A new type of listening test for testing very small impairments in audio systems is proposed using audio engineer participants and a mix matching task based approach. A pilot test was conducted in an attempt to reveal perceptual differences between WAV (44.1 k-16 bit) and MP3 (256 kbps) encodings of the same musical material. The participant mixing data was analyzed and trends in the data generally coincide with the hypotheses. Several factors were also found that can influence participant accuracy and speed in completing this type of test: age, experience (production, musical, listening test), and preferred genre for audio work.

Authors: Martin, Denis; King, Richard; Woszczyk, Wieslaw; Massenburg, George; de Francisco, Martha
Affiliations: McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; The Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology, Montreal, Quebec, Canada(See document for exact affiliation information.)
AES Convention: 141 (September 2016) Paper Number: 9653
Publication Date: September 20, 2016 Import into BibTeX
Subject: Perception
Permalink: https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=18457

Click to purchase paper as a non-member or login as an AES member. If your company or school subscribes to the E-Library then switch to the institutional version. If you are not an AES member and would like to subscribe to the E-Library then Join the AES!

This paper costs $33 for non-members and is free for AES members and E-Library subscribers.

Learn more about the AES E-Library

E-Library Location:   /conv/141/9653.pdf

Start a discussion about this paper!