AES New York 2019
Poster Session P18
Saturday, October 19, 3:00 pm — 4:30 pm (South Concourse A)
Poster: P18 - Posters: Perception
P18-1 Comparison of Human and Machine Recognition of Electric Guitar Types—Renato Profeta, Ilmenau University of Technology - Ilmenau, Germany; Gerald Schuller, Ilmenau University of Technology - IImenau, Germany; Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media technology (IDMT) - Ilmenau, Germany
The classification of musical instruments for instruments of the same type is a challenging task not only to experienced musicians but also in music information retrieval. The goal of this paper is to understand how guitar players with different experience levels perform in distinguishing audio recordings of single guitar notes from two iconic guitar models and to use this knowledge as a baseline to evaluate the performance of machine learning algorithms performing a similar task. For this purpose we conducted a blind listening test with 236 participants in which they listened to 4 single notes from 4 different guitars and had to classify them as a Fender Stratocaster or an Epiphone Les Paul. We found out that only 44% of the participants could correctly classify all 4 guitar notes. We also performed machine learning experiments using k-Nearest Neighbours (kNN) and Support Vector Machines (SVM) algorithms applied to a classification problem with 1292 notes from different Stratocaster and Les Paul guitars. The SVM algorithm had an accuracy of 93.9%, correctly predicting 139 audio samples from the 148 present in the testing set.
Convention Paper 10315 (Purchase now)
P18-2 Preference for Harmonic Intervals Based on Overtone Content of Complex Tones—Benjamin Fox, Belmont University - Nashville, TN, USA; Wesley Bulla, Belmont University - Nashville, TN, USA
This study investigated whether or not overtone structure generated preferential differences for harmonic intervals. The purpose of this study was to determine if the structure of a complex tone affects the perception of consonance in harmonic intervals. Prior studies suggest harmonicity as the basis for so-called “consonance” while others suggest exact ratios are not necessary. This test examined listener responses across three tonal “types” through a randomized double-blind trinomial forced-choice format. Stimuli types used full, odd, and even overtone series at three relative-magnitude loudness levels. Results revealed no effect of loudness and a generalized but highly variable trend for the even overtone series. However, some subjects exhibited a very strong preference for certain overtone combinations, while others demonstrated no preference.
Convention Paper 10316 (Purchase now)
P18-3 Just Noticeable Difference for Dynamic Range Compression via “Limiting” of a Stereophonic Mix—Christopher Hickman, Belmont University - Nashville, TN, USA; Wesley Bulla, Belmont University - Nashville, TN, USA
This study focused on the ability of listeners to discern the presence of dynamic range compression (DRC) when applied to a stereo recording. Past studies have primarily focused on listener preferences for stereophonic master recordings with varying levels of DRC. A modified two-down one-up adaptive test presented subjects with an increasingly “limited” stereophonic mix to determine the 70.7% response threshold. Results of this study suggest that DRC settings considered “normal” in recorded music production may be imperceptible when playback levels are loudness-matched. Outcomes of this experiment indicate the use of so-called “limiting” for commercial purposes, such as signal chain control, may have no influence on perceived quality; whereas, uses for perceived aesthetic advantages should be reconsidered.
Convention Paper 10317 (Purchase now)
P18-4 Discrimination of High-Resolution Audio without Music—Yuki Fukuda, Hiroshima City University - Hiroshima-shi, Japan; Shunsuke Ishimitsu, Hiroshima City University - Hiroshima, Japan
Nowadays, High-Resolution (Hi-Res) audio format, which has higher sampling frequency (Fs) and quantization bit number than the Compact disc (CD) format, is becoming extremely popular. Several studies have been conducted to clarify whether these two formats can be distinguished. However, most of the studies were conducted by only using music sources to reach a conclusion. In this paper we will try to bring out the problems due to the primary use of music sources for experimental purposes. We will also answer the question related to discrimination between hi-Res and CD formats using sources other than music, such as noise.
Convention Paper 10318 (Purchase now)
P18-5 Subjective Evaluation of Multichannel Audio and Stereo on Cell Phones—Fesal Toosy, University of Central Punjab - Lahore, Pakistan; Muhammad Sarwar Ehsan, University of Central Punjab - Lahore, Pakistan
With the increasing trend of using smart phones and other handheld electronic devices for accessing the internet, playback of audio in multichannel format would eventually gain popularity on such devices. Given the limited options for audio output on handheld electronic devices, it is important to know if multichannel audio offers an improvement in audio quality over other existing formats. This paper shows a subjective assessment test of multichannel audio versus stereo while played on a mobile phone using headphones. The results show that multichannel audio improves on perceived audio quality as compared to stereo.
Convention Paper 10319 (Purchase now)