An application of the Wigner distribution to loudspeaker evaluation

Abstract

The problem in the sound quality evaluation of loudspeakers using their frequency characteristics is that the sound quality difference perceived by human ears is not distinctly represented in the frequency characteristics. To solve this problem, an evaluation method using the Wigner distribution that is derived from the impulse responses of loudspeakers is employed. The effectiveness of this evaluation method in comparison with conventional frequency characteristics was examined using two loudspeakers with clearly different sound qualities. While there was no noticeable relationship between the frequency characteristics of the loudspeakers and listener's subjective impressions, the Wigner distributions showed a recognizable correlation with listener's subjective impressions. Thus it can be concluded that the Wigner distribution can represent the sound qualities of loudspeakers more effectively than conventional frequency characteristics.