The Psychoacoustics of Sound-Quality Evaluation

In this paper, the concepts of psychoacoustics which form the basis of sound-quality evaluation are assessed. The relations between stimuli and perceptual judgements are discussed. In particular, the auditory field as well as spectral masking and critical bands are described. Psychoacoustic facts and the correlated models are given for loudness, sharpness, fluctuation strength, and roughness. The paper concludes with some hints for practical applications.