Affiliation:
1. Language and Speech Laboratory, University of the Basque Country, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
2. Ikerbasque (Basque Science Foundation), 48009 Bilbao, Spain
Abstract
Modifying the spectrum of recorded or synthetic speech is an effective strategy for boosting intelligibility in noise without increasing the speech level. However, the wider impact of changes to the spectral energy distribution of speech is poorly understood. The present study explored the influence of spectral modifications using an experimental paradigm in which listeners were able to adjust speech parameters directly with real-time audio feedback, allowing the joint elicitation of preferences and word recognition scores. In two experiments involving full-bandwidth and bandwidth-limited speech, respectively, listeners adjusted one of eight features that altered the speech spectrum, and then immediately carried out a sentence-in-noise recognition task at the chosen setting. Listeners’ preferred adjustments in most conditions involved the transfer of speech energy from the sub-1 kHz region to the 1–4 kHz range. Preferences were not random, even when intelligibility was at the ceiling or constant across a range of adjustment values, suggesting that listener choices encompass more than a desire to maintain comprehensibility.
Funder
European Commission under the Marie Curie European Training Network ENRICH
Subject
Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes,Computer Science Applications,Process Chemistry and Technology,General Engineering,Instrumentation,General Materials Science
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