Electro-acoustics for human listeners

The way in which human listeners distinguish sounds is discussed and its applications in speech compression systems considered. The relationship between speech perception and speech production is dealt with. Stereophonic hearing is shown to depend on the separation of images and judgment curves for binaural separability are presented. These have led to the construction of a mathematical model for their computation. The present theories of stereophonic hearing are however shown to be incomplete and a plea made for further study. Several other lines in electro-acoustics calling for research are indicated. A better appreciation of the role of the listener would lead to improved communication systems.