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Acoustics, Dynamics, and Controls

Audio Engineering Theses

Audio engineering

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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

A Perceptual Evaluation Of Short-Time Fourier Transform Window Duration And Divergence Cost Function On Audio Source Separation Using Non-Negative Matrix Factorization, Ryan J. Miller May 2020

A Perceptual Evaluation Of Short-Time Fourier Transform Window Duration And Divergence Cost Function On Audio Source Separation Using Non-Negative Matrix Factorization, Ryan J. Miller

Audio Engineering Theses

Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) is an established method of performing audio source separation. Previous studies used NMF with supplementary systems to improve performance, but little has been done to investigate perceptual effects of NMF parameters. The present study aimed to evaluate two NMF parameters for speech enhancement: the short-time Fourier transform (STFT) window duration and divergence cost function. Two experiments were conducted: the first investigated the effect of STFT window duration on target speech intelligibility in a sentence keyword identification task. The second experiment had participants rate residual noise levels present in target speech using three different cost functions: the …


An Analysis Of Perceptual Masking Between Stems In Manually-Mixed Multitrack Audio Using A Cross-Analytic Loudness Model, Brian H. Cofer Aug 2019

An Analysis Of Perceptual Masking Between Stems In Manually-Mixed Multitrack Audio Using A Cross-Analytic Loudness Model, Brian H. Cofer

Audio Engineering Theses

In music production, there are many tools available to an audio engineer throughout the mixing process to bring a song to completion. Among the most common are level balancing, equalization (EQ), and compression. However, these tools still require the subjective judgments of human engineers to create the desired listening experience. While automated mixing algorithms have been increasingly studied, they have yet to match the skills of even an amateur mixing engineer, in major part, because the subjective mixing decisions of an engineer are difficult to replicate by automated systems. The following research was developed with the primary goal of objectively …


Listener Evaluation Of Common Drum Recording And Mixing Techniques, Tucker W. Arbuthnot May 2019

Listener Evaluation Of Common Drum Recording And Mixing Techniques, Tucker W. Arbuthnot

Audio Engineering Theses

This thesis explored whether listeners could perceive the differences between samples recorded and mixed according to methods reported by the so-called popular audio press and samples that did not utilize those methods. The three recording methods were: aligning multiple tracks to achieve a coherent phase relationship, microphone selection, and the style of recording. The three mixing methods were: inverting the bottom snare drum microphone to match the top snare drum microphone, having a pre-delay time on a reverb that matched the tempo of the sample, and routing the room microphones to the drummer’s perspective. ABX listening tests, preference surveys, and …


Physical Controllers Vs. Hand-And-Gesture Tracking: Evaluation Of Control Schemes For Vr Audio Mixing, Justin Bennington May 2019

Physical Controllers Vs. Hand-And-Gesture Tracking: Evaluation Of Control Schemes For Vr Audio Mixing, Justin Bennington

Audio Engineering Theses

Alternative control schemes for affecting the characteristics of audio signals have been designed and evaluated within the audio research community. The medium of virtual reality (VR) presents a unique method of sound source visualization using a headset which displays a virtual environment to the user, allowing users to directly control sound sources with minimal intermediary interference with a variety of different controllers. In order to provide insight into the design and evaluation of VR systems for audio mixing, the differences in subject preference between physical controllers and hand-and-gesture detection controls were investigated. A VR audio mixing interface was iteratively developed …


Mid-Side To X/Y Equivalence: Turning Microphone Theory Into Practice, Brent T. Hauer May 2019

Mid-Side To X/Y Equivalence: Turning Microphone Theory Into Practice, Brent T. Hauer

Audio Engineering Theses

The mathematical transformation of the Mid-Side microphone array (M-S) to stereophonic left and right outputs results in an equivalent coincident microphone configuration (X/Y). The output pattern of the combined mid (M) and side (S) signals can be altered by manipulating the polar pattern of the mid (M) microphone and by adjusting the ratio between the M and side (S) microphones. This study investigated the technical and perceptual attributes of equivalent M-S and X/Y patterns in order to determine the consistency of the theoretical with the practical application. A simulated jazz sextet was recorded using a selection of M-S, and their …