BMLD magnitude drops sharply when masker and signal share no frequency components

Evidence

In Fig. 15.6, the upper panel illustrates masked threshold as a function of test-tone frequency, fT’ The bandwidth of the masking noise decreases from 100 Hz to 31.6 Hz to 10 Hz from parts (a) to (b) to (c). The BMLDs plotted on the bottom of each part show a maximum at the centre frequency of the noise and decrease as the test-tone frequency deviates from the centre frequency. This is similar to, but more rapid than, the changes in masked threshold and means that the BMLD drops rapidly when masker and signal have no frequency components in common. — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 1660

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• DEFINE: BMLD (binaural masking level difference) is being contextualized via its frequency-dependence.

Related

• Reduced BMLD stems from masking effects, not from signal frequency or masker level (similarity 0.90)
• Binaural masking level differences reach 25 dB only for overlapping masker and target (similarity 0.89)
• BMLDs grow only slightly with masker density level and peak at intermediate bandwidths (similarity 0.87)
• The BMLD arises from subjects using channels where the masker’s interaural effect is reduced (similarity 0.87)
• Noise bandwidth below the critical band does not raise masked threshold. (similarity 0.85)
• Beyond threshold, masker and signal levels rise one-for-one in decibels (similarity 0.85)
• Opposite-phase binaural signals stay louder than in-phase ones up to 40 dB above threshold (similarity 0.85)
• Masked-threshold shape is nonlinear and level-dependent, steepening only at low masker levels. (similarity 0.85)
• BMLDs are smaller for older listeners by 2 to 4 dB (similarity 0.84)
• Masking pattern shapes differ by center frequency even at equal masker level (similarity 0.84)
• Binaural masking release can be tested under non-simultaneous masking conditions (similarity 0.83)
• Binaural masking release is 2 to 4 dB smaller in older listeners (similarity 0.83)
• Interaural phase disparities lower masked thresholds by up to 25 dB for overlapping targets (similarity 0.83)
• Broadband maskers at low levels mask mid frequencies more than extremes. (similarity 0.83)
• Binaural unmasking depends on masker duration but not signal duration (similarity 0.83)