Re: Granular synthesis and auditory segmentation ("Richard J. Fabbri" )


Subject: Re: Granular synthesis and auditory segmentation
From:    "Richard J. Fabbri"  <fabbri(at)NETAXIS.COM>
Date:    Thu, 15 Oct 1998 12:20:32 -0400

Bob, > I'm not sure that I see how an MAA of 1-2 degrees (the 10 >microsecond resolution of the binaural system) is crucial to >explaining the Cocktail Party Effect. Has anyone ever done any >cocktail party experiments with talkers separated by as little as 1 >degree? ... Maybe an absurd example would help to see why. ... What if our M(inimum)A(udible)A(ngle) were, instead of 1-2 spatial degrees, actually much larger ... say, 100 degrees ! ... i.e., TWO speakers would be perceived as ONE speaker unless they were separated by MORE THAN 100 degrees !!! ... MAA is simply a resolution limit from which derives our native ability to (eventually) separate SOURCE information streams. ... It is our ability to SEPARATE SOURCES that allows us to focus upon ("analyze") any PARTICULAR SOURCE. ... But, to answer your question more directly, yes, essentially moving the source by 1 -2 degrees is how MAA is measured, i.e., Do you, the listener, perceive the source as having moved ? ... And, yes, an MAA test could be conceived that actually presents Source-Pairs with 1-2 degree SEPARATION and the listener then asked whether they hear TWO "distinct" voices. ... This is a bit like the distinction that was made between inertial and gravitational mass (they're identical !!!) before Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Regards, Rich Fabbri McGill is running a new version of LISTSERV (1.8d on Windows NT). Information is available on the WEB at http://www.mcgill.ca/cc/listserv


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