AES E-Library

The Perception of Audio Signals Reduced by Overmasking to the Most Prominent Spectral Amplitudes (Peaks)

Audio signals have been reduced to their 70%, 40%, and 5% most prominent spectral amplitudes (spectral peaks) by means of an overmasking function. Applying the commonly used spreading function with slopes of -27 dB/Bark and -24 dB/Bark results in the so-called Irrelevance Threshold with approximately 70% of all spectral components. According to the psychoacoustic theory of simultaneous masking no spectral components below that threshold can be perceived in steady state sounds. Nevertheless, the difference between the original and the processed signals can be made audible by spectral substraction. In case of 60% and 95% reduction, the irrelevance threshold is exceeded and the peaks of the amplitude spectra are enhanced. The intelligibility of speech signals drops increasingly and musical signals retain the leading voice only. The difference between the original and the processed signal can be perceived clearly. Again, the difference signal can also be made audible. The results are discussed in terms of psychoacoustic figure/background discrimination.

Authors: Deutsch, Werner A.; Noll, Anton; Eckel, Gerhard
Affiliations: Austrian Academy of Sciences, Acoustic Research Commission, Vienna ; IRCAM, Paris, France(See document for exact affiliation information.)
AES Convention:92 (March 1992) Paper Number:3331 Import into BibTeX
Subject:Psychoacoustics

Click to purchase paper 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 $20 for non-members, $5 for AES members and is free for E-Library subscribers.

Learn more about the AES E-Library

E-Library Location: (CD aes12)   /pp9193/pp9203/3391.pdf

Start a discussion about this paper!