English

A framework for invertible, real-time constant-Q transforms

Functional Analysis 2013-05-17 v1

Abstract

Audio signal processing frequently requires time-frequency representations and in many applications, a non-linear spacing of frequency-bands is preferable. This paper introduces a framework for efficient implementation of invertible signal transforms allowing for non-uniform and in particular non-linear frequency resolution. Non-uniformity in frequency is realized by applying nonstationary Gabor frames with adaptivity in the frequency domain. The realization of a perfectly invertible constant-Q transform is described in detail. To achieve real-time processing, independent of signal length, slice-wise processing of the full input signal is proposed and referred to as sliCQ transform. By applying frame theory and FFT-based processing, the presented approach overcomes computational inefficiency and lack of invertibility of classical constant-Q transform implementations. Numerical simulations evaluate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm and the method's applicability is illustrated by experiments on real-life audio signals.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1210.0084,
  title  = {A framework for invertible, real-time constant-Q transforms},
  author = {Nicki Holighaus and Monika Dörfler and Gino Angelo Velasco and Thomas Grill},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1210.0084},
  year   = {2013}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-21T22:13:16.296Z