Load box and sound quality improving method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10749484-B2
Application number	US-201916677601-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 7, 2019
Priority date	Nov 12, 2018
Publication date	Aug 18, 2020
Grant date	Aug 18, 2020

Abstract

To improve voice sound quality using a vacuum tube amplifier. A reactive load that has impedance characteristics, in which impedance characteristics in a first frequency band includes a first impedance characteristic pattern selected from a plurality of first impedance characteristic pattern candidates on the basis of a type of a vacuum tube amplifier, and impedance characteristics in a second frequency band includes a second impedance characteristic pattern selected from a plurality of second impedance characteristic patterns on the basis of the type of the vacuum tube amplifier, outputs a signal that responds to a sound signal output from the vacuum tube amplifier in accordance with the impedance characteristics and performs correction on an output signal of the reactive load.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A load box, comprising:
a reactive load that outputs an audio signal that responds to an audio signal output from a vacuum tube amplifier with impedance characteristics that simulated impedance characteristics of a speaker cabinet;
an operation element that adjusts the impedance characteristics of the reactive load in a first frequency band into a first impedance characteristic pattern selected from a plurality of first impedance characteristic pattern candidates at least on the basis of a type of the vacuum tube amplifier and adjusts the impedance characteristics of the reactive load in a second frequency band that is higher than the first frequency band into a second impedance characteristic pattern selected from a plurality of second impedance characteristic pattern candidates at least on the basis of the type of the vacuum tube amplifier; and
a correction unit that performs a correction processing on an output signal of the reactive load that has the impedance characteristics including the first impedance characteristic pattern and the second impedance characteristic pattern.

2. The load box according to claim 1 , wherein the correction unit corrects a sound quality of the output signal of the reactive load on the basis of the first impedance characteristic pattern and the second impedance characteristic pattern.

3. The load box according to claim 1 , wherein the correction unit changes frequency characteristics of the output signal of the reactive load on the basis of the first impedance characteristic pattern and the second impedance characteristic pattern.

4. The load box according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a power amplifier that amplifies an audio signal corrected by the correction unit; and
a control unit that controls an amplification rate of the audio signal corrected by the correction unit to an amplification rate at which no distortion is caused by the power amplifier, in accordance with a predetermined control input.

5. The load box according to claim 4 , wherein the predetermined control input is an information indicating a volume of an audio output from the speaker cabinet that is connected to the power amplifier.

6. The load box according to claim 4 , further comprising:
a loudness correction unit that performs a loudness correction of the audio signal corrected by the correction unit, on the basis of an information indicating a volume of an audio output from the speaker cabinet that is connected to the power amplifier.

7. The load box according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a generation unit that generates an audio signal that simulated an audio in a case in which an audio based on the audio signal corrected by the correction unit is output from a predetermined speaker cabinet.

8. The load box according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a generation unit that generates an audio signal that simulated an audio in a case in which an audio based on the audio signal corrected by the correction unit is output from a predetermined speaker cabinet and is collected by a microphone.

9. The load box according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a level adjuster that reduces a signal level of the audio signal output from the reactive load;
a transmission terminal that transmits an audio signal output from the level adjuster to an external effector; and
a reception terminal that receives an audio signal with an effect added by the external effector,
wherein the audio signal received by the reception terminal from the external effector is connected to the correction unit.

10. The load box according to claim 9 , further comprising:
a switch that connects, to the correction unit, any of a first signal that is an audio signal output from the reactive load, a second signal that is an audio signal received by the reception terminal from the external effector, and a third signal that is obtained through a mixing of the first signal and the second signal.

11. A load box comprising:
a reactive load that is connected to a vacuum tube amplifier;
an operation element of the reactive load; and
a correction unit that corrects an output signal of the reactive load in response to an operation of the operation element.

12. The load box according to claim 11 , further comprising:
a storage unit that is capable of storing a plurality of pieces of setting information related to an effect addition unit that adds an effect to the output signal of the reactive load; and
a setting unit that reads a setting information corresponding to a setting request from the storage unit and sets the setting information in the effect addition unit.

13. The load box according to claim 11 , further comprising:
a storage unit that is capable of storing a plurality of pieces of setting information related to a generation unit that generates at least one of an audio signal that simulated an audio output from a predetermined speaker cabinet that is connected to the load box and an audio signal that simulated an audio in a case in which the audio output from the predetermined speaker cabinet is collected by a microphone; and
a setting unit that reads a setting information corresponding to a setting request from the storage unit and sets the setting information in the generation unit.

14. The load box according to claim 11 , further comprising:
a storage unit that is capable of storing a plurality of pieces of setting information related to a channel control unit of the vacuum tube amplifier; and
a setting unit that reads a setting information corresponding to a setting request from the storage unit and sets the setting information in the channel control unit.

15. The load box according to claim 11 , further comprising:
an effect control unit that acquires, from an external device, a control information related to an effect addition unit that adds an effect to the output signal of the reactive load and controls operations of the effect addition unit on the basis of the control information.

16. The load box according to claim 11 , further comprising:
a channel control unit that controls a channel of the vacuum tube amplifier that is connected to the load box.

17. A sound quality improving method comprising:
outputting a signal that responds to an audio signal by using a reactive load,
wherein the audio signal is output from a vacuum tube amplifier in accordance with impedance characteristics in which the impedance characteristics simulated impedance characteristics of a speaker cabinet, the reactive load has the impedance characteristics in which impedance characteristics in a first frequency band include a first impedance characteristic pattern selected from a plurality of first impedance characteristic pattern candidates on the basis of a type of the vacuum tube amplifier, and impedance characteristics in a second frequency band that is higher than the first frequency band include a second impedance characteristic pattern selected from a plurality of second impedance characteristic patterns on the basis of the type of the vacuum tube amplifier; and
performing a correction on an output signal of the reactive load.

18. The sound quality improving method according to claim 17 , wherein the correction corrects a sound quality of the output signal of the reactive load on the basis of the first impedance characteristic pattern and the second impedance characteristic pattern.

19. The sound quality improving method according to claim 17 , wherein the correction changes frequency characteristics of the output signal of

Assignees

• Roland Corp

Inventors

• Miyoshi Naoshi

Classifications

• H03F3/181 Primary

  Low-frequency amplifiers, e.g. audio preamplifiers · CPC title

• H03F2200/549

  the amplifier comprising means to emulate the vacuum tube behaviour · CPC title

• H03F3/68

  Combinations of amplifiers, e.g. multi-channel amplifiers for stereophonics {(power amplifiers using a combination of several semiconductor amplifiers H03F3/211; combinations of amplifiers using coupling networks with distributed constants H03F3/602)} · CPC title

• H03G5/165

  Equalizers; Volume or gain control in limited frequency bands · CPC title

• H03F2200/387

  A circuit being added at the output of an amplifier to adapt the output impedance of the amplifier · CPC title