A speaker array on the boundary can synthesize and preserve a recorded sound field

Evidence

As a conventional loudspeaker radiates spherical waves at wavelengths that are large compared to its size, this naturally suggests the possibility of synthesizing an arbitrary sound field using a large number of speakers in an array, as shown in Figure 7.12. If one can accurately produce the desired sound field using an array of speakers on the boundary of the reproduction area, the directional characteristics of the recorded sources and environment will be preserved. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2236

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains wave-field synthesis: array-generated spherical waves reproduce a target field, preserving directional cues.