Provided are methods and apparatus for enhancing a signal-to-noise ratio. In an example, provided is an apparatus configured to modify audio to better match the way the human brain processes audio by modifying the audio to a form which takes advantage of human echolocation capabilities. When humans listen to audio, they subconsciously listen for an echo and thus subconsciously focus on listening to, and for, meaningful information in audio. The focus causes humans to ignore noise in the audio, which results in enhancing a signal-to-noise ratio.

Provided is an information processing device that controls and presents sound information in an appropriate form to a user who acts in an environment on the basis of situation recognition including recognition of the environment and recognition of the actions of the user. The information processing device includes: a sensor that detects an object; an open ear style earpiece that is worn on an ear of a listener, and includes an acoustics generation unit, and a sound guide portion that transmits a sound generated by the acoustics generation unit into an earhole; and a processing unit that processes sound information of a sound source, the sound information being generated by the acoustics generation unit, the processing unit acquiring the sound information of the sound source corresponding to the object detected by the sensor, and a process of localizing a sound image of the acquired sound source while varying a position of the sound image in accordance with a position in a three-dimensional acoustic space, the position in the three-dimensional acoustic space corresponding to a position of the detected object.

A right expected value generator generates an expected value of a right channel spectrum from the right channel spectrum. Further, a left expected value generator generates an expected value of a left channel spectrum from the left channel spectrum. Further, a right channel spectrum corrector so corrects a right channel spectrum outputted from a second synthesizer that the right channel spectrum does not exceed the expected value of the right channel spectrum. Moreover, a left channel spectrum corrector so corrects a left channel spectrum outputted from the second synthesizer that the left channel spectrum does not exceed the expected value of the left channel spectrum.

A novel system and method for spatial sound generation is disclosed. A system and method for generating bodiless mid-air speakers includes the steps of: generating a modulated signal by modulating an ultrasonic carrier signal with an audio signal, determining a phase delay value for each ultrasonic transducer of an array of ultrasonic transducers with respect to one or more focal points, and driving each such ultrasonic transducer with the modulated signal in accordance with the phase delay value determined for each ultrasonic transducer to generate audible sound at the one or more focal points.

A sound signal processing device includes: a vocal remover which generates a first output signal based on first-channel and second-channel sound signals and a first coefficient indicating a vocal bandwidth to be removed; a surround sound processor which generates a second output signal by adding a surround sound effect to the first output signal; an amplifier which amplifies a signal at an amplification factor that is based on a second coefficient; a synthesizer which synthesizes the second output signal with one of the first-channel and second-channel sound signals, and synthesizes a signal that is the second output signal inverted with another one of the first-channel and second-channel sound signals; and a coefficient determination unit which sets the second coefficient such that the amplification factor, used when the vocal bandwidth to be removed is greater than a first bandwidth, is greater than the amplification factor for the first bandwidth.

A tinnitus masking system for use by a person having tinnitus The system comprises a sound delivery system having left and right ear-level audio delivery devices and is configured to deliver a masking sound to the person via the audio delivery devices such that the masking sound appears to originate from a virtual sound source location that substantially corresponds to the spatial location in 3D auditory space of the source of the tinnitus as perceived by the person. The masking sound being represented by left and right audio signals that are converted to audible sound by the respective audio delivery devices.

Method and apparatus reproduce a stereophonic sound. The method includes obtaining sound depth information which denotes a distance between at least one object within a sound signal and a reference position, and providing sound perspective to the sound object output from a speaker, based on the sound depth information.

Systems are disclosed including a television (TV) set having included audio system. The TV set permits control over various functions, at least including audio volume, via a remote control. When the viewer activates the remote volume control, a graphic appears indicating the state of the volume control and, optionally the mute status. The graphic can be presented on the TV screen. In alternate embodiments, the graphic may be presented on a display of the remote, or even some other location, e.g., a different remote control. If a mute button is provided on the remote control, when the viewer activates the mute button, a graphic appears indicating the state of muting and, optionally, the volume control status. The TV set also offers control over various aspects of the audio system, including settings which go beyond volume up/down, generally through some sort of menu system.

Example embodiments disclosed herein relate to orientation-aware surround sound playback. A method for processing audio on an electronic device that includes a plurality of loudspeakers is disclosed, the loudspeakers arranged in more than one dimension of the electronic device. The method includes, responsive to receipt of a plurality of received audio streams, generating a rendering component associated with the plurality of received audio streams, determining an orientation dependent component of the rendering component, processing the rendering component by updating the orientation dependent component according to an orientation of the loudspeakers and dispatching the received audio streams to the plurality of loudspeakers for playback based on the processed rendering component. Corresponding system and computer program products are also disclosed.

A sound processing apparatus includes a processing unit that is configured to acquire an audio signal, perform a correction processing on the acquired audio signal and output the correction-processed audio signal to a sound emitting unit. The correction processing includes an indirect sound adjusting processing in which a given signal processing is performed on an audio signal so as to adjust an influence of an indirect sound to be heard at a sound receiving point, and a frequency characteristic adjusting processing in which a frequency characteristic of an audio signal is adjusted. In the correction processing, a frequency characteristic for the frequency characteristic adjusting processing is determined based on a frequency characteristic of the indirect sound adjusting processing.