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Perceptual compensation for speaker differences and for spectral-envelope distortion
1Department of Psychology, Reading University, England.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|September 1, 1994
Summary
Perceptual systems compensate for both spectral distortion and speaker differences. Long-term spectral characteristics of carrier sounds influence perception, but time-varying factors are key for voice identification.
Area of Science:
- Psychoacoustics
- Auditory Perception
- Speech Processing
Background:
- Auditory perception involves mechanisms that adapt to distorted auditory signals.
- These mechanisms may also play a role in normalizing for speaker variability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if perceptual compensation for spectral-envelope distortion also aids in compensating for speaker differences.
- To determine the role of carrier sentence spectral characteristics in auditory perception and voice identification.
Main Methods:
- Subjects identified test words following carrier sentences with manipulated spectral envelopes (using vowel subtraction filters) or varying F1 frequencies.
- Experiments included playing carriers backward to assess the role of temporal information and naturalness.
- Time-stationary filters were used to modify carrier long-term spectra.
Main Results:
- Compensation for spectral envelope distortion and speaker differences were both observed, indicated by phoneme boundary shifts.
- Reversing carrier sentences did not diminish these compensation effects, despite reducing perceived naturalness.
- Long-term carrier spectra influenced subsequent sound identification, but time-varying factors were more critical for voice identification.
Conclusions:
- Perceptual systems exhibit compensatory mechanisms for both spectral distortion and speaker variability.
- While long-term spectral properties of carriers affect perception, dynamic, time-varying acoustic cues are paramount for distinguishing speakers.