Wavelet packet based audio coding using temporal masking

Conventional audio coding algorithms do not exploit knowledge of the temporal masking properties of the human auditory system, relying solely on simultaneous masking models. This paper presents wavelet packet based audio coding incorporating both temporal and simultaneous masking models. By applying a novel temporal masking model, following simultaneous masking, combined masking thresholds were calculated more accurately resulting in a bit rate reduction of approximately 25 kbps while preserving perceptual quality. This result was confirmed by semi-formal subjective test on audio signals.