Speech intelligibility depends on conserving envelope modulation through a channel

Evidence

Paradoxically, electronic volume compression does not improve intelligibility; in many cases it makes it worse, because it can distort the syllabic amplitude variations that help us understand words. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2492 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Speech intelligibility in rooms can be predicted from fluctuation strength — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 2059; Speech-shaped noise can carry intelligible masked signals through amplitude modulation; Temporal envelope suffices for speech while fine structure carries pitch information — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3381 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Speech intelligibility can be predicted by measuring signal envelope modulation decay #corroborates (0.92)
• Volume compression worsens speech intelligibility by flattening syllabic amplitude cues #exemplifies (0.75) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2492