How to Listen Manualv2

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How to Listen Reference Manual

Public Version 2 .0 .4

April 4, 2011


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Table of Contents

.............................................................................Intro duction ! 4

......................................................How to Listen Installation ! 5........................................Manually Setting Folder Permissions ! 6

...................Updating From an Older Version of How to Listen ! 7

.........................................................................First Time Use ! 7

...............................................................Using How to Listen ! 9

.........................................................Optimizing How To Listen !

10 ........................................................................Program Material ! 10

..................................................................Auditioning Choices ! 11

............................................................Keyboard Interaction ! 12

..............................................................................Band ID Keys ! 12

.............................................................................Attribute Keys ! 13

.......................................................................Prac tice Mode ! 14

.........................Adding Your Own Music in Practice Mode ! 16

............................................How to Listen Training Modes ! 17

..................................................................................Band ID! 17

...........................................................Band ID Scoring Method ! 17

...........................................................................................Peaks ! 18

.............................................................................................Dips ! 19

Harman How to Listen Reference Manual

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..................................................................................Peaks/Dips ! 20

......................................................................................Lowpass ! 21

.....................................................................................Highpass ! 23

....................................................................Attribute Modes ! 24

..........................................................Attribute Scoring Method ! 24

...................................................................................Bright/Dull ! 25

......................................................................................Full/Thin ! 26

.........................................................................Reverberant/Dry ! 27

........................................................................Noisy/Noise-Free ! 28

.....................................................................Colored/Uncolored ! 29

....................................................................................Left/Right ! 30

..............................................................Audible Hum/Hum-free ! 31

..............................................................Ackn owledgements ! 32


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Introduction

Welcome to the How to Listen listener training software by Harman. The purpose of this software is to teach listeners how to critically evaluate different attributes of sound quality -timbre, spatial, dynamic and distortion in recorded and reproduced sound. How to Listen isthe same software used by Harman scientists for training and selecting listeners used forresearch and testing of new Harman consumer, professional and automotive audio products.

Anyone with an interest in improving their critical listening skills (e.g. amateur or professionalrecording engineers, producers, musicians, audio engineers, audio enthusiasts) should benefitfrom this training software.

Research by Dr. Sean Olive [1] and other audio scientists, has shown there areenormous benefits in training listeners. First, trained listeners give more discriminating andreliable sound quality ratings than untrained listeners, yet their overall sound qualitypref erenc es are very similar to those of untrained trained listeners. The performance of aHarman trained listener based on ability to give discriminating and consistent ratings is about 3to 20 times better than that of untrained listener [1]. This means that fewer listeners arerequired to achieve the same statistical confidence that would otherwise require a large(200-400) sample of untrained consumers. Training listeners reduces the cost of productdevelopment and testing, and helps produce better sounding products.

Second, training teaches listeners to give consistent, meaningful, and quantitative dataon different attributes of sound quality that most untrained listeners would have difficultyproviding. This feedback is used by Harman engineers to make any necessary refinements inthe sound of new audio products.

We hope this software will open your ears and minds towards a betterappreciation of what good sound is, and the scientific research and testing that goes into everyHarman audio product.

The Harman How to Listen team

Northridge, CA

References[1] Sean. E Olive, " Differences in Performance and Preference of Trained Versus Untrained Listeners in Loudspeaker Tests: A Case Study," J. AES, Vol. 51, issue 9, pp. 806-825, September 2003. Download fo rfree here, courtes y of Harman International.


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http://www.aes.org/e-lib/download.cfm?ID=12206&name=harmanhttp://seanolive.blogspot.com/2008/12/part-2-differences-in-performances-of.htmlhttp://seanolive.blogspot.com/2008/12/part-2-differences-in-performances-of.htmlhttp://seanolive.blogspot.com/2008/12/part-2-differences-in-performances-of.htmlhttp://seanolive.blogspot.com/2008/12/part-2-differences-in-performances-of.htmlhttp://seanolive.blogspot.com/2008/12/loudspeaker-preferences-of-trained.htmlhttp://www.aes.org/e-lib/download.cfm?ID=12206&name=harmanhttp://www.aes.org/e-lib/download.cfm?ID=12206&name=harmanhttp://seanolive.blogspot.com/2008/12/part-2-differences-in-performances-of.htmlhttp://seanolive.blogspot.com/2008/12/part-2-differences-in-performances-of.htmlhttp://seanolive.blogspot.com/2008/12/part-2-differences-in-performances-of.htmlhttp://seanolive.blogspot.com/2008/12/part-2-differences-in-performances-of.htmlhttp://seanolive.blogspot.com/2008/12/loudspeaker-preferences-of-trained.htmlhttp://seanolive.blogspot.com/2008/12/loudspeaker-preferences-of-trained.htmlhttp://seanolive.blogspot.com/2009/05/harmans-how-to-listen-new-listener.htmlhttp://seanolive.blogspot.com/2009/05/harmans-how-to-listen-new-listener.html


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How to Listen Installation

Upon first opening of the How to Listen installation package, you will see a setup wizard

like the following:

Simply click continue (Mac) or Next (Windows), choose an install destination, and

click install.

And thats it! Youre done:


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Manually Setting Folder Permissions

How to Listen installs files in three locations on your computer. They are listed below:

Mac OSLocation 1: User\Applications\Harman International\Harman How to Listen\

Location 2: Root\Library\Application Support\Harman International\

Location 3: [Local User]\Library\Application Support\Harman International\

Windows

Location 1: root\Program Files\Harman International\How to Listen

Location 2: root\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Harman International\

Location 3: root\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Harman International\

The application itself, program files, and mix-ins are all stored in Location 1. User account

information, test results, and session definitions are stored in Location 2, and last logged-in

user is stored in Location 3.

How to Listen requires read/write access to these three folders, and attempts to set these

permissions during installation. If for some reason the installer fails to set these permissions

correctly, you may get error messages while using How to Listen that it cannot locate these

files. If this occurs you may need to manually set permissions to these folders in the three

locations.

For Mac OS, you can manually set permissions by CTRL+clicking the appropriate folder,

navigate \Info\Sharing & Permissions\ and set the user permissions to read/write.

For Windows OS, right click on the appropriate folder, click on the Properties\Security

tab and adjust permissions to allow read/write access to the folder.


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Updating From an Older Version of How to Listen

When you install an updated version of How to Listen over a previous version, the

installer will retain previous user accounts and session files. When you first open How to

Listen after installation, you will need to establish a new user account and password in order toaccess any new features/bug fixes in the newer sessions.xml file included with the newer

version. This means you can not use previous accounts established with the older version of

How to Listen . In a future release, a feature will be added to the software that merges the

results from the old sessions.xml file with the new one. In this way, you can use your existing

account, and merge the new results with the existing results.

First Time Use

Find the directory in which you installed How to Listen and then double click on How to

Listen (Offline). You will be prompted with the welcome screen. Click New User.

Use the blank fields to create your offline username and password. This password may be any

number of characters and letters.


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After creating a password and username, you will be taken to the main login page. Simply use

your newly created info, and click ok.


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Using How to Listen

The Welcome to How To Listen window shows you a list of training tasks based on

different categories: Band ID, Attribute, Preference, etc. There are several sub tasks or Options

for each task. Try to get as high a level as possible in all tasks. You can check your progress bylooking at the Level you have achieved in all tasks, and the number of trials that you have

attempted.

To begin a task in Training Mode, double click on the desired task. You will then resume

the task from the previous level that you had achieved. Your progress is only saved in Training

Mode. If you wish to practice, click on Practice. See Practice Mode for more on Practice

setup.


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Optimizing How To Listen

Before starting the How to Listen application, make sure you quit other audioapplications (like iTunes) and turn off other audio effects running in the background (EQ, spatial

processing, loudness compensation). This will ensure that you are hearing the audio tracks at

the proper sampling rates with the intended signal processing.

Program Material

Music samples included with How to Listen are provided by Bravura Records. These high

resolution recordings from Bravura are recorded and mixed live as 24 bit/192 kHz files by thelegendary recording engineering/producer Bill Schnee, who has been Grammy-nominated 11

times for Best Engineered Recording and has won twice for Aja and Gaucho, both from Steely

Dan. Bravura recordings are made using musicians with real talent, recorded in real-time. To

find more information abo ut Bravura Records please visit their website:

www.bravurarecords.com .

Descriptions of the recordings provided by Bravura Records are below:

Track 1: How Long by Bill CantosBill is an extremely gifted singer, songwriter, arranger, and pianist. His fabulous arranging skills

are truly shown on this classic pop hit from the 70s.

Track 2: Clap Hands by George Krikes (Kreekus)

George is a young indie/pop artist with a smooth voice, whos a great arranger and a wonderful

songwriter. His appeal will span a broad demographic.

Track 3: Four Wheel Drive by Paul Thorn

Paul is a brilliant singer/song writer who forms his unique brand of American storytelling from

the world around him. Descriptive terms such as inspiration, eccentricity, and character all tell

part of this story. But hearing him live says it all!


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Track 4: Fiesta Linda by Open Hands

Led by the legendary Abraham Laboriel of whom Larry Carleton once said. There are a lot of

great bass players in this world, but there is one, and only one Abraham Laboriel. Everything

this band plays embraces the joy of music making to the fullest.

Auditioning ChoicesIf you give an incorrect answer in training mode, or in practice mode with Feedback

turned on, you will be given an option to audition possible choices. If you choose yes, you will

see a training screen much like the one you just made the incorrect selection on.

In Audition Mode, you may select any of the filters shown to instantly hear how they

sound, then compare them to the unequalized version by clicking Flat. This is useful for being

able to visualize what you are hearing, and will further train your ears to recognize the filters.

Click Done when you are finished auditioning to continue to the next trial.


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Keyboard Interaction

The following are keyboard shortcuts for both types of Listener Training exercises.

Band ID Keys

Key ActionSpace Toggles between play and pause.Up For combined peaks/dips, moves the user's selection from a dip to the peak at

the same frequency. If the user currently has a peak selected, the next highestfrequency's dip becomes selected. For all other Band ID tasks, the up arrowbehaves just as the right arrow. Selections will wrap at the boundaries if there

are 5 or more bands.Down For combined peaks/dips, moves the user's selection from a peak to the dip at

the same frequency. If the user currently has a dip selected, the next lowestfrequency's peak becomes selected. For all other Band ID tasks, the down arrowbehaves just as the left arrow. Selections will wrap at the boundaries if there are5 or more bands.

Right Moves the user's selection to the next highest frequency. The right arrow willnot move from a peak to a dip for combined peaks/dips. Selections will wrap at

the boundaries if there are 5 or more bands.Left Moves the user's selection to the next lowest frequency. The left arrow will notmove from a peak to a dip for combined peaks/dips. Selections will wrap at theboundaries if there are 5 or more bands.

e Plays the equalized (EQ) version of the audio.f Plays the unequalized (Flat) version of the audio.Enter Used to enter your nal response (Done).


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Attribute KeysKey ActionSpace Toggles between play/pause audio states.

Up Moves the scale rating slider up incrementally.Down Moves the scale rating slider down incrementally.Right Plays the stimulus to the right of the currently selected stimulus.Left Plays the stimulus to the left of the currently selected stimulus.s Sort the stimuli based on the user's current ranking.Enter Used to enter your nal response (Done). Anyletterexcept

"s"

Switch to the stimulus associated with the given letter. Stimulus buttons arelabeled with letters.


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Practice Mode

Practice m ode allows you to ad just and control the test parameters (program, gain, filter

Q, etc) to your liking. Use it to have a go at more difficult levels than you are currently

attempting in training mode, or to go back a few levels if you need easier practice than yourcurrent training level. Practice mode does not save your results so any accomplishm ents will not

be shown as credit towards your training progress. You do have the option of saving the results

of your practice mode results as a text file.

This is the Band ID Practice mode setup page. You may change any number of the

Parameters. Note that the Filter tab lets you select any number of filter types from the Band

ID category. Once you have selected the number of starting Bands, the type of training mode

you wish, and the various parameters associated with that mode, you must choose the program

material you will be tested on. To see how to add your own program material, click here .If Feedback: yes option is selected, then the software will tell you after each trial

whether your response is correct or not, then prompt you as to whether you wish to audition

your choices (See Auditioning Choices ). If the Feedback: No option is selected, you will not be


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given any feedback on your answers until the end of the run of trials. This option is useful in a

classroom training scenario where the group of listeners write their responses after each trial,

and the final results are tabulated at the end of the test.

To switch to the Attribute category, click on Attribute at the top of the window.


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Adding Your Own Music in Practice Mode

In Practice Mode, you can easily add your own program material to train your ears. In

either Band ID or Attribute mode, you will see the program selection button. Click Choose,

then Add File. Find the location of the file on your hard drive or external media, then click ok. You will be asked to make an easily readable title for the song. Now whenever you use

practice mode, you will see your own music file as an option for program material. Keep in mind

that the software does not make a copy of the song in its sound file folders, so if the location of

your personal music file changes, you must re-add it.

The training software currently supports the following file formats: WAV (16 bit, 44.1

kHz) and AIFF (44.1 kHz) and MP3.

If you select a music file that does not meet these requirements a message box will tell

you that the file format is not supported. You may convert your desired sound file to one of the

above formats using an audio conversion application. Be aware that Practice Mode in How to

Listen will look for your uploaded music in the original directory you specify, i.e. if you upload

music from a flash drive, How to Listen will look for that drive every time you choose that

specific track for your training.


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How to Listen Training Modes

The following training modes offer a variety of ways to teach you how to listen critically

and discern imperfections. Be sure to practice each mode enough to the point where you are

making minimal errors.

Band ID

Band ID modes of training all follow the same principle: you are presented the music

without any frequency response alterations (Flat) and a modified version (EQ) that has been

equalized by one of the filters graphically represented as a curve drawn on the graph. Your task

is to decide which filter best matches the sound of the equalized version (EQ).

Band ID Scoring MethodIn order to advance a level in Band ID tasks, you must achieve three consecutive correct

answers on your current trial. If you receive three consecutive incorrect answers, you must

complete the previous skill level before you may advance.


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Peaks

When not in Practice mode, you start the Peaks training with two very wide band peaks.

Compare the unequalized version of the sound (FLAT) to the equalized version (EQ), and

determine which frequency band is affected by the equalization. Enter your response by clicking

on the numbered button that corresponds to the affected frequency band, and then hit the

DONE button.

! Listening Tip : The audibility of peak or dip depends on its height (gain in dB), width (bandwidth or Q), and the frequency. Wider peaks or dips are more audible and easier to hear than narrower peaks and dips at equivalent heights or gain. As the skill level increases, the peaks and dips will become narrower and generally more difcult to correctly identify.


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Dips

The Dips training mode is identical to the Peaks mode, but with level reduction of a

certain bandwidth applied to the (EQ) version of the song.

Compare the unequalized version of the sound (FLAT) to the equalized version (EQ), and

determine which frequency band is affected by the equalization. Enter your response by clicking

on the numbered button that corresponds to the affected frequency band, and then hit the

DONE button.

! Listening Tip : Once you learn the sound of peaks added at different frequency regions, you can use that information to identify a dip. When you switch between EQ and Flat, the Flat condition will sound like you are adding a peak at the frequency where the dip occurs.


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Peaks/Dips

The Peaks/Dips mode is just like the Peaks mode or Dips mode, except this time both

types of filters are options within each trial. Compare the unequalized version of the sound

(FLAT) to the equalized version (EQ), and determine which frequency band is affected by the

equalization, and whether it is boosted or cut. Enter your response by clicking on the numbered

button that corresponds to the affected frequency band, and then hit the DONE button.

! Listening Tip : When testing yourself in the peaks/dips modes, do two things:

! 1. First decide whether EQ is louder (Peak) or softer (Dip) than FLAT. That will eliminate 50% of your choices.

! 2. Second, decide which frequency range (bass/midrange/treble) the peak or dip falls into, and narrow your choices from there.


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Lowpass

This training task helps you determine at which frequencies a lowpass is applied. A

lowpass filter removes higher frequencies (and passes the lows on through). The sound of the

lowpass filter depends on its frequency and slope. In these exercises, the filter slope is fixed at

12 dB per octave. Compare the unequalized version of the sound (FLAT) to the equalized

version (EQ), and determine which frequency band is affected by the equalization. Enter your

response by clicking on the numbered button that corresponds to the affected frequency band,

and then hit the DONE button.


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Listening Tip : The lowpass lter training task is very instructive in learning the different frequency regions into which different musical instruments and vocals fall.

! Lowpass Filter Frequency 50 Hz - you will only hear the lowest organ, bass notes, kick drum, and they will

sound dull and mufed; if the music has little low frequency content you will barely hear anything.

100 Hz - you will hear mufed bass instruments and some mufed bass vocal.500 Hz - you should hear bass instruments clearly and mufed vocals.1 kHz - vocals sound clear.4 kHz - bass instruments sound clear and vocals have presence; higher pitched

instruments sound dull.8 kHz - vocals have sibilance and clarity; cymbals and higher pitched instruments

are dull.>15 kHz - everything should sound natural and present with brilliance added to

cymbals and higher pitched instruments.


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Highpass

This training task helps you determine at which frequencies a highpass is applied. Compare the

unequalized version of the sound (Flat) to the equalized version (EQ), and determine which

frequency band is affected by the equalization. Enter your response by clicking on the

numbered button that corresponds to the affected frequency band, and then hit the DONE

button.


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Attribute Modes

Attribute modes do not test your ears knowledge of the frequency spectrum like Band

ID modes do, but rather test your ability to discern unwanted qualities like distortion, hum, and

noise, as well as normal attributes such as spatial balance.

Attribute Scoring MethodDuring any given level, your attribute ratings are averaged into a correlation coefficient.

After a minimum of 3 trials, if your average is above 85%, you will advance a level. If your

coefficient is below 20%, you must complete the previous task skill level before advancing. This

means that for low levels, you must have a perfect rank order to advance, while for higher level

trials, a consistent yet imperfect rank order will still allow advancement.


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Bright/Dull

! Bright/Dull refers to the balance of high frequencies (treble) sounds relative to the lower and middle frequencies. Increasing the relative level of high frequency components will increase the brightness of the sound and decreasing the level will make it sound duller. Good sound should be neither too bright nor too dull.

Compare equalizations A though n, and assign a rating to each based on how bright or

dull each sounds. Pressing the Sort button sorts the rating given to A-n in ascending order

based on your ratings. When you are finished, press Enter (Done). Your correlation score

indicates how accurately you have rank ordered the sounds in terms of their brightness/

dullness. A correlation score of 1 indicates perfect rank ordering. You must achieve a

correlation score of 0.85 to proceed to the next skill level.


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Full/Thin

! Full/Thin refers to the quantity of low frequencies (bass) in sound relative to the middle and higher frequencies. Increasing and decreasing the relative level of low frequency components will make the sound fuller and thinner, respectively. Good sound should neither be too full or too thin.

Compare equalizations A though n, and assign a rating to each based on how full or thin

each sounds. Pressing the Sort button sorts the rating given to A-n in ascending order based

on your ratings. When you are finished, press Enter (Done). Your correlation score indicates

how accurately you have rank ordered the sounds in terms of their Fullness/Thinness. A

correlation score of 1 indicate perfect rank ordering. You must achieve a correlation score of

0.85 to proceed to the next skill level.


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Reverberant/Dry

! Reverberation refers to the level, density, and temporal decay of the late reections in the recording and/or listening space. Reverberation helps improve the timbral richness of instruments and gives us a spatial sense of the recording space. However, too much reverberation can reduce speech intelligibility and clarity of the music.

Compare sounds A through n, and assign a rating based on how much reverberation

each sound contains. Pressing the Sort button sorts the rating given to A-n in ascending order

based on your ratings. When you are finished, press Enter (Done). Your correlation score

indicates how accurately you have rank ordered the sounds in terms of the amount of

reverberation they contain. A correlation score of 1 indicates perfect rank ordering. You must

achieve a correlation score of 0.85 to proceed to the next skill level.


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Noisy/Noise-Free

! Noise is often present in a system, and when raised to an audible level can often present distortions that detract from the delity of the reproduction. In this training task, broadband white noise is generated at

varying levels and mixed in with the original signal.

Compare sounds A through n, and assign a rating based on how much noise each sound

contains. Pressing the Sort button sorts the rating given to A-n in ascending order based on

your ratings. When you are finished, press Enter (Done). Your correlation score indicates how

accurately you have rank ordered the sounds in terms of the amount of noise they contain. A

correlation score of 1 indicates perfect rank ordering. You must achieve a correlation score of



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Colored/Uncolored

! Coloration refers to an unnatural distortion in the timbre of sounds usually associated with the presence of undesirable medium and narrow band resonances in the playback chain and/or listening room. Timbre refers to

the quality of a musical note or sound that distinguishes it from other types of notes or instruments.

Compare equalizations A though n, and assign a rating to each based on how colored

each one sounds. Higher ratings correspond with more coloration. Pressing the Sort button

sorts the rating given to A-n in ascending order based on your ratings. When you are finished,

press Enter (Done). Your correlation score indicates how accurately you have rank ordered the

sounds in terms of their coloration. A correlation score of 1 indicates perfect rank ordering. You

must achieve a correlation score of 0.85 to proceed to the next skill level.


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Left/Right

! Left/Right balance refers to the apparent locations of the auditory images between the left and right front loudspeakers. You should be sitting equidistant between the left/right speakers, in the so-called stereo sweet

spot.

Use the slider to indicate the apparent left/right location of Sounds A-n. A rating of 5

indicates the image is located at the left speaker, 0 is center, and -5 is the right loudspeaker.

Pressing the Sort button sorts the rating given to A-n in ascending order based on your

ratings. When you are finished, press Enter (Done). Your correlation score indicates how

accurately you have rank ordered the sounds in terms of their Left/Right locations. A correlation

score of 1 indicate perfect rank ordering. You must achieve a correlation score of 0.85 to

proceed to the next skill level.


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Audible Hum/Hum-free

! Audio electronic components can have audible hum (heard as 50-60 Hz and higher harmonics) in the background created by ground loops between audio components, poor shielding or a bad cable in the system.

Since the hum consists of a continuous tone in the background, it can be very distracting your enjoyment of the reproduced music.

Use the slider to indicate the relative intensities or levels of audible hum in A through n.

Pressing the Sort button sorts the rating given to A-n in ascending order based on your

ratings. When you are finished, press Enter (Done). Your correlation score indicates how

accurately you have rank ordered the sounds in terms of their relative level of audible hum. A

correlation score of 1 indicate perfect rank ordering. You must achieve a correlation score of



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http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/connecting-your-system/ground-loops-eliminating-system-hum-and-buzzhttp://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/connecting-your-system/ground-loops-eliminating-system-hum-and-buzz


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Acknowledgements

How to Listen Software was written by Eric Hu and Sean Hess in Harmans Corporate R&D

Group. The user manual was written by Alex Miller. Contributions towards the development of the

training methodology were provided by Dr. Sean Olive, Director of Acoustic Research of HarmansCorporate R&D Group, and Dr. Kristina Busenitz and Dr. Rafael Kassier of the Harman Automotive

Division. We would like to thank Dr. Floyd Toole and Tim Nind for their continued support of this project.


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