Systems and methods of spatial audio playback with enhanced immersiveness
AssigneeSonos, Inc.
InventorPaul MacLean
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of playing back audio content with improved immersiveness can include receiving, at a playback device, audio input including vertical content having a high-frequency portion and a low-frequency portion. The playback device can face along a first sound axis and comprise an up-firing transducer configured to direct sound along a second sound axis that is vertically angled with respect to the primary sound axis and a side-firing transducer or array configured to direct sound along a third axis that is horizontally angled with respect to the first sound axis. The low-frequency portion of the vertical content can be played back via the side-firing transducer or array, while the high-frequency portion of the vertical content can be played back via the up-firing transducer.
Claims20
A media playback system, comprising:
- a first playback device comprising a first side-firing transducer or array configured to output sound along a first sound axis;
- a second playback device comprising a second side-firing transducer or array configured to output sound along a second sound axis;
- one or more processors;
- and
- data storage storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the media playback system to perform operations comprising:
- receiving multichannel audio content comprising (i) first vertical content having a first high-frequency portion and a first low-frequency portion, and (ii) second vertical content having a second high-frequency portion and a second low-frequency portion;
- and
- synchronously playing back the first low-frequency portion of the first vertical content via the first side-firing transducer or array and playing back the second low-frequency portion of the second vertical content via the second side-firing transducer or array.
A first playback device, comprising:
- a first side-firing transducer or array configured to output sound along a first sound axis;
- one or more processors;
- and
- data storage storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the first playback device to perform operations comprising:
- receiving multichannel audio content comprising first vertical content having a first high-frequency portion and a first low-frequency portion;
- and
- playing back, via the first playback device, the first low-frequency portion of the first vertical content via the first side-firing transducer or array, while a second playback device synchronously plays back a second high-frequency portion of second vertical content via a second side-firing transducer or array of the second playback device.
One or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a first playback device, cause the first playback device to perform operations comprising:
- receiving multichannel audio content comprising first vertical content having a first high-frequency portion and a first low-frequency portion;
- and
- playing back, via the first playback device, the first low-frequency portion of the first vertical content via a first side-firing transducer or array of the first playback device, while a second playback device synchronously plays back a second high-frequency portion of second vertical content via a second side-firing transducer or array of the second playback device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.