Determination of Multiple Sound Sources.

Abstract

This three-year research project had the basic aim of understanding the role of binaural hearing in the ability to segregate multiple sound sources in complex sound environments. There were four main projects undertaken over the past three years: (1) To determine the role of binaural cues in sound source identification, (2) To determine the role of spatial separation in processing amplitude modulation, (3) To develop and validate a paradigm for studying analytic and synthetic processing of multiple sound sources, (4) To investigate the role of echoes on the ability of listeners to locate and determine the sources of sound. We found that binaural cues do aid in sound source identification, but that the effects were much greater for three rather than for two sound sources. The ability to process amplitude modulation is aided, but only slightly so, by spatially separating the modulated sources. We developed SALT (Synthetic and Analytic Listening Task) for studying processing of multiple sounds and we validated its use in several binaural and one amplitude modulation experiments. We showed that it is the temporal rather than the spectral properties of a sound and its echo that give rise to the pitch that arises when an echo colors the perception of the original sound source. And we have begun a study of the break down of echo suppression by developing a new set of techniques to study echo suppression as it relates to localization.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1995
Accession Number
ADA299885

Entities

People

  • Raymond Dye
  • Stanley Sheft
  • William A. Yost

Organizations

  • Loyola University Chicago

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Amplitude
  • Amplitude Modulation
  • Audio Engineering
  • Auditory Perception
  • Biological Sciences
  • Boundaries
  • Detection
  • Earphones
  • Frequency
  • Identification
  • Loudspeakers
  • Modulation
  • Modulators
  • Perception
  • Psychophysics
  • Societies

Readers

  • Electromagnetic Wave Scattering and Antenna Radiation Engineering
  • Speech Processing/Speech Recognition.