Communication Acoustics An Introduction to Speech, Audio and Psychoacoustics

The communication channel, in communication acoustics, comprises of a sound source, a channel (acoustic and/or electric) and finally the receiver: the human auditory system, a complex and intricate system that forms the way sound is heard. Consequently, when developing techniques in communication acoustics, such as in speech, audio and aided hearing, it is significant to understand the time-frequency-space resolution of hearing. The book gives an introduction to the fields which concern some kind of communication channel having the human as listener in the end; the fields together are named as "communication acoustics". This book conveys to engineering students and researchers alike the relevant knowledge about the nature of acoustics, sound and hearing that will empower them to develop new technologies in this area from end to end getting a thorough understanding of how sound and hearing works. It converses the multidisciplinary area of acoustics, hearing, psychoacoustics, signal processing, speech and sound quality and is appropriate for senior undergraduate and graduate courses related to audio communication systems. It discusses the technologies and applications for sound synthesis and reproduction, and for speech and audio quality evaluation.