Sound tuning method

1. A method for automated tuning of a sound system, the sound system comprising delay lines, equalizing filters, and at least two loudspeakers, the method comprising the steps of:

reproducing a useful sound signal through the loudspeakers;

measuring sound pressure values at at least one location;

providing a target transfer function for tuning the delay lines and the equalizing filters of the sound system, the target transfer function representing a desired transfer characteristics of the sound system;

adjusting the delay of the delay lines; and

adjusting amplitude responses of the equalizing filters such that the actual transfer characteristics of the sound system approximates the target function.

2. The method of claim 1 , where the sound system further comprises at least one cross-over filter, the method comprising the step of:

adjusting the cut-off frequency of the cross-over filter such, that the total harmonic distortion is reduced.

3. The method of claim 2 , where the cross-over filters comprise linear-phase filters.

4. The method of claim 2 , where a linear-phase adaptive filter is used to implement a delay line and an equalization filter, thus enabling an independent adjusting of delay and amplitude response of the equalization filters and the cross over filters without mutual influence.

5. The method of claim 4 , where the delay of the delay lines is done by adjusting the phase of the linear adaptive filter.

6. The method of claim 5 , where the amplitude responses of the equalization filter is performed by adjusting filter-coefficients of the linear adaptive filter.

7. The method of claim 2 , where the cut-off frequencies of the cross-over filters are adjusted before the delay of the delay lines.

8. The method of claim 1 , where the target function incorporates psychoacoustic characteristics of the human ear.

9. The method of claim 8 , where the psychoacoustic charateristics of the human ear comprise spectral and temporal masking effects and the spectral resolution of the human ear.

10. The method of claim 1 , where the sound pressure is measured at a plurality of positions yielding a plurality of sound pressure signals.

11. The method of claim 10 , where the plurality of positions are located within a hearing space.

12. The method of claim 11 , where the hearing space is a passenger space of a motor vehicle.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising the steps of:

calculating a desired output signal from the useful sound signal using the target function, and

calculating error signals by subtracting the measured sound pressure signals from the desired output signal.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising the steps of:

generating a total error signal by calculating the weighted sum of the error signals, the error signals being multiplied with weighting factors before summation, and

adjusting the phase and the amplitude responses of the adaptive filters such, that the total error signal is reduced.

15. The method of claim 14 , where a Multiple Error Least Mean Squares (MELMS) algorithm is employed for reducing the total error signal.

16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

calculating an energy decay curve (EDC) of the measured sound pressure for assessing the quality of the tuning of the phase or of the delay lines.

17. The method of claim 16 , where the delay of the delay lines is tuned to reduce reverberations whose level is above the frequency dependent masking threshold.

18. The method of claim 1 , where the amplitude response and the phase response of the target function for tuning the sound system are calculated from an impulse response of hearing-corrected filter banks, comprising gamma tone filters simulating the frequency and time characteristics of the human ear.

19. The method of claim 1 , where the delay of the delay lines is adjusted before the amplitude responses of the equalizing filters.