Logo image
Unmasking Effects Produced by Combination Tones
Abstract   Peer reviewed

Unmasking Effects Produced by Combination Tones

Richard S Tyler, Arnold M Small Jr and Paul J Abbas
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol.63(S1), p.S44
05/1978
DOI: 10.1121/1.2016658

View Online

Abstract

This experiment investigates some interactions between combination tones and suppression. Using a two‐tone stimulus in a psychophysical forward‐masking paradigm, the effective masking of the first tone (masker) on the signal can be reduced by the addition of a second tone (suppressor). We present evidence here that a combination tone, not present in the stimulus, can effectively be used as a suppressor. By comparing the threshold shift produced by the masker alone and by the masker‐suppressor combinations, the amount of unmasking (or suppression) as a function of suppressor frequency was measured. Then, two higher‐frequency stimuli were added to the masker, neither of which produced unmasking when presented individually. When the cubic difference tone or the difference tone produced by these two additional stimuli were of appropriate frequency, unmasking was observed. The unmasking produced by the combination tones was similar in its frequency characteristics to that of a single suppressor tone. The results suggest that both the cubic difference tone and the difference tone behave as if they were present in the stimulus.

Details

Metrics

35 Record Views
Logo image