Surround sound rendering based on room acoustics

An audio system comprising:

• a first loudspeaker that has a first beamforming array of two or more drivers;
• a second loudspeaker that has a second beamforming array of two or more drivers, wherein both loudspeakers are located within a room;
• a processor;
• and
• memory having instructions stored therein which when executed causes the audio system to
• obtain a sound program as a plurality of input audio channels;
• perform a beamforming algorithm based on the plurality of input audio channels to cause each of the first and second beamforming arrays to produce a front beam pattern and a side beam pattern when the loudspeakers are at a first distance away from an object, wherein the front beam patterns are directed away from the object and the side beam patterns that is directed towards the object, wherein the side and front beam patterns contain different portions of the sound program;
• and
• perform a cross-talk cancellation (XTC) algorithm based on a subset of the plurality of input audio channels to produce a plurality of XTC output signals for driving at least some of the drivers of the first and second beamforming arrays when the loudspeakers are at a second distance away from the object, the second distance being further away from the object than the first distance.

A signal processing method performed by a programmed processor of an audio system within a room that includes a loudspeaker that has a beamforming array of two or more drivers, the method comprising:

• obtaining three or more input audio channels of a sound program;
• determining whether the loudspeaker is within a threshold distance of an object;
• in response to determining that the loudspeaker is within the threshold distance,
• producing, using the beamforming array, a first directional beam pattern that is directed away from the object and a second directional beam pattern that is directed towards the object, wherein the first and second directional beam patterns contain different portions of the sound program;
• and
• in response to determining that the loudspeaker is not within the threshold distance,
• performing a cross-talk cancellation (XTC) algorithm based on a subset of the three or more input audio channels to produce a plurality of XTC output signals, and
• driving the two or more drivers of the beamforming array with the plurality of XTC output signals.