On the optimality of ideal binary time–frequency masks

Li, Yipeng; Wang, DeLiang

doi:10.1016/j.specom.2008.09.001

Cited by 133 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…In the simplest setting, the idbm techniques assume that a target speech signal has been contaminated by an additive noise source such that the noisy mixture signal is given by , where denotes a discrete-time index. The idbm techniques decompose the signals , , and , e.g., by applying a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) in successive time frames, e.g., [5] and [6], or using gamma-tone filter banks, e.g., [7], [8], resulting in time-frequency units, , and , respectively, where and are frequency and time indices. Generally speaking, the idbm techniques retain time-frequency units which are dominated by the target speech, and suppress time-frequency units which are dominated by the noise source.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectral Magnitude Minimum Mean-Square Error Estimation Using Binary and Continuous Gain Functions

Jensen

Hendriks

2012

IEEE Trans. Audio Speech Lang. Process.

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Abstract-Recently, binary mask techniques have been proposed as a tool for retrieving a target speech signal from a noisy observation. A binary gain function is applied to time-frequency tiles of the noisy observation in order to suppress noise dominated and retain target dominated time-frequency regions. When implemented using discrete Fourier transform (DFT) techniques, the binary mask techniques can be seen as a special case of the broader class of DFT-based speech enhancement algorithms, for which the applied gain function is not constrained to be binary. In this context, we develop and compare binary mask techniques to state-of-the-art continuous gain techniques. We derive spectral magnitude minimum mean-square error binary gain estimators; the binary gain estimators turn out to be simple functions of the continuous gain estimators. We show that the optimal binary estimators are closely related to a range of existing, heuristically developed, binary gain estimators. The derived binary gain estimators perform better than existing binary gain estimators in simulation experiments with speech signals contaminated by several different noise sources as measured by speech quality and intelligibility measures. However, even the best binary mask method is significantly outperformed by state-of-the-art continuous gain estimators. The instrumental intelligibility results are confirmed in an intelligibility listening test.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectral Magnitude Minimum Mean-Square Error Estimation Using Binary and Continuous Gain Functions

Jensen

Hendriks

2012

IEEE Trans. Audio Speech Lang. Process.

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“…For each time-frequency unit in the binary matrix, noise is attenuated if the energy of the noise exceeds the energy of the target speech (i.e., has a local SNR of 0 dB or below). If the local SNR is above 0 dB, the unit is retained in the binary matrix to optimize the SNR gain with the binary masks (Li & Wang, 2009). Designed to enhance speech intelligibility, the binary masking noise reduction scheme has been proven to show substantial improvement in speech recognition in a background with irrelevant speech (Brungart et al, 2006;Wang et al, 2009).…”

Section: Hearing Aids and Signal Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognition in Hearing Aid Users: Memory for Everyday Speech

Ng¹

2013

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Hearing impairment interferes with speech communication. Hearing aids are designed to provide amplification for individuals with poor auditory sensitivity. Signal processing algorithms are implemented in hearing aids to further improve speech understanding and to reduce listening effort in noise. When listening effort is reduced, fewer resources are assumed to be needed for speech perception and more resources would thus be freed for cognitive processing of speech. However, this effect has only been reported in young adults with normal hearing, not in hearing aid users. Cognitive abilities, which vary between individuals, have been shown to influence the ability to benefit from hearing aids. Specifically, it is not yet known how individual differences in cognitive abilities interact with signal processing to reduce listening effort. Also, the relationship between cognition and aided speech recognition performance, as a function of acclimatization processes in new hearing aid users, has not been studied previously.This thesis investigated the importance of cognition for speech understanding in experienced and new hearing aid users. Four studies were carried out. In the first three studies (reported in Papers 1 to 3), experienced hearing aid users were tested and the aims were 1) to develop a cognitive test, called the Sentence-final Word Identification and Recall (SWIR) test, to measure the effects of a noise reduction algorithm on processing of highly intelligible speech (everyday sentences). SWIR performance is argued to reflect the amount of remaining resources upon successful speech perception; 2) to investigate, using the SWIR test, whether hearing aid signal processing would affect memory for heard speech; 3) to test whether the effects of signal processing on the ability to recall speech would interact with background noise and individual differences in working memory capacity; and 4) to explore the potential clinical application of the SWIR test by examining the relationship between SWIR performance and self-reported hearing aid outcome. In the fourth study (reported in Paper 4), the aim was 5) to examine the relationship between cognition and speech recognition in noise in new users using various models of hearing aids over the first six months of hearing aid use.Results of the studies reported in Papers 1 and 3 demonstrated that, for experienced users, noise impairs the ability to recall intelligible speech heard in noise. Noise reduction freed up cognitive resources and alleviated the negative impact of noise on memory when speech stimuli were presented in background noise consisting of speech babble spoken in the listener's native language but not in a foreign language. The possible underlying mechanisms are that noise reduction facilitates auditory stream segregation between target and irrelevant speech and reduces the attention captured by the linguistic information in irrelevant speech. In both studies, the effects of noise reduction and SWIR performance were modulated by individual differe...

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“…Fields of research investigating the effect of auditory interferers include: the perception of environmental noise [2,3], the perception of multiple talkers [4], source separation [5], and combinations of these [6]. These studies generally do not consider common domestic interferers, such as music or sound effects in films; and where they do, they either do not isolate the interferer effect or they include artifacts and degradations that may be specific to source separation algorithms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A similar conceptual framework was utilized in [1]. While the relationship between the effect of the interferer and the effect of target quality degradations is unclear, a considerable body of research exists on these topics individually.Fields of research investigating the effect of auditory interferers include: the perception of environmental noise [2,3], the perception of multiple talkers [4], source separation [5], and combinations of these [6]. These studies generally do not consider common domestic interferers, such as music or sound effects in films; and where they do, they either do not isolate the interferer effect or they include artifacts and degradations that may be specific to source separation algorithms.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship Between Target Quality and Interference in Sound Zone

Baykaner¹,

Coleman²,

Mason³

et al. 2015

J. Audio Eng. Soc.

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Sound zone systems aim to produce regions within a room where listeners may consume separate audio programs with minimal acoustical interference. Often, there is a trade-off between the acoustic contrast achieved between the zones and the fidelity of the reproduced audio program (the target quality). An open question is whether reducing contrast (i.e., allowing greater interference) can improve target quality. The planarity control sound zoning method can be used to improve spatial reproduction, though at the expense of decreased contrast. Hence, this can be used to investigate the relationship between target quality (which is affected by the spatial presentation) and distraction (which is related to the perceived effect of interference). An experiment was conducted investigating target quality and distraction and examining their relationship with overall quality within sound zones. Sound zones were reproduced using acoustic contrast control, planarity control, and pressure matching applied to a circular loudspeaker array. Overall quality was related to target quality and distraction, each having a similar magnitude of effect; however, the result was dependent upon program combination. The highest mean overall quality was a compromise between distraction and target quality, with energy arriving from up to 15 degrees either side of the target direction. INTRODUCTIONSound zone systems aim to control sound fields in such a way that multiple listeners can enjoy different audio programs within the same room. Conceptually, the overall quality of the sound zone listening experience could be considered to be the result of some combination of the effect of the presence of an interferer program and the effect of any artifacts or degradations to the target program (i.e., target quality) caused by the sound zone processing. A similar conceptual framework was utilized in [1]. While the relationship between the effect of the interferer and the effect of target quality degradations is unclear, a considerable body of research exists on these topics individually.Fields of research investigating the effect of auditory interferers include: the perception of environmental noise [2,3], the perception of multiple talkers [4], source separation [5], and combinations of these [6]. These studies generally do not consider common domestic interferers, such as music or sound effects in films; and where they do, they either do not isolate the interferer effect or they include artifacts and degradations that may be specific to source separation algorithms.In [7] a series of elicitation experiments were conducted to investigate terms describing auditory interference scenarios using ecologically valid programs (i.e., those that are commonly consumed in domestic environments). The results, and those of [8], showed that using the term "distraction" produced good agreement between listeners, and that listener ratings made using this term were a good measure of the perceived effect of the interferer. It seems likely, therefore, that there would be...

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On the optimality of ideal binary time–frequency masks

Cited by 133 publications

References 19 publications

Spectral Magnitude Minimum Mean-Square Error Estimation Using Binary and Continuous Gain Functions

Spectral Magnitude Minimum Mean-Square Error Estimation Using Binary and Continuous Gain Functions

Cognition in Hearing Aid Users: Memory for Everyday Speech

The Relationship Between Target Quality and Interference in Sound Zone

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