SNR must rise at least 3 dB before listeners tolerate one more conversation

Evidence

On average, participants were not prepared to tolerate an additional conversation until the SNR had increased by at least 3 dB, and not prepared to tolerate more than one extra conversation until a 4 dB change in SNR, similar to the results in Sect. 3.1 . Though a change of one conversation is an arbitrary change, it is arguably a less arbitrary unit of meaningfulness than one point on a better/worse rating scale. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5697

Categorization

• XREF: Consistent with the ~3 dB speech-perception-in-noise commonly cited in audiology; ties detectability thresholds to functional outcomes. — connects to: Listeners value a level change as much or more than an equal-dB SNR change; Listener ratings of speech benefit only become significant once SNR change reaches 4 dB; A meaningful speech-in-noise benefit requires at least 6 dB of SNR improvement (+4 more)
• ADDENDUM: Provides a thresholds-based benchmark that resonates with how the sacrifice/utility pieces quantify minimum meaningful differences.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5697

Broader Connections

• Listener ratings of speech benefit only become significant once SNR change reaches 4 dB #corroborates (0.90)
• A 3 dB SNR just-noticeable difference corresponds to a 26% intelligibility change in listeners. #corroborates (0.90) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5669
• SNR just-noticeable difference grows from about 3 to 3.7 dB at positive reference SNRs #complicates (0.85) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5676
• A 1 dB SNR improvement boosts intelligibility by 7 to 19 percent #expands (0.85) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1734
• A meaningful speech-in-noise benefit requires at least 6 dB of SNR improvement #qualifies (0.80)
• Listeners may judge SNR changes via perceived intelligibility rather than raw signal level #expands (0.75) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5669