The masking effect among multiple audio tracks can lead to decreasing of audio clarity. Adjusting the masking ratio is one method to minimize the masking effect between multiple tracks. This paper presents a subjective experiment aimed at exploring user preferences for the Masker-to-Signal Ratio (MSR) in multi-speaker content. Through the subjective listening test, this study addresses three research questions regarding user preference and transfers the results of the experiment into corresponding LUFS values. Based on the experiment, our findings suggest that maintaining a MSR value less than -10 and a minimum loudness difference of approximately 14 LUFS, between the target track and other tracks is necessary to preserve the prominence of the target track. Additionally, a MSR close to 0, coupled with a loudness difference of around 10 LUFS, will improve clarity between the target track and multiple tracks. In the investigation, nearly half of the participants maintained a positive attitude towards multi-track audio.
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https://aes2.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22569
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