A system for determining that a user is either a human and non-human may comprise an interactive voice component and an audio validation component. The audio validation component may implement a test to determine that the user is one of human and non-human. The test may comprise an echo perturbation effect applied to at least a portion of a challenge phrase to form a modified challenge phrase. The test may further comprise the modified challenge phrase issued to the user, a response received from the user, and an evaluation of the response. When the response is a correct response to the challenge phrase, the user is designated as human, and when the response is an incorrect response to the challenge phrase, the user is designated as non-human. The interactive voice component may be an IVR system, and the audio validation component comprises an auditory CAPTCHA.

A system for determining that a user is either a human and non-human may comprise an interactive voice component and an audio validation component. The audio validation component may implement a test to determine that the user is one of human and non-human. The test may comprise an echo perturbation effect applied to at least a portion of a challenge phrase to form a modified challenge phrase. The test may further comprise the modified challenge phrase issued to the user, a response received from the user, and an evaluation of the response. When the response is a correct response to the challenge phrase, the user is designated as human, and when the response is an incorrect response to the challenge phrase, the user is designated as non-human. The interactive voice component may be an IVR system, and the audio validation component comprises an auditory CAPTCHA.

A method and apparatus processes multi-channel audio by encoding, transmitting or recording “dry” audio tracks or “stems” in synchronous relationship with time-variable metadata controlled by a content producer and representing a desired degree and quality of diffusion. Audio tracks are compressed and transmitted in connection with synchronized metadata representing diffusion and preferably also mix and delay parameters. The separation of audio stems from diffusion metadata facilitates the customization of playback at the receiver, taking into account the characteristics of local playback environment.

A method and apparatus processes multi-channel audio by encoding, transmitting or recording “dry” audio tracks or “stems” in synchronous relationship with time-variable metadata controlled by a content producer and representing a desired degree and quality of diffusion. Audio tracks are compressed and transmitted in connection with synchronized metadata representing diffusion and preferably also mix and delay parameters. The separation of audio stems from diffusion metadata facilitates the customization of playback at the receiver, taking into account the characteristics of local playback environment.

A system and method for providing low interaural coherence at low frequencies is disclosed. In some embodiments, the system may include a reverberator and a low-frequency interaural coherence control system. The reverberator may include two sets of comb filters, one for the left ear output signal and one for the right ear output signal. The low-frequency interaural coherence control system can include a plurality of sections, each section can be configured to control a certain frequency range of the signals that propagate through the given section. The sections may include a left high-frequency section for the left ear output signal and a right high-frequency section for the right ear output signal. The sections may also include a shared low-frequency section that can output signals to be combined by combiners of the left and right high-frequency sections.

Systems and methods for providing accurate and independent control of reverberation properties are disclosed. In some embodiments, a system may include a reverberation processing system, a direct processing system, and a combiner. The reverberation processing system can include a reverb initial power (RIP) control system and a reverberator. The RIP control system can include a reverb initial gain (RIG) and a RIP corrector. The RIG can be configured to apply a RIG value to the input signal, and the RIP corrector can be configured to apply a RIP correction factor to the signal from the RIG. The reverberator can be configured to apply reverberation effects to the signal from the RIP control system. In some embodiments, one or more values and/or correction factors can be calculated and applied such that the signal output from a component in the reverberation processing system is normalized to a predetermined value (e.g., unity (1.0)).

In some embodiments, virtualization methods for generating a binaural signal in response to channels of a multi-channel audio signal, which apply a binaural room impulse response (BRIR) to each channel including by using at least one feedback delay network (FDN) to apply a common late reverberation to a downmix of the channels. In some embodiments, input signal channels are processed in a first processing path to apply to each channel a direct response and early reflection portion of a single-channel BRIR for the channel, and the downmix of the channels is processed in a second processing path including at least one FDN which applies the common late reverberation. Typically, the common late reverberation emulates collective macro attributes of late reverberation portions of at least some of the single-channel BRIRs. Other aspects are headphone virtualizers configured to perform any embodiment of the method.

The sound signal processing method includes obtaining a sound signal of a sound source, convolving, according to a location of the sound source an impulse response of an early reflection sound with the sound signal to generate an early reflection sound control signal that reproduces an early reflection sound, and convolving an impulse response of a reverberant sound with the sound signal to generate a reverberant sound control signal that reproduces a reverberant sound.

The sound signal processing method includes obtaining a sound signal of a sound source, convolving, according to a location of the sound source an impulse response of an early reflection sound with the sound signal to generate an early reflection sound control signal that reproduces an early reflection sound, and convolving an impulse response of a reverberant sound with the sound signal to generate a reverberant sound control signal that reproduces a reverberant sound.

A sound signal processing method includes receiving a sound signal, generating an early reflection sound control signal that reproduces an early reflection sound and a reverberant sound control signal that reproduces a reverberant sound from the sound signal, controlling a volume of the sound signal and distributing the sound signal to generate a direct sound control signal, and mixing the direct sound control signal, the early reflection sound control signal that reproduces a direct sound, and the reverberant sound control signal to generate an output signal.