An Anechoic, High-Fidelity, Multidirectional Speech Corpus

Abstract

Introduction: We currently lack speech testing materials faithful to broader aspects of real-world auditory scenes such as speech directivity and extended high frequency (EHF; > 8 kHz) content that have demonstrable effects on speech perception. Here, we describe the development of a multidirectional, high-fidelity speech corpus using multichannel anechoic recordings that can be used for future studies of speech perception in complex environments by diverse listeners. Design: Fifteen male and 15 female talkers (21.3–60.5 years) recorded Bamford-Kowal-Bench (BKB) Standard Sentence Test lists, digits 0–10, and a 2.5-min unscripted narrative. Recordings were made in an anechoic chamber with 17 free-field condenser microphones spanning 0°–180° azimuth angle around the talker using a 48 kHz sampling rate. Results: Recordings resulted in a large corpus containing four BKB lists, 10 digits, and narratives produced by 30 talkers, and an additional 17 BKB lists (21 total) produced by a subset of six talkers. Conclusions: The goal of this study was to create an anechoic, high-fidelity, multidirectional speech corpus using standard speech materials. More naturalistic narratives, useful for the creation of babble noise and speech maskers, were also recorded. A large group of 30 talkers permits testers to select speech materials based on talker characteristics relevant to a specific task. The resulting speech corpus allows for more diverse and precise speech recognition testing, including testing effects of speech directivity and EHF content. Recordings are publicly available.