Audio Signal Processing and Coding
An in-depth treatment of algorithms and standards for perceptual coding of high-fidelity audio, this self-contained reference surveys and addresses all aspects of the field. Coverage includes signal processing and perceptual (psychoacoustic) fundamentals, details on relevant research and signal models, details on standardization and applications, and details on performance measures and perceptual measurement systems. It includes a comprehensive bibliography with over 600 references, computer exercises, and MATLAB-based projects for use in EE multimedia, computer science, and DSP courses. An ftp site containing supplementary material such as wave files, MATLAB programs and workspaces for the students to solve some of the numerical problems and computer exercises in the book can be found at ftp://ftp.wiley.com/public/sci-tech-med/audio-signal
Why Read This Book
You should read this book if you want a single, practical reference that links DSP foundations to real-world perceptual audio coding — from psychoacoustic models to standards and implementation exercises. You will gain both the theoretical background and hands-on MATLAB practice needed to analyze, prototype, and evaluate modern audio codecs.
Who Will Benefit
Graduate students, DSP engineers, and audio codec developers who need a practical yet thorough treatment of perceptual audio coding and evaluation.
Level: Intermediate — Prerequisites: Undergraduate-level DSP and linear systems (discrete-time signals, Fourier transforms), basic digital communications concepts, and familiarity with MATLAB.
Key Takeaways
- Explain perceptual (psychoacoustic) models and how they drive bit-allocation in audio coding.
- Implement transform- and subband-based coding building blocks such as MDCT/FFT and windowing.
- Design quantization and bit-allocation strategies that optimize perceptual quality under rate constraints.
- Analyze and reproduce the structure and algorithms of common standards (e.g., MP3, AAC) and understand their trade-offs.
- Evaluate audio codec performance using objective perceptual measures and MATLAB-based experiments.
Topics Covered
- Introduction and overview of audio coding
- Foundations of digital audio and time-frequency analysis
- Psychoacoustics and perceptual masking models
- Transform coding: MDCT, filterbanks and subband analysis
- Quantization, entropy coding, and bit-allocation
- Perceptual coder design and rate control
- Standards and formats: MP3, AAC, and MPEG families
- Perceptual measurement systems and objective quality metrics
- Implementation issues and practical considerations
- MATLAB exercises, example implementations and datasets
- Applications, extensions and future directions
- Comprehensive bibliography and further reading
Languages, Platforms & Tools
How It Compares
Covers much of the same ground as Painter & Spanias's earlier perceptual coding work but presents a broader, updated treatment with more implementation-focused MATLAB exercises and fuller coverage of modern standards like AAC.
