Simulation of Room Acoustics using 2-D Digital Waveguide Meshes

A novel method for simulation of acoustic spaces, such as concert halls or listening rooms, using several 2-D digital waveguide mesh simulations is discussed. The advantages of this approach include reduced computational load, reduced memory usage, and simplified model structure in comparison to a 3-D waveguide mesh simulation. In approximating the modal frequencies of rooms, all the most important lowest modes get modeled, but some higher modes are missing. The proposed method is useful for finding low-frequency modes and for detecting changes in modal distribution when a sound source is moved, for example. As an acoustic visualization tool, the method is superior over a 3-D simulation in that it can isolate a certain layer of the acoustic wave field and it automatically hides waves that propagate in other directions and thus confuse the visualization