Innosonix Powers Research

Case Study

Princeton University

The 3D Audio and Applied Acoustics ( 3D3A ) Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University, founded in 2008 by Professor Edgar Choueiri, became operational in early 2009 and was fully equipped later that year with an instrumented anechoic chamber. The lab's establishment was made possible by a research grant from the Shostack Foundation to study the fundamental aspects of spatial hearing in humans. Subsequent funding came from Sony Group Corporation, Focal-JMLab, Tesla Inc., and currently Masimo Corporation. The lab's research encompasses various related topics, including sound field control, spatial hearing, auralization, 3D audio, binaural audio through speakers, crosstalk cancellation, and advanced hearing aids. ‍Innosonix

the challenge

The 3D3A Laboratory is currently working on a project funded by Masimo Corporation and focused on enhancing our understanding of the Personal Sound Zone. This required a multi-channel amplifier capable of individually powering each transducer within a loudspeaker array. The brief was to enable two listeners to simultaneously hear different audio programs played by the speaker array, with or without 3D effects. As the listeners moved within designated areas, the “sweet spots” would track their positions and update in real time. The array consisted of 24 transducers, each with an average power of 25 Watts. In addition to the appropriate channel count, the 3D3A team also required a device with MADI inputs and outputs, to ensure compatibility with the laboratory's existing audio interface.

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The Audio solution

After conducting some research, Professor Choueiri and his team discovered the Innosonix LP² range of multi-channel amplifiers, which met all their criteria in terms of power output, peak power, and MADI I/O – all within a compact 1U platform. This led to the incorporation of the MA32/LP² into the research project. Although the project only required 24 channels, 3D3A recognized the opportunity to maximize their investment by utilizing the industry’s first 32-channel digital multi-channel amplifier in a 1U platform. The additional channels provide 3D3A with the flexibility to expand the project in the future if needed.