Loudspeaker-room interactions remain the weak link in audio reproduction chains

Evidence

Digital signal processing in particular has improved the price/quality ratio of audio recording and playback compared to analogue techniques, practically replacing them. Analogue electronic components, such as amplifiers, can also be made practically perfect. However, some electroacoustic components of the audio reproduction chain, especially loudspeakers and their connection to room acoustics, are more problematic. Headphone reproduction is also not straightforward if a very accurate sound field inside the ear canal is desired. These issues motivate the use of signal processing to enhance the responses of audio devices. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 464

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s steady interest in acoustic engineering as applied communications, and the ‘one square inch of silence’ listening-work on how reproduction systems interact with physical rooms.