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Psychophysical measurements relating suppression and combination tones
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|September 1, 1980
Summary
The pulsation-threshold technique provides a more accurate measurement of the 2f1-f2 combination tone than the cancellation procedure. Cancellation methods may overestimate this auditory phenomenon, influenced by the suppression effects of the primary tone f1.
Area of Science:
- Auditory perception
- Psychoacoustics
- Non-linear acoustics
Background:
- Combination tones, such as 2f1-f2, are crucial for understanding auditory processing.
- Existing measurement techniques, like cancellation and pulsation-threshold, may yield different results.
- The influence of primary tone levels and suppression on combination tone perception requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the accuracy of the pulsation-threshold technique versus the cancellation procedure for measuring the 2f1-f2 combination tone.
- To investigate the relationship between the level of the primary tone f1, the level of the secondary tone f2, and the perceived level of the 2f1-f2 combination tone.
- To determine if the suppression of the primary tone f1 by f2 affects the measurement of the 2f1-f2 combination tone.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing the pulsation-threshold technique to measure the 2f1-f2 combination tone.
- Employing the cancellation procedure for measuring the 2f1-f2 combination tone.
- Systematically varying the intensity levels of the primary tones f1 and f2 across human subjects.
Main Results:
- The pulsation-threshold technique yielded significantly lower values for the 2f1-f2 combination tone compared to the cancellation procedure.
- For most subjects, the difference in measurements correlated with the degree of suppression of the 2f1-f2 tone by the primary tone f1.
- The perceived level of the 2f1-f2 combination tone initially increased and then decreased as the level of f2 was raised, with the peak occurring at the intensity where f2 began to suppress f1.
Conclusions:
- The cancellation procedure may overestimate the level of the 2f1-f2 combination tone.
- The suppression of the primary tone f1 by f2 plays a significant role in the perception and measurement of the 2f1-f2 combination tone.
- The pulsation-threshold technique appears to be a more reliable method for assessing combination tone levels under these experimental conditions.