram corresponding to these equations is shown in Figure 6. The Li and Ri inputs are applied to all pass filters 75,77 in the main left and right channels and to a difference node 80 of the side channel which is followed by low pass filter 81. The main channels have summing and difference nodes 82 and 83 for providing in-phase and anti-phase cross-feed from control potentiometer 'A'respectively; and additional summing nodes 85 and 86 downstream of the filters 88 and 89 for adding the quad shifted difference component back into the left and right channels. The filters 88 and 89 provide a relative 0° effect on the main left and right signals compared to quadrature shifting filter 91 in the side channel. It will be seen that this enhancer is similar to Figure 1 (if the all-pass and low-pass filters are omitted) but with the anti-phase cross-talk paths via the gain controls G2 replaced with an (L-R) difference cross-talk path having a single gain control element 'A'. The gain control 'B' varies the level of quadrature shift difference in the side channel and is ganged to potentiometer 'A' for unitary use control.
With single gain control 'A' for anti-phase cross-feed, the circuit of Figure 6 allows a particularly advantageous relationship to be established between the gain controls 'A' and 'B' such that the number of user operable controls is consolidated into one while still retaining a wide range of enhancement effects.
To explain the desired mathematical relationship between controls 'A' and 'B', reference is made to the low-frequency sound localization theory explained by M. A. Gerzon in "Design of Ambisonic Decoders for Multispeaker Surround Sound" (presented at the 58th Audio Engineering Society Convention, New York, 4th November 1977).
Figure 7 shows the coordinate system used by Gerzon to explain this effect. 'L' and 'R' are a pair of loudspeakers radiating the stereo signal Lo,Ro. They are placed at angles +ϑs and -ϑs from the x axis respectively. ϑi denotes the azimuth of the perceived direction of a component of the image produced by the loudspeakers to a listener at the origin of the coordinates.
According to the Gerzon reference, if a component of the stereo signal is contained in the left and right signals with amplitude L and R respectively, then the image can be represented by two vectors x and y where: $x = real part of ([Lcosϑs+Rcosϑs]/[L+R])$
$y = real part of ([Lsinϑs-Rsinϑs]/[L+R]), and$

y/x = tanϑi,
where ϑi is the perceived direction (azimuth). So, by substitution: $tanϑi = tanϑs.real part of ([L-R]/[L+R])$
For instance, when L=1 and R=O, ϑi corresponds to the position of the left-hand loudspeaker, i.e., ϑi=ϑs.
When L=R, ϑi=0 and the image is midway between the speakers.
For the stereo enhancer of Figure 6, we now constrain 'A' relative to 'B' so that, at low frequencies, the azimuth ϑi of an image component at either of the extremities of the in-phase stereo stage (i.e., corresponding to the position of each of the loudspeakers), still reproduces from that location for all inked settings of 'A' relative to 'B'.
This constraint is achieved for the embodiment of Figures 6 and 8 by taking a signal representing an image in the left loudspeaker and substituting into (i) and (ii) to give: $Li = 1, Ri = 0$
$Lo = 1+A-jB$
$Ro = 0-A-jB$

substituting into (vi) gives $tanϑi = tanϑs([1+2A]/[1+4B²])$

When A=B=0, then the unenhanced signal results and ϑi= ϑs. Consequently, for ϑi=ϑs when A and B are not zero: $1+2A = 1+4B²$

or $A = 2B²$
This control law can be approximated over a range of values by the use of a linear law twin gang potentiometer, for example, as shown in Figure 8. The 'A' potentiometer section of the twin gang is followed by a fixed gain of 2X. The 'A' section control track is loaded so that, for example, midway the 'A' control function produces a gain of 1/4 when the 'B' potentiometer gain is 1/2.
Reference to equation (vi) shows that the angular width of the image (2xϑi) may be set wider than. the loudspeakers by making the bracketed quantity greater than unity. It is then still possible to find solutions for the ganging of 'A' and 'B' which will leave this image width unchanged. However, because the theory set forth above only applies for audio signals of about 1kHz and below, image smearing can result due to the narrower images at high frequencies. This is why the prescribed relationship of 'A' and 'B' determined above is advantageous.

Operation of the Single Control Enhancer of Figures 6 and 8

As the single user controlled ganged potentiometer 'A:B' is varied to add an increasing level of quad-shifted difference ('B'), a dependently controlled amount of low pass anti-phase cross-feed ('A') is injected into the left and right channels to maintain the width of the stereo stage. The dependent relationship of 'A' to 'B' substantially according to equation (xii) has been found to provide an optimum effect of enhancement without altering the subjective stage width of the stereo image.
While certain preferred and alternative embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be appreciated that numerous modifications and changes can be made to these embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the processors described above in connection with Figures 1-8 have been disclosed as analog circuits. It will be appreciated that the principles of differencing and quadrature phase shifting of the side channel signal can also be performed using digital processes operating on digitized stereo signal inputs. Thus the invention is also applicable to audio signal processing systems that are partly or wholly digitized.

Claims

A signal processor comprising a first main channel (10) having an input (Li) for receiving a first spatial component of an audio stereo signal, and a second main channel (11) having an input (Ri) for receiving a second spatial component of said stereo signal and a side channel (12) for producing an auxiliary signal, wherein said first main channel (10) has means (18) for combining a first main channel signal with said auxiliary signal to provide a modified first spatial component as the output of said first main channel and said second main channel (11) has means (20) for combining a second main channel signal with said auxiliary signal to provide a modified second spatial component as the output of said second main channel, and a signal differencing means (14) arranged in use to feed to said side channel a difference signal derived from said first and second main channels (10, 11); characterised by said side channel having phase shifting means (16) arranged in use to introduce a phase shift in the difference signal of 90° ± 30° relative to said first and second main channel signals to produce said auxiliary signal; and said means for combining (18, 20) adding the auxiliary signal to said first main channel signal and said second main channel signal respectively.
A processor according to claim 1 further comprising: low pass filter means (36) in said side channel means (12) for low pass filtering said difference signal.
A processor according to claim 2 wherein said low pass filter means (36) has an upper frequency limit of about 2 KHz.
A processor according to any preceding claim further comprising: means (18, 20, 30, 32) for cross-feeding opposed phase portions of the stereo component signals between said first and second main channels, (10, 11) whereby a stereo stage widening effect is introduced to compensate for image narrowing associated with said phase-shifted difference signal.
A processor according to any preceding claim wherein said side channel (12) further comprises: variable gain control (means (17) in said side channel for adjusting the amplitude of the phase-shifted difference signal.
A processor according to claim 4, further comprising: a first variable gain control (B) in said side channel (12) that is user adjustable so as to adjust the amplitude of the phase shifted difference signal; a second variable gain control (A) in said means for cross-feeding (82, 83) for adjusting the amount of the opposed phase portions of the stereo component signals that are cross-fed between said main channels; and control means for jointly controlling said second variable gain control by said first variable gain control so that the effects of said phase shifted difference signal and said cross-feeding of opposed phase portions of the stereo component signals are dependent on a single user control.
A processor according to claim 6, wherein said control means comprises means for jointly controlling said second variable gain control according to the control law relationship. $A = 2(B²)$
where B is the gain of said first variable gain control (B), and A is the gain of said second variable gain control (A).
A processor according to any preceding claim wherein said adding means for adding the phase-shifted difference signal comprises first and second summing means (18, 20) in said first and second main channels (10, 11) respectively, and in which the output of said side channel (12) is jointly fed into said first and second summing means so as to combine said phase-shifted difference signal into both of said first and second main channels prior to the outputs (Lo, Ro) thereof.
A processor according to any preceding claim wherein: said first and second main channels (10, 11) have an input sum and difference network means (50) and an output sum and difference network means (60) cascaded between said inputs and outputs (Li, Ri; Lo, Ro): said output sum and difference network means (60) is arranged to receive summed signal components (Σ) and difference signal components from said input sum and difference network means and to convert them into said modified stereo component signals at said outputs (Lo, Ro) of said first and second main channels; and wherein said signal differencing means (50b) for feeding said difference signal (A) to said side channel (12) is provided by said input sum and difference network means (50) at an output thereof art which said difference signal components are produced.
A signal processor comprising a first main channel (10) having an input (Li) for receiving a first spatial component of an audio stereo signal, and a second main channel (11) having an input (Ri) for receiving a second spatial component of said stereo signal and a side channel (12) for producing an auxiliary signal, wherein said first main channel (10) has means (18) for combining a first main channel signal with said auxiliary signal to provide a modified first spatial component as the output of said first main channel and said second main channel (11) has means (20) for combining a second main channel signal with said auxiliary signal to provide a modified second spatial component as the output of said second main channel and a signal differencing means (14) arranged in use to feed to said side channel a difference signal derived from said first and second main channels (10, 11); characterised by circuit means (82, 83) for cross-feeding anti-phase portions of the spatial components of the stereo signal between said first and second main channels; said side channel having phase shifting means (16) arranged in use to introduce a phase shift in the difference signal of 90° ± 30° relative to said first and second main channel signals to produce said auxiliary signal; a first user adjustable gain control (B) in said side channel for setting to adjust the amplitude of the quadrature shifted difference signal; a second user adjustable gain control (A) in said means for cross-feeding for setting the amount of the opposed phase portions of the stereo component signals that are cross-fed between said main channels; control means for jointly controlling said second variable gain control by said first available gain control so that the effects of said quadrature shifted difference signal and said cross-feeding of opposed phase portions of the stereo component signals are dependent on a signal user control, and said means for combining (85, 86) adding the auxiliary signal to said first main channel signal and said used second channel signal respectively.
A processor according to claim 10, wherein said control means comprises means for jointly controlling said second variable gain control (A) according to the control law relationship: $A = 2 (B²),$
where B is the gain of said first variable gain control (B), and A is the gain of said second variable gain control.
A processor for enhancing stereo images by processing the left and right spatial signal components of a stereo signal, the processor comprising first and second inputs (Li, Ri) for respectively receiving the left and right spatial signal components of a stereo signal, and first and second outputs (Lo, Ro) at which enhanced left and right stereo signal components are produced an input sum and difference network (50) receiving said first and second inputs and having a sum signal channel (Σ) in which a sum signal is produced representing the sum of the left and right spatial signal components, and a difference signal channel (Δ) in which a difference signal is produced representing the difference of the left and right signal components; an output sum and difference network (60) having a sum input connected to said sum signal channel (Σ) and having a difference input connected to said difference signal (Δ) channel, and having means providing said first and second outputs; characterised by a side channel (12) connected to receive said difference signal from said difference channel (Δ) said side channel having low pass filter means (36), quadrature phase shifting means (16a) for shifting the phase of the signal by 90° ± 30° in the side channel in quadrature relative to the sum and difference signals and manually controllable gain adjusting means (G1B, G2) for adjusting the gain of the signal in said side channel (12) prior to an output thereof; combining means (S1a, 60a1, 60b1) for adding the output of said side channel (12) with either the sum signal channel (Σ) or difference signal channel (Δ) prior to said output sum and difference network.
A processor according to claim 12 wherein said combining means comprises switching means (S1a) for selectively switching the output of said side channel (12) so as to be selectively combined with either the sum signal or the difference signal.
A processor according to claim 12 or claim 13 further comprising: switching circuit means (S2) for selectively connecting the phase shifting means (16a) of the side channel (12) so as to selectively bypass said low pass filter means (36).
A processor according to claim 13 or claim 14 further comprising: circuit means (G1A) for selectively providing a variable gain in phase boost to the difference signal channel (Δ) when said combining means (S1a, 60a1, 60b1) combines the output of said side channel (12) with the sum signal.
A processor according to claim 15 further comprises phase compensation circuit means (16b, 16c) connected to pass the sum and difference signals between said input and output summing and differencing networks (50, 60) so as to maintain the quadrature phase shift of the low pass filtered components of the signal at the output of said side channel (12) relative to said sum and difference signals independently of change in frequency.