Conversational Evaluation of Speech Bandwidth Extension Using a Mobile Handset

The quality of narrowband telephone speech can be improved by artificial bandwidth extension. So far, bandwidth extension methods have been evaluated with objective measures and subjective listening-only tests, whereas realistic conversational evaluations have been rare. This article presents a conversational evaluation of two bandwidth extension methods in comparison with narrowband and wideband references. The evaluation was carried out using a mobile handset with a wired earpiece and microphone both in silence and in simulated street noise. The results indicate that speech processed with one of the bandwidth extension methods was preferred over narrowband speech.