Tyco 579-769 specifications STI method with faster measurement times

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Measures of Intelligibility, Continued

The STI Method

As described in Chapter 2, speech consists of the frequency of the sound being uttered and the

 

amplitude modulation of that sound into the phonemes that create words. The STI (Speech

 

Transmission Index) method measures the modulation transfer function for 14 modulation

 

frequency bands spaced at 1/3-octave intervals from 0.63 Hz to 12.5 Hz, across seven frequency

 

bands from 125 Hz to 8 KHz. These 98 measurement points (7 x 14) are weighted and combined

 

to create a number between 0.0 (totally unintelligible) and 1.0 (perfectly intelligible). The

 

standardization of the carriers and modulation frequencies to be used, as well as the weighting to

 

be applied, has now been standardized by IEC 60268-16. The STI method is the most accurate of

 

all intelligibility measures, however the procedure can take as long as 20 minutes per test.

 

Alternate methods such as STIpa, STITEL, and RASTI (described below) are subsets of the

 

STI method with faster measurement times.

STIpa

This is a special adaptation of the STI method for the measurement of speech intelligibility for

 

public address (PA) systems. It is a modification to the STI method that has been correlated to

 

within +/- 0.03 CIS of a full STI measurement. The STIpa method is implemented in the

 

Simplex/GoldLine intelligibility measurement system.

STITEL

The STITEL method is a special adaptation of the STI method used for the measurement of speech

 

intelligibility for telephone systems. It reduces the 14 modulation frequencies to seven and applies

 

one to each of the seven octave bands simultaneously.

RASTI

The Rapid Acoustics Speech Transmission Index (RASTI) is a simplified version of the STI

 

method that uses two octave bands instead of seven with four modulation frequencies measured in

 

one band and five in the other, for a total of nine measurements.

Percent (%) ALcons

The “Articulation Loss of Consonants” (ALcons) is a measurement method for speech

 

intelligibility that is based upon the importance of consonant sounds in the overall perception of

 

speech. It uses specially chosen simple words in transmission tests. ALcons is expressed in

 

percent (%ALcons). This is a subjective test with a much greater potential for variations in score

 

than some of the other tests described.

Phonetically

Balanced Word

Scores

The Phonetically Balance (PB) word score is described in ISO/TR 4870, and consists of specially chosen words selected from a known population transmitted to a panel of listeners. This is a subjective test with a much greater potential for variations in score than some of the other tests described.

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Contents Fire Alarm Audio Applications Guide Page Copyrights and Trademarks Page Table of Contents Emergency Voice/Alarm Communications Systems Glossary of Terms Related Publications Chapter Speech Intelligibility Overview Speech Intelligibility Importance Designing for Topic See Page # Chapter Background InformationEquation 2-2. Ohm’s Law Equation 2-3. Power RelationshipsBasic Audio Math Equation 2-1. The DecibelEquation 2-6. Adding Decibels Equation 2-5. dB and Sound Pressure LevelsRobinson and Dadson Equal Loudness Curves Sound and HearingSpeech Pattern that Illustrates Modulations Nature of SpeechRoom Acoustics Eyring Equation, used when α Sabine Equation, used when αAreas with high ceilings, specify a more directional speaker Equation 2-8. The Inverse Square Law Speaker BasicsEquation 2-9. On-Axis SPL Calculation SPL = Sensitivity + 20 logEquation 2-10. Directivity Factor Q for a Conical Source 6dB/division87dB 51º Critical Polar Angle Calculations 104Listener Height = 1.5 Meters Ceiling Coverage Diameter Equation 2-11. Coverage Area CalculationsMinimum Overlap Layout Pattern Selection GuideSPL Variation by Layout Pattern 2x Edge-to-EdgeDistributed Wall Mounted Systems Wall Mounted Speakers In Meters Room Coverage Width WidthOpposite Speaker Edge-edge Minimum-Overlap Full-Overlap Chapter Speech Intelligibility Frequency of Speech Contribution to Intelligibility Influences on IntelligibilityNo Noise With Added Noise Degradation of CIS vs. Signal-to-Noise RatioBackground Noise Reverberation Distortion ALcons Measures of IntelligibilityCorrelation of CIS and with STI and %ALcons STI method with faster measurement times STI-CIS Analyzer Talkbox Practical Measurement of IntelligibilityTools for Predicting Intelligibility Page Chapter Emergency Voice/Alarm Communications Systems Advantages Typical Emergency Voice/Alarm Communications SystemParts of an Emergency Voice/Alarm Communications System Class a and B Speaker Circuit Wiring Chapter Regulatory Issues From Nfpa 72, 2002 Edition AudibilityHigh Background Noise Large Areas Intelligibility Intelligibility Certification Page Chapter Speaker System Design Method Determine the speaker-to-listener distance D2 Speaker Design MethodRecommendations for Maximizing System Intelligibility ITool Office Space Example Applying the MethodsOffice Space Speaker Location Guide Corridor Design Example Corridor SPL Distribution Corridor Speaker Location GuideITool Gymnasium Example 10. Gymnasium Speaker Location Guide 13. Lobby Example 15. Lobby Layout Applying the Methods Conclusion Page Chapter Glossary of Terms Glossary Glossary Page Index IN-2 Page 579-769 Rev. C