JPH04341000A - Acoustic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the acoustic device which enables a user to determine a proper combination of a sound field and frequency characteristics and set the sound field and frequency characteristics through easy operation after the combination determination as to an acoustic device equipped with both a sound field control function and a frequency characteristic adjusting function. CONSTITUTION:The acoustic device equipped with a sound field control means 1 which generates an effect sound signal according to a selected effect sound pattern, a effect sound pattern storage means 2 stored with plural effect sound patterns, a frequency characteristic adjusting means 3 which varies the frequency characteristics according to the selected frequency pattern, and a frequency pattern storage means 4 stored with plural frequency patterns is equipped with an effect sound and frequency correspondence information storage means 5 which makes the effect sound patterns and frequency patterns optionally correspond to each other.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION The present invention relates to an acoustic device, and in particular, a sound field control function for generating and outputting a sound effect signal corresponding to reflected sound, and a function for changing the frequency characteristics of the acoustic signal.
For example, the present invention relates to an audio device having both a graphic equalizer function and a graphic equalizer function.

0002

[Prior Art] When listening to a performance in a concert hall, etc.
In addition to the sound generated by musical instruments, we also hear the reflected sound reflected from the surrounding environment, and this reflected sound determines the characteristics of the sound at the performance venue. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing temporal changes in sound detected at a certain listening point when sound is generated on a stage in a concert hall. As shown in Figure 10, the sound detected at the listening point is divided into direct sound that comes directly from the stage and reflected sound that is reflected from the surroundings. It can be divided into early reflected sound, which is the reflected sound of the sound, and reverberant sound, which is reflected many times and comes from all directions and gradually attenuates. The sound state formed by such direct sound and reflected sound is called a sound field.

[0003] A device called a sound field control device is in practical use, which reproduces sound equivalent to that heard in a concert hall using an audio system and reproduces a realistic sound field. The basic configuration of the sound field control device is as shown in FIG. 11, and an acoustic signal source 101 records an acoustic signal corresponding to a direct sound. The sound field selected by the user using the sound field selection switch 105 is set to the listening point 107.
The sound effect generator 102 generates signals corresponding to early reflected sounds and reverberant sounds from the acoustic signal, and outputs the signals including signals corresponding to direct sounds from the corresponding speakers 104 so as to reproduce the sound. The initial reflected sound and reverberant sound generated by the sound field control device are collectively referred to as sound effects.

The sound effect generation unit 102 stores sound effect patterns such as the one shown in FIG. 10 for famous concert halls, churches, chamber music rooms, jazz clubs, etc., as well as artificially determined patterns. A sound effect signal is generated according to a sound effect pattern selected by the user according to the music or the room in which the music is listened to, thereby reproducing a desired sound field. Additionally, the user is generally able to adjust the sound effect signal generation pattern to match the music or room, and the adjusted state can be stored and reproduced by simply operating a switch.

[0005] As described above, sound field control is for reproducing reverberant sounds, but it has also been conventionally practiced to adjust the frequency characteristics of acoustic signals in accordance with the music or listening room. The original purpose was to adjust the characteristics of the audio equipment itself to obtain a uniform frequency response, but now the bass and treble gains can be adjusted as desired to suit the listening room and music. This allows users to obtain sounds that suit their tastes. A typical example of such a device is a graphic equalizer, which divides the audio signal range into multiple bands and allows the gain of each band to be adjusted independently. FIG. 13 shows an example of a filter that constitutes a graphic equalizer.

FIG. 13(a) shows that filters F1 to F5 are connected in series, and each filter has the characteristics shown in FIG. 13(b). Desired frequency characteristics can be obtained by adjusting the filters F1 to F5, respectively. In many cases, the center frequency of each filter increases by a factor of two called an octave band, and as the number of filters increases, the resolution in the bass and treble ranges improves.

Devices that change the frequency characteristics of acoustic signals include, in addition to graphic equalizers, parametric equalizers that can vary the characteristics of each filter, bass treble control devices, and electronic volume control devices that change the audio range from low to midrange. There is a device in practical use that can divide the sound into a sound range and a treble range, and select whether or not to enhance each sound range by a predetermined amount. A device that changes frequency characteristics is generally often called a tone adjuster.

[0008] Up until now, the sound field control device and the frequency characteristic adjustment device have been commercially available as separate devices and have generally been used in series. Whether to use the sound field control device or the frequency characteristic adjustment device first depends on the method of use. Most sound field control devices use a digital signal processor (hereinafter referred to as DSP) because it is necessary to generate complex sound effects, and frequency characteristic adjustment devices often use analog circuits or electronic volume. However, in recent years, devices that perform digital processing using DSP have also come into use.

[0009] Therefore, some devices using DSP are equipped with a sound field control function and a frequency characteristic adjustment function in the same device. In such devices, the selection and adjustment of the sound field and frequency characteristics are performed separately and independently, as in conventional devices, or
There is a fixed correspondence between a specific sound field and frequency characteristics, and when a sound field is selected, the frequency characteristics are automatically determined.

0010

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] When using a sound field control device and a frequency characteristic adjustment device, the sound field control and frequency characteristics may vary depending on the characteristics of the listening room, the content of the music, and even the user's preference. It is desirable that it can be adjusted freely and independently. In the case of sound field control, the sound effect generation pattern is complex and adjustment is not easy, so an appropriate sound field is often selected from multiple types of sound fields stored in the device in advance, but even in that case, the frequency characteristics It is desirable to adjust or select an appropriate frequency characteristic pattern depending on the music and listening room.

[0011] However, when such an acoustic device is used, the room in which it is used is almost always fixed, and in reality, the room in which it is used does not often change. In addition, the number of people who listen to music using this device is mostly fixed, and the types and tastes of music are often limited to some extent. Therefore, the types of desired sound fields are limited, and the desired frequency characteristics for each sound field are also almost fixed.

However, in the current device, each time a sound field is selected, it is necessary to select a desired frequency characteristic according to that sound field, or to adjust it so that the desired frequency characteristic is achieved.
Operation is complicated. Especially when there are many types of sound field and frequency characteristics to choose from, it is difficult to select and selecting an inappropriate one may result in the need to change the settings midway through, which may spoil the atmosphere in which the music is listened to.

The acoustic device of the present invention has been developed in view of the above problems, and although it is possible to optimize the sound field and frequency characteristics, once the optimal ones are obtained, , the purpose is to enable the desired sound field and frequency characteristics to be set simultaneously with simple operations.

[0014]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the acoustic device of the present invention is provided with means for storing sound fields and frequency characteristics in association with each other. FIG. 1 shows the basic configuration of the audio device of the present invention. That is, the acoustic device of the present invention includes a sound field control means 1 that generates a sound effect signal corresponding to a reverberation sound from an acoustic signal according to a selected sound effect pattern of a sound field, and a sound effect pattern memory that stores a plurality of sound effect patterns. Means 2,
An acoustic device comprising a frequency characteristic adjustment means 3 for changing the frequency characteristic of an acoustic signal according to a selected frequency pattern, and a frequency pattern storage means 4 for storing a plurality of frequency patterns, and in which a sound field and a frequency characteristic can each be set arbitrarily. The sound effect pattern storage means 5 is provided with a sound effect frequency correspondence information storage means 5 capable of arbitrarily associating the sound effect pattern stored in the sound effect pattern storage means 2 with the frequency pattern stored in the frequency pattern storage means 4. , the desired sound field and frequency characteristics are both automatically set by selecting either the frequency pattern or the corresponding information.

[0015]

[Operation] By selecting a sound effect pattern stored in the sound effect pattern storage means 2, a desired sound field is reproduced. The sound effect pattern stored in the sound effect pattern storage means 2 may be a pattern that imitates a famous performance venue predetermined by the device, or a pattern independently adjusted by the user. Similarly, regarding the frequency characteristics, a desired frequency pattern can be obtained by selecting a frequency pattern stored in the frequency pattern storage means 4. Then, by determining a combination of a desired sound field and frequency characteristics and storing it in the sound effect frequency correspondence information storage means 5, by selecting one or the correspondence relationship between the sound field and frequency characteristics, a desired sound field and frequency can be obtained. Characteristics are automatically set, making operation easier.

[0016]

[Embodiment] First, a brief explanation will be given of how to generate a sound effect signal for forming a sound field and change the frequency characteristics. As mentioned above, the generation of sound effect signals is often performed by digital processing using a DSP, and the adjustment of frequency characteristics can also be performed by digital processing in many cases, so an embodiment using digital processing will be described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an audio device that digitally generates sound effects and adjusts frequency characteristics. Reference numeral 11 denotes an acoustic signal source, which is shown here as an analog signal source, but becomes a digital signal when the medium is a CD or the like. 12 is an analog-to-digital converter, which is not necessary when the acoustic signal source 11 is a digital signal. 13
is a DSP and forms a digital filter to generate a sound effect signal. 14 is a digital-to-analog converter, in which the sound effect signal is converted into an analog signal. After that, the mixer/amplifier 15 mixes the direct sound signal and the sound effect signal so as to correspond to the speaker system 16,
Thereafter, the signal is amplified and output from the corresponding speaker 16.

17 is a microprocessor, 18 is a ROM, and 19 is a RAM. These constitute a microcomputer. Reference numeral 20 denotes a switch, and input is performed using the switch 20 while checking the type of sound field, frequency characteristics, etc. displayed on the display section 21. In reality, both reading and displaying of the switch is done through the input/output port.

The DSP 13 can configure a digital filter by being programmed by a microcomputer. FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of a digital filter for generating sound effect signals. (a) is a finite impulse filter for generating an early reflected sound signal, and (b) is an infinite impulse filter for generating a reverberant sound signal, and each amplifier (attenuator)
A filter with desired characteristics can be constructed by setting the delay amount and delay amount using a microcomputer.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a digital filter for a graphic equalizer that changes frequency characteristics. (a
) is the overall configuration of the filter, in which filters F1 to F5 are connected in series, and each filter is an octave band bandpass filter. The configuration of each filter is (
As shown in b), a desired bandpass filter can be obtained by setting the coefficients and delay amount of the amplifier, and by changing the coefficients, the gain can also be changed.

[0021] The coefficients of the digital filter shown in Fig. 3 are used to reproduce the sound field of famous concert halls, etc., and the basic frequency characteristics that are generally considered to be appropriate depending on the type of music are reproduced. A plurality of types of coefficients of the filter shown in FIG. 4 are stored in the ROM 18. Then, the user independently sets the desired sound field and frequency characteristics using the switch 2.
It is possible to select by operating 0. In addition, not only the sound field and frequency characteristics fixed in advance, but also information for reproducing the sound field and frequency characteristics freely set by the user can be stored in association with the switch 20. In this case, it is necessary that these pieces of information be writable and preserved even after the power is turned off, so a part of the RAM 19 should be configured as an EEPROM or backed up by a battery. Information that associates sound fields with frequency characteristics, which will be described later, is also stored in a similar format.

[0022] The above is an example of realizing both the sound field and the frequency characteristics by digital signal processing, but in digital signal processing, many filters can be formed by simply changing the coefficients of each digital filter. The sound field and frequency characteristics can be realized, and users can adjust them to suit their preferences. However, there are times when cost issues or analog processing characteristics are required. In that case, since it is actually difficult to reproduce the sound field using analog processing, it is conceivable to perform only the frequency characteristics using analog processing. However, even in this case, it is necessary to memorize the frequency characteristic pattern and be able to reproduce that pattern.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, the voice range is divided into low, middle, and high ranges, and a plurality of types of frequency patterns can be obtained depending on whether or not each range is enhanced. It is generally said that the range to be emphasized differs depending on the music. For example, in Figure 5, A is for jazz music, B is for rock music, C is for pop music, D is for classical music, and E is for vocal music. Each is suitable for

The simplest method to achieve the frequency characteristics shown in FIG. 5 is to use an electronic volume IC, but another well-known method is to use something called a bass treble control circuit. There is a way. This uses a switch to select whether to increase the gain in the bass and treble ranges, and sometimes a mid control is added to allow control of the midrange as well. The circuit shown in FIG. 6 is an example of such a circuit, where 66 is a high frequency equalizing circuit and 67 is a low frequency equalizing circuit. The input/output port 61 of the microcomputer determines whether each circuit 66 and 67 is activated.
The desired frequency characteristics are obtained by controlling the switches 62 to 65 via the . Control signals for each switch according to frequency characteristics are stored in the microcomputer.

The above is a description of the part that realizes the desired sound field and frequency characteristics. Next, how to associate the sound field and frequency characteristics will be explained. The information that associates the sound field with the frequency characteristics can be set arbitrarily by the user and needs to be saved even after the power is turned off.
A method such as using EEPROM for a part of the memory is used. All processing related to the correspondence information is performed by a microcomputer. FIG. 7 shows an example of the correspondence relationship in the memory between data for reproducing a sound field pattern and data for reproducing a frequency pattern. Data necessary to reproduce each sound field is stored at a predetermined address for each type of sound field. The data in this case may be any data as long as it can reproduce the sound field, but in FIG. 7, the coefficients of the digital filter shown in FIG. 3 are used. Here, the sound field previously stored in the acoustic device is stored in the ROM 18 in FIG. In addition to this, there are other settings that can be adjusted and set by the user as desired, and these are stored at predetermined addresses in non-volatile RAM. Regarding the frequency characteristics, data necessary for setting the frequency characteristics is similarly stored in the frequency pattern memory.

Here, for each type of sound field, a corresponding memory is secured at a predetermined address of the non-volatile RAM in which data indicating the frequency characteristics associated with each sound field can be stored. The user can arbitrarily set data indicating frequency characteristics in this correspondence memory, and when a sound field is selected, the frequency characteristics stored in the correspondence memory for that sound field are automatically set. However, you can freely change the frequency characteristics by selecting or adjusting the frequency characteristics after selecting the sound field.

Next, an example of the association processing in the correspondence memory of FIG. 7 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. (a) is a case where the user independently sets the sound field, and in step 101 the user independently makes adjustments to obtain the desired sound field, and changes each coefficient of the digital filter etc. accordingly. . In step 102, it is determined whether the mode is user sound field setting mode. If it is not the user sound field setting mode, the user sound field is not set and the process moves on to other processing. If it is in the user sound field setting mode, wait until any user sound field selection switch is input, and after that input, in step 104, the sound field at that time is reproduced in the memory of that user sound field selection switch. Store the data for and exit. The same applies when the user independently sets the frequency characteristics.

(b) is the process of associating the sound field with the frequency characteristics, in step 111 it is determined whether the mode is in association mode, and if it is in the association mode, in step 112 a message is displayed to input the sound field selection switch. do. Then, in step 113, the system waits until the sound field selection switch is input, and when it is input, a message is displayed to input the frequency characteristics in step 114, and in step 115, the system waits until the input is made. When input, the input frequency characteristics are stored in the memory corresponding to the input sound field, and the process ends.

In the above description, the sound field is centered and the frequency characteristics are associated with it, but the sound field may be associated with the frequency characteristics in the opposite manner. Further, the selection switch may be associated with a sound field and a frequency characteristic, and the memory configuration in this case is shown in FIG. Here, each selection switch has a memory that stores data regarding the sound field and frequency characteristics, and by selecting the switch, the sound field and frequency characteristics stored therein are reproduced.

In order to associate the sound field and frequency characteristics with each switch, the sound field and frequency characteristics are brought into desired states. This may be stored in advance in the device or may be adjusted independently by the user. Then, if you press the switch you want to associate with the corresponding memory in setting mode, the data on the sound field and frequency characteristics at that time will be stored in the memory of that switch. Then cancel the corresponding memory setting mode.

Although the process for associating sound fields and frequency characteristics has been described above, basically any process may be used as long as the user can make the associations as desired.

[0032]

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize an acoustic device in which the sound field and the frequency characteristics can be adjusted independently, and the sound field and the frequency characteristics can be easily set at the same time once a desired combination is determined.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the basic configuration of an audio device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment in which sound effect generation and frequency characteristic adjustment are performed digitally.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a digital filter for generating sound effects.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a digital filter for a graphic equalizer.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of frequency characteristics for each tone mode.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an analog circuit for switching frequency characteristics.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a memory configuration that corresponds to a sound field and frequency characteristics.

8 is a diagram illustrating an example of association processing in the correspondence memory of FIG. 7; FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a memory configuration that corresponds to a sound field and frequency characteristics.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of changes in sound in a sound field due to echo sounds.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the basic configuration of a sound field control device.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a filter configuring a graphic equalizer.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Sound field control means 2...Sound effect pattern storage means 3...Frequency characteristic adjustment means 4...Frequency pattern storage means 5...Sound effect frequency correspondence information storage means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sound field control means (1) for generating a sound effect signal corresponding to a reverberating sound from an acoustic signal according to a sound effect pattern of a selected sound field; a sound effect pattern memory for storing a plurality of said sound effect patterns; means (2) comprising: frequency characteristic adjustment means (3) for changing the frequency characteristics of the acoustic signal according to the selected frequency pattern; and frequency pattern storage means (4) for storing a plurality of said frequency patterns;
In an acoustic device in which the sound field and frequency characteristics can be set arbitrarily, the sound effect pattern stored in the sound effect pattern storage means (2) and the frequency pattern storage means (4)
sound effect frequency correspondence information storage means (5) capable of arbitrarily associating frequency patterns stored in and a frequency characteristic are both automatically set.