Modeling the radiation of modern sound reinforcement systems in high resolution

Starting from physical theory, this work develops a novel framework for the acoustic simulation of sound radiation by loudspeakers and sound reinforcement systems. First, a theoretical foundation is derived for the accurate description of simple and multi-way loudspeakers using an advanced point-source ``CDPS'' model that incorporates phase data. The model's practical implementation is presented including measurement requirements and the GLL loudspeaker data format specification. In the second part, larger systems are analyzed such as line arrays where the receiver may be located in the near field of the source. It is shown that any extended line source can be modeled accurately after decomposition into smaller CDPS elements. The influence of production variation among elements of an array is investigated and shown to be small. The last part of this work deals with the consequences of fluctuating environmental conditions such as wind and temperature on the coherence of sound signals from multiple sources. A new theoretical model is developed that allows predicting the smooth transition from amplitude to power summation as a function of the statistical properties of the environmental parameters. A part of this work was distinguished with the AES Publications Award 2010. Parts of the proposed data format have been incorporated into the international AES56 standard.