Sound Design Psychoacoustics and Sound Perception 3

Question 1

What is a 'phantom image' in stereo audio?

Accepted Answer

A perceived sound source localized between two speakers due to matched level and time cues

Answer

A phantom image (e.g., phantom center) is the auditory perception of a sound source between two loudspeakers when the same signal is played at equal levels from both.

Question 2

Auditory stream segregation describes the brain's ability to:

Accepted Answer

Organize simultaneous sounds into distinct perceptual streams or sound objects

Answer

Auditory stream segregation is the perceptual grouping process by which the auditory system separates a complex acoustic scene into distinct, coherent sound objects.

Question 3

How much of a decibel (dB) increase is generally required to perceive a sound as twice as loud?

Accepted Answer

10 dB

Answer

Due to the logarithmic nature of human hearing, approximately a 10 dB increase in sound pressure level is perceived as roughly doubling the subjective loudness.

Question 4

What is 'spectral masking' (frequency masking)?

Accepted Answer

A louder sound at a nearby frequency preventing a quieter sound from being heard

Answer

Spectral masking occurs when a dominant frequency component makes nearby, weaker components inaudible to the listener, a phenomenon central to perceptual audio coding.

Question 5

How is the Precedence Effect most directly applied in reverb design?

Accepted Answer

Setting pre-delay to preserve source localization and intelligibility before reverb onset

Answer

Pre-delay (typically 10–30ms) exploits the precedence effect — the ear locks onto the direct sound first, so the reverb that follows doesn't smear the source localization.

Sound Design Practice Test

Sound Design Practice Test

Sound Design Psychoacoustics and Sound Perception 3