Auditory masking spread can be modelled by convolving with a spreading function

Evidence

The next processing step emulates how the excitation evoked by a stimulus spreads to other frequency bands. The simplest emulation approach comprises a convolution with a spreading function, as in Equation (10.6), and such an approach is also exploited in the code above. The function approximates the shape of the simultaneous frequency masking curve at 60 dB SPL. In reality, the shape of such a curve is level dependent, which can be accounted for by selecting the spreading function in a level-dependent manner. This is neglected here, since it would make the structure of the auditory model far more complex. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1588

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

• XREF: Ties to earlier chapters’ masking phenomena formulation; a concrete computational instantiation of the masking curves.

Related

• Frequency masking is modelled as convolution with a spreading function (similarity 0.95)
• Excitation spread across frequency bands is modelled as convolution with a level-dependent spreading function. (similarity 0.93)
• Masking spreads from a noise band to tones further away as masker level rises (similarity 0.85)
• Tonal masker spread inverts from low to high frequencies as masker level rises (similarity 0.84)
• Louder maskers increasingly mask high frequencies over low ones. (similarity 0.84)
• The excitation-level model of masking reproduces measured thresholds at both low and high frequencies (similarity 0.84)
• Masking thresholds can be transformed into time functions of specific loudness (similarity 0.84)
• Masking relates closely to excitation level patterns. (similarity 0.84)
• Masking asymmetry grows as masker amplitude increases, favoring upward masking (similarity 0.83)
• Increasing stimulus level broadens auditory filters and causes upward spread of masking (similarity 0.83)
• Masked threshold rises once noise bandwidth exceeds the critical bandwidth (similarity 0.83)
• Masking reduces to a comparison of excitation-level patterns over frequency and time (similarity 0.83)
• Maskers below a tone raise its pitch while maskers above lower it. (similarity 0.82)
• Auditory masking depends only on energy within a band surrounding the signal. (similarity 0.82)
• A narrow noise band can mask signals multiple octaves away at high stimulus levels. (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• The excitation-level model of masking reproduces measured thresholds at both low and high frequencies #corroborates (0.78) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 639
• Increasing stimulus level broadens auditory filters and causes upward spread of masking #complicates (0.72) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 495