Encoder reverberations in adaptive predictive coding

In the past, the nonlinear effects of quantization in differential speech coders either were modeled as additive white Gaussian noise or were ignored in analysis and quantified experimentally. Describing functions are used to model the nonlinear quantizer effects of coarsely quantized difference signals found primarily in adaptive predictive coding (APC) systems. The analysis predicts marginal instabilities in APC encoders. The marginal instabilities result in ringing distortions in the reconstructed signal which, in the past, may have been attributed to pitch and spectral predictor mismatches. Adaptive order prediction is introduced, analyzed, and offered as a method for increasing the robustness of APC encoders.