Single-channel speech enhancement using spectral subtraction in the short-time modulation domain

In this paper we investigate the modulation domain as an alternative to the acoustic domain for speech enhancement. More specifically, we wish to determine how competitive the modulation domain is for spectral subtraction as compared to the acoustic domain. For this purpose, we extend the traditional analysis-modification-synthesis framework to include modulation domain processing. We then compensate the noisy modulation spectrum for additive noise distortion by applying the spectral subtraction algorithm in the modulation domain. Using an objective speech quality measure as well as formal subjective listening tests, we show that the proposed method results in improved speech quality. Furthermore, the proposed method achieves better noise suppression than the MMSE method. In this study, the effect of modulation frame duration on speech quality of the proposed enhancement method is also investigated. The results indicate that modulation frame durations of 180–280 ms, provide a goo...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: SPEECH
• Authors: Kuldip K. Paliwal, Kamil Wójcicki, Belinda Schwerin
• Keywords: Modulation, Modulation Domain, Spectral Subtraction, SPEECH 2010