Speech intelligibility

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Overview

The speech signal

Factors that influence speech

intelligibility

Quantification

Measuring

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The speech signal

Vowels
A, E, I, O, U, and Y
Slow fluctuations
Duration 30 300ms

Intensity
Carry the sound power

Consonants
t
Other letters of alphabet
Fast fluctuations
Duration 10-100ms
Occur in the range of 2 9 kHz
Most important for speech intelligibility

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The speech spectrum

dB(SPL)
90

80

70 Peak
60 STA
50 LTA
acc. Kleis AES79
40
80
100
125
160
200
250
315
400
500
630
800
1k
1.25
1.6
2k
2.5
3.15
4k
5
6.3
8k
10 Hz
12.5

Most sound energy concentrated around 500 Hz

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Contribution to speech intelligibility

acc. IEC 60268-16 (1997)

%
French & Steinberg (1947)
4
0

3
0

2
0

1 80
125
160
250
315
500
630
1k
1.25
2k
2.5
4k
5
8k
10 Hz
100 200 400 800 1.6 3.15 6.3 12.5
0
2 kHz octave most important for speech intelligibility
0
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Factors of influence

Transfer

Speaker
Listener

The sound system design can only influence the transfer part from
loudspeaker to listener.

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Parameters that influence speech intelligibility

Signal-to-noise ratio (S/N)

Direct-to-reverb ratio (D/R)

Strong echoes / delayed arrivals

Intensity

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 Signal-to-noise ratio: example

Noise from fans in a

road tunnel

Low S/N

High S/N

For good speech intelligibility a S/N of at least 10 dB is required.

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Background noise

The noise level is in most

cases assumed to be
constant.

The SPL from a loudspeaker

decreases as a function of
distance.

Distance between
loudspeaker and listener
has to be kept limited.

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Examples of typical noise levels

Railway platform: 66 dB Museum = 54 dB

Airport departure hall: 66 dB

Quiet corridor = 50 dB

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Examples of typical noise levels

Classroom = 62 dB
Heavy factory = 100 dB

Tropical swimming pool = 84 dB

Stadium = 80 dB

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Influence of room acoustics

Strong late reflections (after

50ms) cause echoes and strongly
Direct SPL should reduce speech intelligibility
be maximized.

Reverberation tail should not be

Early reflections (before too long or high in level
50ms) can be contributing

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Acoustics boundary effects

Reflection / absorption
Absorption surfaces reduce individual reflections and reverberation.
Adding absorption reduces the Reverberation time

r t

Absorption

Reflection i = r

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Acoustics boundary effects

Scattering: sound waves are reflected in all directions

This causes the reverberation tale in the IR

Scattering surfaces prevent strong individual reflections

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Maximize performance with respect to room acoustics

Maximize Direct / Reverb (D/R) ratio

Aim loudspeaker optimal to the audience (line of sight is important
for all listeners)
Minimize spoiling sound energy to areas where it is not needed.

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Maximize performance with respect to room acoustics

Prevent strong reflections

Do not aim at acoustical hard surfaces, especially not with highly
directive sound sources.
Do not aim into concave structures, to prevent focussed reflections
Aim at absorbing / scattering areas.

Marble,
concrete,
glass

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Room properties and speech intelligibility

Bad for speech intelligibility

Good for speech intelligibility

Noise

Audience
Scattering

Flat
Carpet
Noise

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Prevent strong delayed arrivals

Delayed arrivals can become a problem when:

Using highly directive loudspeakers (horns, line arrays, columns)
Loudspeakers are aimed into the same direction, but with a distance
between the loudspeakers in the aiming direction.

Examples:
Road tunnels
Railway platform
Airport terminal
Live speech systems (church, mosque, conference)

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Prevent strong delayed arrivals

Electronic delay can be

applied to prevent delayed
arrivals.

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Speech intelligibility measures

Alcons: Articulation loss of

consonants

STI: Speech transmission Index

RaSTI: Rapid STI
STIPA: STI for Public
Address

CIS: Common Intelligibility

Score

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Alcons: Articulation loss of consonants

Alcons is a percentage between 0% (excellent intelligibility) and 100%

(unintelligible).

Published by Peutz in 1971.

Peutz noted that it was the loss of consonants, not vowels, that most
reduced speech intelligibility

Main discoveries: intelligibility is proportional to

The reverberation time of a room;
The rooms volume;
The distance between the listener and the talker.

From 1986 it was possible to measure Alcons with a TEF analyser.

For a sound system an Alcons of maximum 15% is advised.

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Alcons: Articulation loss of consonants

200D22 RT602 N
% Alcons
VQ

D2 = Distance
RT60 = Reverberation time
N = Number of loudspeakers
V = Room volume
Q = Directivity

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STI: Speech Transmission Index

STI is a model that tries to find a

match with the nonsense word
test.

Every point in the plot is a certain

degradation of the speech signal
like:
Reverb
Noise
Compression

STI can predict the result of most

degradations, but not all!!!

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IEC 60268: Objective rating of speech intelligibility

The STI model has been updated several

times since it was introduced.

Important improvements:

1996 IEC 60268 2nd edition:

introduction of redundancy: STI(Male),
STI(Female)

2003 IEC 60268 3rd edition:

introduction of level dependant
masking: increasing SPL reduces the
STI value.

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STI: Speech Transmission Index

Developed by Houtgast & Steeneken

Physical measure procedure.

Quantifies to what extent the

modulations in the signal are reduced,
as a function of the modulation
frequency.

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Modulation Index

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Modulation and Transmission index (MI & TI)

MIk=1

Modulation reduction due to

noise and reverberation

MIk=0.5

MI k
SNRk 10 log SNRk 15
1 MI k SNRk 0dB TI k 0.5
MI k 0.5 30

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Modulation Transmission Index (MTI)

14
1
MTI TI k
14 k 1

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Modulation Transmission Function (MTF)

MTF looks like a low pass filter when the speech intelligibility is limited
due to reverberation.
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Modulation Transmission Function (MTF)

The MTF shifts downwards when the speech intelligibility is limited due
to background noise.

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Rapid STI (RaSTI)

Fast version of STI

9 instead of 98 data points

This measure is not used a lot any

more.
Since only 2 octaves are taken into
account (500 Hz & 2 kHz).

Used in EASE JR.

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STI-PA: STI for Public Address

Fast version of STI

Data points spread over all 7 octave bands

Same amount of data points as RaSTI

Measurement time 15 s

Most popular fast method.

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Common Intelligibility Score

The IEC 60849 Voice

evacuation standard requires a
CIS > 0.7

This is equal to STI of 0.5

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Measuring speech intelligibility

Kosch Sen Sez Telf Spom Wob Prab Nul

Las Schnar Blem Telf Mig Mig Schlusch Zasch

Ban Nel Log Bin Notsch Buk Gluk Slub

Pruk Spom Schuk Bler Plun Rilf Kok Ras

Dotsch Wem Bitsch Schest Rift Krog Schrors Frasch

Tim Tid Mis Net Bilf Dur Kluf Jaft

Sup Bir Frob Tos Dog Tir Flin Schrup

Plilf Prast Sip Pirs Wet Peng Plutsch Nong

Brek Zid Laz Dab Mom Spid Schug Gef

Lors Bib Nel Prir Griz Dut Psar Sliz

Duf Tist Lob Buf Krulf Strag Strest Jub

Frelf Dulf Plot Lap Blost Krolf Druk suft

One person is reading logatome (one-syllable words, without a meaning)

embedded in sentences.

Listening panel has to write these words down.

Intelligibility = (number of logatome) / (number of correct noted logatome)

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Measuring STI-PA with a handheld meter

Handheld meters STIPA test signal

Acoustilizer of NTI
Ivie IE-35
Gold-line DSP2B

All influences on STI are taken into

account

Remarks:
At high impulse noise levels the
meter often fails to come up with a
STI value
Playback level should be at the
level during evacuation.

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Measure STI in noise

Advice for use:

Measure STI in a quiet
situation
Measure the noise
spectrum separately
Determine the STI in a
noisy situation with a
post-processing tool.

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Determine STI from the IR

Can determine full STI and all other STI versions

More detail: useful for problem solving
Takes more time then using a handheld meter

There are several programs, that can do this.

MLSSA (Melissa)
Dirac
EASERA
.

ROOM

Computer

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 Determine STI from the IR

IR is useful for problem solving

Reverb problem

Noise problem

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 Measurement of STI in noise with IR

IR averages out background

noise.

A post-processing step is
required.
1.Measure IR
2.Measure spectrum of
signal that will be played
back.
3.Measure the spectrum of
the noise.

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