The use of fast limiting to improve the intelligibility of speech in noise

Abstract

Abstract Comparisons were made between the conventional speech clipper and an experimentally fast speech limiter to determine which system produced the more intelligible speech in the presence of noise. It was found that fast limiting produced significantly higher intelligibility than clipping at both 10 db. and 20 db. of compression. It was assumed that the measured difference in harmonic and intermodulation distortion of the two systems was the causal factor.