Low-frequency transport noise masks speech formants and cripples intelligibility

Evidence

High levels of noise can mask important formant information. This is especially true of high levels of low-frequency noise that, as shown earlier in Chapter 5, can mask the important lower formants. As high levels of low-frequency and broadband noise are often associated with transport noise, this can be a serious problem in many situations. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2480

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the earlier chapter’s treatment of upward spread of masking as the mechanism by which low frequencies swamp higher ones.