Patent ID: 8428268

Claim:
An array speaker apparatus comprising: an array speaker having plural speaker units arranged in a single body; a sound source localization adding unit which generates left and right audio signals by performing localization processing for adding, to audio signals of a front-left channel and a front-right channel, on the basis of head transfer functions, sound characteristics that allow a listener to feel localized virtual sound sources in the listener's audibility at preset front-left and front-right positions; a sound emitting direction control unit which distributes each of the left and right audio signals generated by the sound source localization adding unit to at least one speaker unit of the array speaker, and controls timing with which the speaker units output the audio signals so that a left sound emitted from the array speaker forms the same sound wavefront as would be formed by a sound emitted from one of two virtual point sound sources located behind the array speaker and that a right sound emitted from the array speaker forms the same sound wavefront as would be formed by a sound emitted from the other of the two virtual point sound sources; and a calculating unit which calculates a distance from the array speaker to a listening position of the listener, wherein the sound emitting direction control unit changes the positions of the plural speaker units from which the audio signals are output, according to the calculated distance so that a horizontal angle formed by the listening position and each of the plural speaker units is kept constant.