Living with Sound Zones: A Long-term Field Study of Dynamic Sound Zones in a Domestic Context

Sound zone technology enables multiple people to have personal and shared listening experiences without disturbing each other. Methods for constructing sound zones have now matured enough to allow installations outside of experimental laboratories, making it essential for further development to conduct empirical studies about how people adopt, use, and interact with sound zones in, e.g., domestic settings. To that end, we conducted a four-week field study with a sound zone system in five households. Through an inductive reflexive thematic analysis, we identify three themes relating to 1) experiencing sound zones in everyday life, 2) sound zone usage patterns in households, and 3) interacting with sound zones. Based on these themes, we discuss how sound zones can be used to manage sound in homes in new ways to allow for better social coexistence and listening experiences. We present four directions for future HCI research and interaction design to comply with user needs and considerations when using this novel technology.