High quality audio bit-rate reduction system family for different applications

Some new audio codecs for high-quality audio signals are adapted to basic psychoacoustic signal processing principles for a significant reduction of the bit-rate of a digital audio signal. Attention is given to the subband coding system MUSICAM (masking-pattern universal subband integrated coding and multiplexing), which makes use of spectral and temporal masking effects and allows bit rates down to about 100 kb/s per monophonic channel, without impairing the subjective quality of the CD for any critical signal. With a bit rate of 64 kb/s the subjective quality comes close to that of the CD for most of the signals. This high gain in coding is possible because only those details of the signal are transmitted that will effectively be perceived by the listener