JPH10341123A - Acoustic reproduction device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a device to reproduce a sound preferred by a listener even when surrounding noise is subject to change by compensating a listening fault caused by masking of surrounding noise at reproduction of an acoustic signal. SOLUTION: A sound signal is given to a sound processing means 18 and an input output characteristic calculation means 13. An environment sound picked up by a microphone 11 is given to an environment sound measurement means 12, where a masking band is analyzed by using a band split filter. In the case of reproducing the sound signal by a listener, a specific loudness characteristic is extracted from an audible sense database 14, and a preference tone adjustment means 15 adjusts the loudness characteristic. The input output characteristic calculation means 13 calculates an input output characteristic of each frequency band to be processed to control an output characteristic of a reproduced sound.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sound reproducing apparatus for automatically changing the input / output characteristics of a sound signal for each band in accordance with environmental noise by adjusting the hearing characteristics of a listener and the listener's own. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A sound reproducing apparatus used in a noisy environment such as a car radio or a car stereo has conventionally been configured to automatically increase a reproduction volume according to the level of ambient noise.
Attempts have been made to maintain a state that is easy to hear even when there is noise. A device that utilizes the minimum audible value of the listener when automatically adjusting the volume is disclosed in
What is described in -334457 is known.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the automatic volume control device 70 of the above publication. This automatic sound suppressor 7
0 has an input terminal 71 for an audio signal and a microphone 81 for picking up environmental sound. The audio signal input from the input terminal 71 is provided to the audio signal analysis means 100 via the A / D converter 72. The voice signal analysis means 100
It comprises an FT 76 and a level detector 77, divides an input audio signal into a plurality of frequency band components, and detects the level of the audio signal component falling within each frequency band.

On the other hand, the environmental sound (ambient sound) picked up by the microphone 81 is amplified by a microphone amplifier 82 and supplied to an ambient sound signal analyzing means 101 via an A / D converter 83. Ambient sound signal analysis means 101 includes an FFT 84 and a level detector 85, divides an ambient sound signal obtained from microphone 81 into a plurality of frequency band components, and detects the level of an ambient sound signal belonging to each frequency band. .

[0005] The hearing characteristic holding means 88 holds the minimum audibility of each frequency of the listener. The comparator 87 compares the output of the ambient sound signal analyzing means 101 with the minimum audibility of each frequency held in the auditory characteristic holding means 88, and gives the comparison result to the gain calculating means 78. The gain calculating means 78 calculates the gain to be given to the signal component of each frequency band with respect to the output of the audio signal analyzing means 100 based on the comparison result of the comparator 87. The gain of each frequency band calculated by the gain calculating means 78 is passed through the interpolator 79 to the filter coefficient calculating means 80.
And converted to filter coefficients.

On the other hand, the audio signal from the input terminal 71 is A /
It is provided to the gain calculating means 102 via the D converter 73. The gain calculating means 102 includes the FIR filter 74, the above-described interpolator 79, and the filter coefficient calculating means 80. The frequency characteristics of the audio signal input to the FIR filter 74 are converted by the filter coefficient set by the filter coefficient calculating means 80, and an audio signal whose volume is controlled via the D / A converter 75 is output.

[0007] Such a conventional automatic sound control device appropriately compensates for the reduction of the perceived sound volume and the auditory characteristics of the listener due to the ambient noise during reproduction, and over the entire frequency band of the sound signal.
Appropriate volume could be maintained.

[0008]

However, in such an automatic sound damping device, although the minimum audible value of the listener is used as the hearing characteristic, the dynamic range of hearing has not been considered. For this reason, when a sound signal with a low sound pressure is input, if the listener whose hearing level has dropped increases the gain of the sound signal to an audible level, the sound signal originally having a high sound pressure is amplified more than necessary. Would be. In this case, the listener may feel annoyed with the reproduced sound.

The listener's favorite volume and sound quality are various, and it is conceivable that the same listener may differ depending on the sound source (source) to be reproduced. However, the above configuration has a problem that the listener himself cannot adjust. Was.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and enables an input audio signal to be reproduced at an optimum volume even for a listener whose auditory dynamic range has been narrowed. A sound playback device that allows the listener to set his / her favorite acoustic characteristics by making adjustments to the sound parameters himself, and then automatically reproduces the auditory impression even when the ambient sound is heard. The purpose is to do.

[0011]

In order to solve this problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application provides a microphone for picking up a sound received by a listener and an environmental sound, and a sound output from the microphone. An environmental sound signal measuring means for dividing a signal and an environmental sound signal into a plurality of frequency bands, smoothing each band signal and detecting a level of each band signal, an auditory database holding a plurality of sets of a listener's loudness characteristics, Preferred sound adjusting means for adjusting the acoustic characteristics of the user, and the level of each band signal output from the environmental sound measuring means, and the input audio signal based on the acoustic characteristics output from the preferred sound adjusting means. Input / output characteristic calculating means for calculating input / output characteristics that match the loudness characteristics of the auditory database; and input / output characteristics based on the input / output characteristics determined by the input / output characteristic calculating means. It is characterized in that it comprises an acoustic signal processing means for controlling each band-specific gain of the audio signal.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a microphone which collects a sound received by a listener and an environmental sound, and a sound signal and an environmental sound signal output from the microphone are divided into a plurality of frequency bands. Environmental sound signal measuring means for smoothing band signals and detecting the level of each band signal, an auditory database holding a plurality of sets of a listener's loudness characteristics, and a taste sound adjusting means for adjusting a listener's favorite acoustic characteristics; A voice / silence determination instructing means for receiving a voice signal and outputting a voice / voice instruction signal when the voice signal is equal to or more than a threshold value, and outputting a voice / non-voice instruction signal when the voice signal is less than the threshold value; When the instruction signal is output, an environmental sound signal is detected from the microphone, and the level is determined based on the level of each band of the environmental sound signal and the acoustic characteristic output from the preference sound adjusting unit. Input / output characteristic calculating means for obtaining an input / output characteristic such that the input audio signal matches the loudness characteristic of the auditory database, based on the input / output characteristic obtained by the input / output characteristic calculating means, Sound signal processing means for controlling a gain for each band.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a microphone that collects a sound received by a listener and an environmental sound, and a sound signal and an environmental sound signal output from the microphone are divided into a plurality of frequency bands. Environmental sound signal measuring means for smoothing band signals and detecting the level of each band signal, an auditory database holding a plurality of sets of a listener's loudness characteristics, and a taste sound adjusting means for adjusting a listener's favorite acoustic characteristics; A voice signal as an input, a voice signal if the voice signal is equal to or more than a threshold, and outputs a voice instruction signal.If the voice signal is less than the threshold, a voice / silence determination instruction means that outputs a voice instruction signal, and each frequency input from the hearing database. Minimum audible value of the band (HTL)
A loudness function and an optimal listening threshold (MCL) are estimated from the uncomfortable threshold (UCL) and the auditory characteristic estimating means to be provided to the auditory database; An ambient sound signal is detected from a microphone, and based on the level of each band of the ambient sound signal and the acoustic characteristic output from the preference sound adjusting unit, the input audio signal matches the loudness characteristic of the auditory database. Input / output characteristic calculating means for obtaining an appropriate input / output characteristic, and acoustic signal processing means for controlling a gain of each band of the input audio signal based on the input / output characteristic obtained by the input / output characteristic calculating means. It is characterized by the following.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a microphone which collects a sound received by a listener and an environmental sound, and a sound signal and an environmental sound signal output from the microphone are divided into a plurality of frequency bands. Environmental sound signal measuring means for smoothing band signals and detecting the level of each band signal, an auditory database holding a plurality of sets of a listener's loudness characteristics, and a taste sound adjusting means for adjusting a listener's favorite acoustic characteristics; A voice signal as an input, a voice signal if the voice signal is equal to or more than a threshold, and outputs a voice instruction signal.If the voice signal is less than the threshold, a voice / silence determination instruction means that outputs a voice instruction signal, and each frequency input from the hearing database. Minimum audible value of the band (HTL)
From the loudness function and the optimal listening threshold (MCL),
When a silence instruction signal is output from the auditory characteristic estimating means for estimating an unpleasant threshold (UCL) and giving it to the auditory database and the sound / silence determination instruction means, an environmental sound signal is detected from the microphone and the environmental sound is detected. Input / output characteristic calculating means for obtaining an input / output characteristic such that an input audio signal matches the loudness characteristic of the auditory database based on the level of each band of the signal and the acoustic characteristic output from the preference sound adjusting means; And an audio signal processing unit for controlling a gain of each band of the input audio signal based on the input / output characteristics calculated by the input / output characteristics calculation unit.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A sound reproducing apparatus according to each embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Embodiment 1) An audio reproducing apparatus 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Sound reproduction device 10 according to this embodiment
When the sound to be reproduced is masked by the surrounding environmental sound and the listener hardly hears the reproduced sound, the sound reproducing apparatus 10 does not embed the sound signal in the environmental sound and outputs the unpleasant threshold (UC
L) The input / output characteristics are automatically set to a level not exceeding L). The sound reproducing device 10 determines the input / output characteristics of each frequency band from the level of the environmental noise and the loudness characteristics of the listener, and outputs an audio signal after filter synthesis, thereby enabling comfortable listening. With the goal.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a sound reproducing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. An input terminal 17 for an audio signal and a microphone 11 for inputting sound output from a speaker (not shown) and environmental sound. And The microphone 11 is installed at the position of the listener. The audio signal from the input terminal 17 is supplied to the acoustic signal processing means 18, and the signal of the sound collected by the microphone 11 and the environmental sound is supplied to the environmental sound signal measuring means 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the environmental sound signal measuring means 12 comprises a band division filtering means 21 and a level detecting means 22, and when the acoustic signal processing means 18 is turned off, the environmental sound signal inputted from the microphone 11 is turned off. This is a measuring unit that performs a frequency analysis of a sound signal and a frequency analysis of an input audio signal. The input environmental sound signal or voice signal is applied to the frequency band division filtering means 21 shown in FIG.
, And the level detection unit 22 performs detection and smoothing for each frequency band.

Here, the critical band theory which is an important concept of the frequency analysis of the auditory sense will be described. The human auditory elimination system is a band-pass filter group (auditory filter) whose bands are continuously overlapped.
It is thought that it has such a function. FIG.
As shown in (2), as the center frequency increases, the bandwidth of the auditory filter also increases. Typical values for the 3 dB bandwidth of the auditory filter are 10% to 15% of the center frequency.
Generally, it may be considered that a plurality of auditory filters are arranged at equal intervals on a logarithmic axis.

By taking such an auditory filter into account, various auditory phenomena can be well explained.
For example, according to the masking theory, when the target sound and the band noise are present simultaneously in the critical band, the amount of masking of the target sound by the noise (masking amount) increases as the bandwidth of the noise is increased. However, when the width of the band noise exceeds the critical bandwidth, the masking amount does not change. This is presumably because, when trying to detect the target voice in the background noise, the listener applies an auditory filter having a center frequency close to the voice signal desired to be heard. With such a filter, it is possible to remove most of the noise while passing the target audio signal.

At this time, it is considered that only the component of the noise that passes through the filter affects the masking of the audio signal. In the present embodiment, in the environmental sound signal measuring means 12 of FIG. 2, an auditory filter is simulated, and band division filtering means 21 are provided at regular intervals on a logarithmic frequency axis, and the frequency width is set to 15% per center frequency. . The noise component that has passed through the band division filtering unit 21 is detected and smoothed by the level detection unit 22, and FIG.
Is input to the input / output characteristic calculation means 13.

The hearing database 14 holds the loudness characteristics of the listener in each frequency band. The loudness characteristic refers to a relationship between a physical sound pressure input to a human ear and a size at which sound can be actually heard. In general, when the sound pressure is low, the sound sounds small, and when the sound pressure is high, the sound sounds loud. However, the loudness characteristic varies variously depending on the person.

First, the range of sounds that can be heard is set to the minimum audible value (HT
L) can be defined as an unpleasant threshold (UCL). The minimum audible value (HTL) is a level at which sound is heard or not heard in a very quiet place, and sounds below this level are not heard. The unpleasant threshold (UCL) is a level at which the user does not want to hear a sound at a higher level than this, and is a level at which the user feels very noisy.

The range between the minimum audible value and the discomfort threshold can be considered to be the auditory dynamic range. In presbycusis, which is common in the elderly, the hearing level at high frequencies decreases. Assuming that the minimum audible value (HTL) at 4 kHz of a certain listener is 40 dB, this means that the average hearing level of a normal hearing person is lower by about 30 dB to 40 dB. In this case, in order to listen at the same loudness as a normal hearing person, the gain of the input audio signal must be increased from 30 dB to 40 dB.

Next, when the discomfort threshold (UCL) of the elderly is examined, it is almost the same level as that of a normal hearing person, and is about 100 dB.
Often around.

In such a case, if the input / output characteristics are determined by paying attention only to the HTL, if the input / output characteristics are 80 d
For the audio signal that should be output at B, the output level after processing changes from 110 dB to 120 dB, clearly exceeding the discomfort threshold (UCL). That is, even a listener whose hearing level has dropped has a loudness value similar to that of a normal hearing person for a strong sound, so that it is not necessary to increase the gain unnecessarily.

Therefore, a listener whose hearing level has fallen is required to compress and output the amplitude of a sound signal that should be audible within the narrow dynamic range.

Based on this idea, a plurality of sets of the minimum audible value (HTL) and the unpleasant level (UCL) of each frequency band are stored in the auditory database 14 so that the output characteristics can be changed as needed. Holds data. This HT
What connects L and UCL with a straight line or a broken line as shown in FIG. 5 is treated as a loudness function. Actually, the loudness function draws a curve, and the curve varies depending on the listener. As a method of fitting this curve well, in the present embodiment, a listener can control the outer shape of the loudness characteristic for each band by the favorite sound adjusting device 15. The loudness curve was treated as a shape approximated by two straight lines as shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, and the input / output characteristics at the boundary points were adjusted as indicated by the arrows in the figure to determine the overall input / output characteristics.

The acoustic signal processing means 18 has a band division filter simulating an auditory filter similarly to the environmental sound signal measuring means 12, and the input / output characteristic calculating means 13 is provided at a subsequent stage.
The gain of the input signal for each band is controlled by the obtained input / output characteristics, and the signal components of each band are mixed and output.

By performing the above audio processing,
The sound signal can be reproduced within the dynamic range of the listener's hearing taking into account the environmental sound. Further, by adjusting the curve of the input / output characteristics by the preference sound adjusting device 15, it is possible to reproduce the sound quality desired by the listener.

(Embodiment 2) Next, an audio reproducing apparatus 30 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the sound reproducing device 30 according to the present embodiment. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are given the same names, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

The sound reproducing apparatus 30 includes a microphone 31, an environmental sound signal measuring means 32, and an input / output characteristic calculating means 3.
3, an auditory database 34, a favorite sound adjusting unit 35, an input terminal 36 for audio signals, a sound / silence determination instruction unit 37, and an acoustic signal processing unit 38.

The difference from the first embodiment is that a sound / silence determination instruction means 37 is newly provided, and a sound instruction signal is output when the audio signal is above a certain level, and a silent instruction signal is output when the audio signal is below a certain level. This is to provide the calculation means 33. The input / output characteristic calculation means 33 calculates the minimum audible value (HTL) output from the auditory characteristic database 34 and the environmental sound signal measurement means 3 in order to obtain the minimum value of the output characteristic.
2 and the environmental sound not including the audio signal. If the sound / silence determination instructing means 37 indicates that there is no sound, the signal input to the environmental sound signal measuring means 32 can be regarded as an environmental sound signal containing no audio signal. Can be regarded as the frequency characteristic of the environmental sound.

The provision of the sound / silence determination instruction means 37 makes it possible to easily specify the environmental sound. This makes it easier to determine the minimum value of the output characteristics,
The amount of calculation can also be reduced. Other operations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

(Embodiment 3) Next, an audio reproducing apparatus 40 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the sound reproducing device 40 according to the present embodiment. The same parts as those in the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted.

The sound reproducing apparatus 40 includes a microphone 41, an environmental sound signal measuring means 42, and an input / output characteristic calculating means 4.
3. A hearing database 44, a preference sound adjusting unit 45, an audio signal input terminal 46, a sound / silence determination instruction unit 47, an auditory characteristic estimating unit 48, and an acoustic signal processing unit 49.

The hearing characteristic estimating means 48 obtains a minimum audible value (HTL) and a discomfort threshold (UCL) from the hearing database 44.
Is read, the optimum listening value MCL is estimated, and given to the input / output characteristic calculation means 43 as an MCL parameter signal of a loudness function. Here is the optimal listening value (MCL)
Is the volume that is most audible when listening to voice. In order to estimate the MCL, the results of psychoacoustic experiments for the elderly and hearing people are used.

The contents of the experiment consisted of three types of frequencies (250H
z, 1 kHz, 4 kHz) from the listener's minimum audible value,
Presents pure sounds at various sound pressures up to a level that is noisy and hard to hear anymore. And the size is 7
HTL and UCL showed a large individual difference when asked to respond in a graded evaluation. Here, when the loudness of the sound that the subject was most likely to listen to was examined, the optimal listening value MCL was determined as the psychological evaluation scale of the loudness of the sound because it corresponds to the central evaluation scale of the seven-level evaluation. You can think of it as the center.

Here, one regularity can be found in UCL, MCL, HTL, and (UCL-MCL) / (MC
When the value of (L-HTL) was μ, a certain tendency was observed in μ. In the left and right ears of seven subjects, a total of three frequencies of four
Analysis of this value with a sample size of 0 gave an average of 0.5.
06, standard deviation 0.13, parameter standard deviation 0.13
When the population mean μ was estimated, 0.4657 ≦ μ ≦ 0.5463 with a 95% confidence interval, indicating generality. If UCL and MCL are given from this result,
The outer shape of the loudness characteristic can be estimated, and the optimum listening value can also be estimated.

Using this, the auditory database 44
Is the minimum audible value HTL1 and UCL1
When the data is output to the auditory characteristic estimating means 48, the optimal listening value MCL1 can be estimated by the following equation (1). MCL1 = (2/3) (UCL1-HTL1) + HTL1 (1)

FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the environmental sound level and the loudness using the hearing level (HL). For example, if the HTL is 20 dB (HL) and the UCL is 87 dB (HL), (1) From the formula, MCL is 65
dB (HL). The loudness characteristic is held in the auditory characteristic database, and this data is output to the input / output characteristic calculating means 43. If the environmental noise is weak, the input / output characteristics shown in FIG. 6 can be obtained by reading the environmental sound level in FIG. 5 as the output level and the loudness as the input level.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, 0 dB (HL) or more is set to the smallest value on the loudness axis. Since it is assumed that the preference sound adjusting unit 45 adjusts the level to a level that makes it easy for the listener to listen to, the value corresponding to the MCL in FIGS. 5 and 6 can be adjusted. 6, the input level corresponding to 65 dB (HL) assumed to be the MCL can be obtained. Other operations are described in the second embodiment.
Is the same as

(Embodiment 4) Next, an audio reproducing apparatus 90 according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a sound reproducing apparatus 90 according to the present embodiment. The same parts as those in the third embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted.

The sound reproducing apparatus 90 includes a microphone 91, an environmental sound signal measuring means 92, and an input / output characteristic calculating means 9.
3. A hearing database 94, a preference sound adjusting means 95, an audio signal input terminal 96, a sound / silence determination instruction means 97, an auditory characteristic estimating means 98, and an acoustic signal processing means 99. The difference from the third embodiment is that in the auditory characteristic estimating means 98, the minimum audible value (HTL), the unpleasant threshold (UCL), or the comfortable listening value (M
CL), the remaining two parameters can be estimated.

Based on the results of the above-described hearing experiments, a test was performed based on the hypothesis that the difference between UCL and HTL was constant. As a result, the arithmetic mean of UCL-HTL was 67.3 (d).
B) with a standard deviation of 7.6 and a standard deviation of the parameter of 7.
6. When the population mean μ in this case is estimated, 64.97 (dB) ≦ μ ≦ 69.68 (dB) at the 95% confidence interval.
And generality is recognized. Therefore, the following equation (2) can be defined. UCL-HTL = 67.3 (2)

From equations (1) and (2), HTL, UC
The feature of the present embodiment is that if any of L and MCL is given, the remaining parameters can be obtained. Other operations are the same as in the third embodiment.

[0047]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
By providing an acoustic database that retains loudness characteristics in a sound reproducing apparatus that automatically adjusts the volume according to an increase or decrease in environmental sound, gain can be adjusted in consideration of the dynamic range of hearing. In this way, the auditory sound volume can be changed to an optimum value, and too loud sounds are suppressed and output, and necessary and sufficient acoustic information can be provided to the listener.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the presence / absence of sound / silence determination instruction means is provided, only the environmental sound in which no audio signal is mixed can be analyzed, so that the environmental sound for masking the audio can be accurately measured. Will be possible.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, by providing the auditory characteristic estimating means, even if the loudness characteristic parameter held in the auditory database is small, it can be estimated from the relationship between UCL, MCL and HTL. This makes it possible to more easily determine the loudness characteristics.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a sound reproduction device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of environmental sound signal measuring means used in the sound reproducing device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a sound reproducing device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a sound reproduction device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows loudness characteristics in the sound reproducing devices according to the fourth and fifth embodiments.

FIG. 6 shows input / output characteristics of the sound reproducing devices according to the fourth and fifth embodiments.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a bandwidth of an auditory filter used in the sound reproducing device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a sound reproduction device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a conventional automatic volume control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 30, 40, 90 Sound reproducing device 11, 31, 41, 91 Microphone 12, 32, 42, 92 Environmental sound signal measuring means 13, 33, 43, 93 Input / output characteristic calculating means 14, 34, 44, 94 Hearing Database 15, 35, 45, 95 Preference sound adjustment means 17, 36, 46, 96 Input terminal 18, 38, 49, 99 Acoustic signal processing means 37, 47, 97 Voiced / silent determination instruction means 48, 98 Hearing characteristic estimation means 21 band division filtering means 22 level detection means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Satoru Ibaraki 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A microphone that picks up a sound to be heard by a listener and an environmental sound, a sound signal and an environmental sound signal output from the microphone to be divided into a plurality of frequency bands, and each band signal is smoothed by Environmental sound signal measuring means for detecting the level of a band signal; an auditory database holding a plurality of sets of listener loudness characteristics; a preferred sound adjusting means for adjusting a listener's favorite acoustic characteristics; and the environmental sound measuring means. Input / output characteristic calculation means for obtaining an input / output characteristic that matches an input audio signal with the loudness characteristic of the auditory database based on the level of each output band signal and the acoustic characteristic output from the preference sound adjustment means. And an audio signal processing means for controlling a gain of each band of the input audio signal based on the input / output characteristics calculated by the input / output characteristics calculation means. Sound reproducing apparatus, characterized in that. 2. A microphone for picking up a sound to be heard by a listener and an environmental sound, a sound signal and an environmental sound signal output from the microphone being divided into a plurality of frequency bands, and each band signal being smoothed by Ambient sound signal measuring means for detecting the level of the band signal, an auditory database holding a plurality of sets of the listener's loudness characteristics, a preference sound adjusting means for adjusting the listener's favorite acoustic characteristics, and audio inputting the audio signal If the signal is equal to or greater than the threshold, a sound instruction signal is output; if the signal is less than the threshold, a sound instruction signal is output; and if the sound instruction signal is output from the sound / non-sound instruction instruction means. Detecting an environmental sound signal from the microphone;
An input / output characteristic for obtaining an input / output characteristic that matches an input audio signal with the loudness characteristic of the auditory database based on the level of each band of the environmental sound signal and the acoustic characteristic output from the preference sound adjusting unit; An audio reproducing apparatus comprising: a calculating unit; and an audio signal processing unit that controls a gain of each band of an input audio signal based on the input / output characteristics obtained by the input / output characteristics calculating unit. 3. A microphone for picking up a sound to be heard by a listener and an environmental sound; and a sound signal and an environmental sound signal output from the microphone are divided into a plurality of frequency bands, and each band signal is smoothed by Ambient sound signal measuring means for detecting the level of the band signal, an auditory database holding a plurality of sets of the listener's loudness characteristics, a preference sound adjusting means for adjusting the listener's favorite acoustic characteristics, and audio inputting the audio signal A sound / silence determination instruction means for outputting a sound instruction signal if the signal is equal to or greater than the threshold, and outputting a silence instruction signal if the signal is less than the threshold; a minimum audible value (HTL) of each frequency band inputted from the auditory database; ) And an unpleasant threshold (UCL) to estimate a loudness function and an optimal listening threshold (MCL), and to provide the auditory characteristic to the auditory database; When a silent instruction signal is output from the determination instruction unit, an environmental sound signal is detected from the microphone,
An input / output characteristic for obtaining an input / output characteristic that matches an input audio signal with the loudness characteristic of the auditory database based on the level of each band of the environmental sound signal and the acoustic characteristic output from the preference sound adjusting unit; An audio reproducing apparatus comprising: a calculating unit; and an audio signal processing unit that controls a gain of each band of an input audio signal based on the input / output characteristics obtained by the input / output characteristics calculating unit. 4. A microphone that picks up a sound received by a listener and an environmental sound, a sound signal and an environmental sound signal output from the microphone are divided into a plurality of frequency bands, and each band signal is smoothed to Ambient sound signal measuring means for detecting the level of the band signal, an auditory database holding a plurality of sets of the listener's loudness characteristics, a preference sound adjusting means for adjusting the listener's favorite acoustic characteristics, and audio inputting the audio signal A sound / silence determination instruction means for outputting a sound instruction signal if the signal is equal to or greater than the threshold, and outputting a silence instruction signal if the signal is less than the threshold; a minimum audible value (HTL) of each frequency band inputted from the auditory database; ), A loudness function, an optimal listening threshold (MCL), and an unpleasant threshold (UCL) are estimated, and the auditory characteristic estimating means is provided to the auditory database. When a silent instruction signal is output from the determination instruction unit, an environmental sound signal is detected from the microphone,
An input / output characteristic for obtaining an input / output characteristic that matches an input audio signal with the loudness characteristic of the auditory database based on the level of each band of the environmental sound signal and the acoustic characteristic output from the preference sound adjusting unit; An audio reproducing apparatus comprising: a calculating unit; and an audio signal processing unit that controls a gain of each band of an input audio signal based on the input / output characteristics obtained by the input / output characteristics calculating unit.