A hybrid method for creating auralizations of vibroacoustic systems

A hybrid method for creating a unified broadband acoustic response from separate low-frequency and high-frequency simulation responses is proposed. This hybrid method is ideal for creating simple auralizable approximations of complex acoustic systems. The process consists of four steps: 1) creating separate low- frequency and high-frequency responses of the system of interest, 2) interpolating between the two responses to get a single broadband magnitude response, 3) introducing amplitude modulation to the high-frequency portion of the response, and 4) calculating approximate phase information. Once the appropriate frequency response is obtained, an inverse fast Fourier transform is applied to obtain an impulse response. An experimental setup of an acoustic cavity with one flexible wall is used to validate the hybrid method. The simulated and measured impulse responses are both convolved with various excitation signals, so the validity of the approach could be assessed by listening. Listening tests confirm that the method is able to produce realistic auralizations. The degree of realism is subject to a few limitations, such as pitch differences and dependence on the presence of transients in the excitation signal, but these limitations are incidental and only indirectly related to the proposed method.