Equalization-cancellation subtracts masker signals to reveal hidden targets

Evidence

The above-mentioned delay-line models analyse the coherence of the ear canal signals to extract directional information. Alternative modelling concepts have also been exploited, some of them being based on subtracting the signals from each other. The equalization-cancellation model (Durlach, 1963) was designed to account for binaural signal detection in the presence of masking noise, and no attempts were made to emulate processing in the auditory pathway. In this model, the left and right inputs are first filtered with a set of band-pass filters so that the narrowband target can be more easily separated from the masker. Thereafter, the masker signal components are equalized in the two ears by adjusting the ITD and ILD values, and the ear canal signals are subtracted from each other, which ideally eliminates the masker from the signal. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1677

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the equalization-cancellation model (Durlach 1963) for detecting signals in masking noise via subtraction after equalizing ITD/ILD.