Frequency selectivity for frequencies below 100 Hz: comparisons with mid-frequencies

Publication: Research - peer-reviewJournal article

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Auditory filter shapes were derived for signal frequencies (fs) between 50 and 1000 Hz, using the notched-noise method. The masker spectrum level (N0) was 50 dB (re 20 μPa). For fs = 63 and 50 Hz, measurements were also made with N0 = 62 dB for the lower band. The data were fitted using a rounded-exponential filter model, with special consideration of the filtering effects of the middle-ear transfer function (METF) at low frequencies. The results showed: (1) For very low values of fs, the lower skirts of the filters were only well defined when N0 = 62 dB for the lower band; (2) The sharpness of both sides of the filters decreased with decreasing fs; (3) The dynamic range of the filters decreased with decreasing fs; (4) The equivalent rectangular bandwidth of the filters decreased with decreasing fs down to fs = 80 Hz, but increased for fs below that; (5) The assumed METF, which includes the shunt effect of the helicotrema for frequencies below 50 Hz, increasingly influenced the low-frequency skirt of the filters as fs decreased; (6) Detection efficiency worsened with decreasing fs for fs between 100 and 500 Hz, but improved slightly below that.
Original languageEnglish
JournalAcoustical Society of America. Journal
Publication dateDec 2010
Volume128
Journal number6
Pages3585-3596
ISSN0001-4966
DOIs
StatePublished

ID: 38888784