A generalized framework for binaural spectral subtraction dereverberation

Abstract

Adapting single channel dereveverberation techniques to binaural processing is not trivial. Apart from the challenging task of reducing reverberation without introducing audible artifacts, binaural dereverberation methods should also at least preserve the Interaural Time Difference (ITD) and Interaural Level Difference (ILD) cues, since bilateral signal processing affects the source localization. Given that single-channel spectral subtraction is commonly used to suppress late reverberation, here a generalized binaural extension of such methods is presented that utilizes three alternative bilateral gain adaptation schemes. Each algorithm is implemented independently for the left and right ear channel signals resulting to corresponding weighting gains. Then, these gains are combined and different adaptation strategies are investigated. The proposed extensions are tested with various measured Room Impulse Responses and the results reveal the most appropriate binaural extension.