Trends and Perspectives for Signal Processing in Consumer Audio

TL;DR

This paper discusses recent trends in consumer audio, highlighting technological advances and challenges in portable, home, and smart audio systems driven by evolving media consumption habits.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of current challenges and opportunities in signal processing for consumer audio devices and environments.

Findings

Growth in portable and wireless audio devices

Emergence of advanced spatial audio technologies

Challenges in voice interaction and smart device integration

Abstract

The trend in media consumption towards streaming and portability offers new challenges and opportunities for signal processing in audio and acoustics. The most significant embodiment of this trend is that most music consumption now happens on-the-go which has recently led to an explosion in headphone sales and small portable speakers. In particular, premium headphones offer a gateway for a younger generation to experience high quality sound. Additionally, through technologies incorporating head-related transfer functions headphones can also offer unique new experiences in gaming, augmented reality, and surround sound listening. Home audio has also seen a transition to smaller sound systems in the form of sound bars. This speaker configuration offers many exciting challenges for surround sound reproduction which has traditionally used five speakers surrounding the listener. Furthermore, modern home entertainment systems offer more than just content delivery; users now expect wireless and connected smart devices with video conferencing, gaming, and other interactive capabilities. With this comes challenges for voice interaction at a distance and in demanding conditions, e.g., during content playback, and opportunities for new smart interactive experiences based on awareness of environment and user biometrics.