Summary
Objective
This study aimed to analyze the effects of microphone and audio compression variables
on voice and speech parameters acquisition.
Method
Acoustic measures were recorded and compared using a high-quality reference microphone
and three testing microphones. The tested microphones displayed differences in specifications
and acoustic properties. Furthermore, the impact of the audio compression was assessed
by resampling the original uncompressed audio files into the MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer
3 (mp3) format at three different compression rates (128 kbps, 64 kbps, 32 kbps).
Eight speakers were recruited in each recording session and asked to produce four
sustained vowels: two [a] segments and two [ɛ] segments. The audio was captured simultaneously
by the reference and tested microphones. The recordings were synchronized and analyzed
using the Praat software.
Results
From a set of eight acoustic parameters assessed (f0, F1, F2, jitter%, shimmer%, HNR, H1-H2, and CPP), three (f0, F2, and jitter%) were suggested as resistant regarding the microphone and audio
compression variables. In contrast, some parameters seemed to be significantly affected
by both factors: HNR, H1-H2, and CPP; while shimmer% was found sensitive only concerning
the latter factor. Moreover, higher compression rates appeared to yield more frequent
acoustic distortions than lower rates.
Conclusion
Overall, the outcomes suggest that acoustic parameters are influenced by both the
microphone selection and the audio compression usage, which may reflect the practical
implications of these components on the acoustic analysis reliability.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 13, 2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Voice Foundation.
