Enhancing acoustic contrast in multi-zone sound field reproduction through optimization of loudspeaker arrangements

In this study, we propose a stepwise-based approach, predefined in descending order of source power, to optimize loudspeaker placement in multi-zone sound field reproduction systems. The aim is to enhance the acoustic contrast (AC) between acoustically bright and dark zones. The proposed method is benchmarked against two previously studied approaches: the Genetic Algorithm (GA) and the Greedy-based approach. Numerical simulations are conducted to evaluate and compare the performance of each method. Results demonstrate that the proposed method surpasses the Greedy-based approach in terms of AC, while offering performance comparable to the GA-based approach. Importantly, the proposed method exhibits lower computational complexity than the GA, suggesting a more practical solution for real-world applications.