Apparatus and method for sound stage enhancement

A computing device for processing an audio signal, comprising:

• one or more processors;
• memory;
• and
• a plurality of program modules stored in the memory and to be executed by the one or more processors, wherein the plurality of program modules, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to perform a plurality of steps including:
• receiving a digital stereo audio input signal;
• extracting localization cues from the digital stereo audio input signal;
• generating a left-side component and a right-side component from the digital stereo audio input signal, at least partially, in accordance with the localization cues, wherein generating the left-side component and the right-side component from the digital stereo audio input signal further includes:
• extracting a middle component, an initial left-side component and an initial right-side component from the digital stereo audio input signal;
• panning the middle component into the initial left-side component and the initial right-side component, respectively, in accordance with the localization cues to obtain an intermediate left-side component and an intermediate right-side component;
• and
• upmixing a first copy of the middle component with the intermediate left-side component and a second copy of the middle component with the intermediate right-side component, respectively, to obtain the left-side component and the right-side component, wherein there is a predefined time interval between the first and second copies of the middle component;
• performing crosstalk cancellation to the left-side component and the right-side component, respectively, to obtain a crosstalk-cancelled left-side component and a crosstalk-cancelled right-side component;
• and
• generating a digital stereo audio output signal including the crosstalk-cancelled left-side component and the crosstalk-cancelled right-side component.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program product in connection with a computing device having one or more processors for processing an audio signal, the computer program product including a plurality of program modules that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to perform a plurality of steps including:

• receiving a digital stereo audio input signal;
• extracting localization cues from the digital stereo audio input signal;
• generating a left-side component and a right-side component from the digital stereo audio input signal, at least partially, in accordance with the localization cues, wherein generating the left-side component and the right-side component from the digital stereo audio input signal further includes:
• extracting a middle component, an initial left-side component and an initial right-side component from the digital stereo audio input signal;
• panning the middle component into the initial left-side component and the initial right-side component, respectively, in accordance with the localization cues to obtain an intermediate left-side component and an intermediate right-side component;
• and
• upmixing a first copy of the middle component with the intermediate left-side component and a second copy of the middle component with the intermediate right-side component, respectively, to obtain the left-side component and the right-side component, wherein there is a predefined time interval between the first and second copies of the middle component;
• performing crosstalk cancellation to the left-side component and the right-side component, respectively, to obtain a crosstalk-cancelled left-side component and a crosstalk-cancelled right-side component;
• and
• generating a digital stereo audio output signal including the crosstalk-cancelled left-side component and the crosstalk-cancelled right-side component.