Audio Filters

This applet demonstrates audio effects resulting from Audio Filters. It is designed for a first insight into the perceptual effect of filtering an audio signal. Besides the different filter functions and their acoustical effect the applet offers a first insight into the logarithmic behavior of loudness and frequency resolution of our human acoustical perception.

The following filter functions can be selected on the lower right of the graphical user interface

  • Low-/High-pass filter (LP/HP) with control parameter
    • cut-off frequency fc in Hertz (lower horizontal slider)
    • all frequencies above (LP) or below (HP the cut-off frequency are attenuated according to the shown frequency response
  • Low/High-frequency shelving filter (LFS/HFS) with control parameters
    • cut-off frequency fc in Hertz (lower horizontal slider)
    • boost/cut in dB (left vertical slider with + for boost or - for cut)
    • all frequencies below (LFS) or above (HFS) the cut-off frequency are boosted/cut according to the selected boost/cut
  • Peak filter with control parameters
    • center frequency fc in Hertz (lower horizontal slider)
    • boost/cut in dB (left vertical slider with + for boost or - for cut)
    • Q-factor Q=fb/fc (right vertical slider), which controls the bandwidth fb of the boost/cut around the adjusted center frequency fc. Lower Q-factor means wider bandwidth.
    • the peak filter boosts/cuts the center frequency with a bandwidth adjusted by the Q-factor.

The center window shows the frequency response (filter gain versus frequency) of the selected filter functions. You can choose between a linear and a logarithmic frequency axis.

You can choose between two predefined audio files from our web-server ("audio1.wav" or "audio2.wav") or your own local .wav-file to be processed.

To run the applet you will need at least a Java VM 1.4 or later. Please find the latest JRE (Java Runtime Environment) here.