1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to stereophonic or multi-channel audio reproduction in a high-fidelity audio or audio-visual system, including systems known to those in the trade as "surround sound" and "home theater," and more particularly is directed to loudspeakers in architectural form such as corbels and columns.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
At the introduction of high-fidelity stereophonic audio systems, speaker components were for the first time mounted in discrete enclosures so that they could be widely separated in the interior environment. At that time and ever since, the great preponderance of speaker enclosures have been simple rectangular boxes. A few exceptions to this strict formula do currently exist at the idiosyncratic high-end of the audio market; unconventional acoustical technologies such as electrostatic panels have generated convex shapes which depart from this angular tradition.
Generally, the design of loudspeaker enclosures has been limited to the technical requirements of the housing. When aesthetics have been considered as a factor in the design, the tendency has been to take inspiration from other electronic components. However, when a stereophonic or multi-channel system is installed in a typical interior, the loudspeakers should be widely dispersed in the listening environment to generate any degree of acoustical fidelity. The visual integration of the complete electronic system thus serves little purpose, since the speakers are rarely seen in proximity to other electronic components.
The visual effect of the dispersed sound sources is invariably intrusive in the design setting for the following reasons: a) loudspeakers should be left acoustically exposed, as masking by any object in the environment compromises both the volume and the fidelity of the reproduced sound waves; b) loudspeakers customarily have strict positional requirements, in order to generate a realistic acoustical impression, and should not be placed arbitrarily in the environment; c) sounds are most commonly recorded at or near ear-level, and their faithfulness is therefore compromised when they are reproduced from inconspicuous but counter-intuitive high or low positions; and d) loudspeakers abide by conventions of speaker form and surface design which immediately identify and call attention to the source of sound. This last issue is not only cosmetic; the perceived realism of a sound source depends not only upon the fidelity and dispersion of that source, but upon psychoacoustic perceptions as well. Sound recordings are commonly made from a few points in a diverse acoustical environment. These tracks or channels are then reproduced to an equal number of analogous locations in a listener's environment. Making those sound sources inobvious encourages the interpolation and cognitive blending of these separate acoustical fields, and thereby, without actually altering the detectable acoustics, improves the quality of the listener's aural impression.
The visual intrusion of conventional speakers is especially conspicuous in the case of increasingly popular multi-channel systems, where four to six sources are commonly required to attain the prescribed dimensional effect. Since ideal acoustical locations invariably correlate with the eye-level of the listener, these multiple loudspeaker enclosures are unavoidably located within the immediate visual field of the audience. Furthermore, the prevailing method for bringing these loudspeakers to ear-level is to mount them on expressly devised black tubular-steel frames. This convention imparts additional costs and further inhibits the speakers' visual integration into an interior.
A body of related art concerns itself with the installation of loudspeakers in walls and ceilings. Since this process is inconvenient, costly, immobile, and technically limited, various other proposals have been made for concealing sources of reproduced sound. For example, a variety of household objects have been adapted to such concealment, including vases, planters, flower pots, books and lamps. In each case, the sound source is disguised by giving it a real or apparent secondary utility. For example, Reinke, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,184 discloses a speaker enclosure in the form of a vase. The aesthetic effectiveness of Reinke's design is limited by the large openings in the sides of the object, and by the placement of a lid on the top of the vase. These visual details are uncommon elements in a real decorative vase and work against its perceptibility as a decorative object. Furthermore, the device has no actual utility as a vase or container, since the interior of the vase is occupied by the loudspeaker elements. Thee, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,080, discloses a device for the concealment of a loudspeaker. The device includes a fabric screen covering front and side walls made of plastic or wood. Likewise, Mitchell, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,387, discloses a hanging plant pot speaker. Mitchell describes a system in which a downward-thrusting speaker that is located in a ceramic pot projects sound through a hole in the bottom of the enclosure and is deflected radially by a diffuser plate located beneath the speaker.