Improved 1‐Bark bandwidth auditory filter

A critical band filtering function attributed to Schroeder [A. J. Fourcin et al., ‘‘Speech processing by man and machine,’’ in Recognition of Complex Acoustic Signals, edited by Theodore H. Bullock (Dahlem Konferenzen, Berlin, 1977)] is modified to (i) ensure 1‐Bark bandwidth, (ii) have asymptotic slopes which reflect filtering characteristics of the human ear, and (iii) attain its maximum at 0 Bark. A bank of the new filters spaced at 1‐Bark intervals is presented, and its smoothing effect on a vowel spectrum is illustrated.