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Journal Article

Synthesis of Perceptually Plausible Multichannel Noise Signals Controlled by Real World Statistical Noise Properties

Authors: Adrian, Jens-Alrik; Gerkmann, Timo; van de Par, Steven; Bitzer, Joerg

Journal of the Audio Engineering Society · Volume 65 · Issue 11 · pp. 914–928 · November 2017

Abstract

Algorithms in speech and audio applications are often evaluated under adverse conditions to evaluate their robustness against additive noise. This research describes a method to generate artificial but perceptually plausible acoustic disturbances, thereby providing a controlled and repeatable context for evaluating algorithms. This allows for control of such noise parameters as coloration, modulation, and amplitude distribution independently of each other, while also providing the means to define the amount of coherence among all the signal channels. Results of a listening test in a monaural setup show no significant difference in naturalness between synthesized and original signal. It is not always obvious how to create natural noise. For example, it was observed that white Gaussian noise is often an inappropriate noise. Frequency-dependent modulations on a short time scale appear to contribute to naturalness. Synthesizing vinyl/shellac, which has a particular type of impulse character, requires a unique approach to synthesis. Rain and applause synthesis proved to be challenging.

Details

Publication
Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
Volume
65
Issue
11
Pages
914–928
Publication date
November 6, 2017
Affiliation
Institute for Hearing Technology and Audiology, Jade University of Applied Sciences, Oldenburg, Germany; Signal Processing, Department of Informatics, Universität Hamburg, Germany; Acoustics Group, Cluster of Excellence (See document for exact affiliation information.)
Type
Journal Article