The adequate evaluation of sound quality is an important issue for the lossy compression codecs, such as MP3. ITU-R Rec BS. 1387-1 (PEAQ – Perceptual Evaluation of Audio Quality) is the most widely used method to evaluate sound quality objectively. However, PEAQ can only be used for mono signals or two channel stereo signals, because it considers only timbral factors when assessing sound quality. This paper introduces an improved objective quality assessment method that can be used for mono signals and multichannel audio signals that considers both “spatial” and “timbral” factors. The “spatial” factors, which measure perceptual distortions in spatial impression, are important to evaluate the quality of multichannel sounds.

An efficient method is proposed for reconstructing speakerphone-mode cellular phone sound. The overall transfer function from digital PCM signals stored in a cellular phone to dummy head-recorded signals is modeled as a combination of a cellular phone transfer function (CPTF) and a cellular phone-to-listener transfer function (CPLTF). The CPTF represents the linear and nonlinear characteristics of a cellular phone and is modeled by the Volterra model. The CPLTF represents the effect of the path from a cellular phone to a dummy head and is measured. Listening tests show the effectiveness of the proposed method. An application scenario of the proposed method is also addressed for sound quality assessment of cellular phones in speakerphone mode.