Patent ID: 7813933

Claim:
A method for converting n input signals to m output signals, comprising the steps of: obtaining each of the output signals (o 1 , o 2 , o 3 , . . . o m ) as the sum of processed signals (o 11 , o 12 . . . o nm ), where each of the processed signals is obtained by processing corresponding input signals (i 1 , i 2 , . . . i n ) in a processing device having a transfer function H ij or an impulse response h ij ; and individually controlling and providing the output signals (o 1 , o 2 , o 3 , . . . o m ) to a number of real sound sources fixed relative to an environment by conversion of a set of the corresponding input signals (i 1 , i 2 , . . . i n ) intended for a different number and configuration of virtual sound sources intended for the environment, characterized with the steps of representing the fixed real sound sources and the virtual sound sources in a vector space of the environment, supplying each particular fixed real sound source with the output signal (o 1 , o 2 , o 3 , . . . o m ) that is obtained as a linear sum of at least some of the input signals intended for the virtual sound sources, and providing these output signals with individually determined magnitudes and delays, where the magnitudes and delays are calculated by using the vectorial distances between each of the virtual sound sources and the particular fixed sound source in the environment.