The role of head-related time and level cues in the unmasking of speech in noise and competing speech

Edmonds, Barrie Alan and Culling, John Francis ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1107-9802 2005. The role of head-related time and level cues in the unmasking of speech in noise and competing speech. Acta Acustica United with Acustica 91 (3) , pp. 546-553.

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Abstract

Two experiments investigated the effects of conflicting interaural time and level differences on the masked threshold of speech. Target sentences were prepared using manipulated HRTFs for azimuths of 0° and 60°. Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) were measured against a masker with a 0° simulated azimuth, consisting of either Brown noise (−6 dB/oct. spectral roll-off) or speech. Experiment 1 compared the advantage of spatial separation produced by differences between target and interferer in cues to their azimuth. The introduction of an interaural time delay (ITD) or interaural level difference (ILD) reduced SRTs by 3–4 dB, but their combined effect was about 6 dB. Experiment 2 compared the advantage of spatial separation produced by combined cues that indicated either the same or opposing hemi-fields for the target speech. The combined effects of these two cues were indistinguishable, even when they conflicted with each other regarding the direction of the target speech. These results suggest that the improvements in audibility gained from exploiting ILD and ITD are not constrained by a need to focus attention on a particular direction.

Item Type:	Article
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Publisher:	S. Hirzel
ISSN:	1610-1928
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	23 May 2023 15:04
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/13762

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