Virtual bass for home entertainment, multimedia PC, game station and portable audio systems

Abstract

In digital audio playback systems for home entertainment, multimedia PC, game station and portable audio devices, there is a strong demand to produce deep bass using small multimedia speakers and earphones, without the need for additional subwoofer or expensive speakers/earphones. This paper describes a technique in synthesizing psycho-acoustic bass over a pair of stereo speakers using the pitch perception theory. This new method of creating a bass effect for the musical signal has been found to be very effective and simple in implementation, without increasing significant cost in many modern digital audio systems. A subjective evaluation is also being performed to validate the virtual bass implementation.