Abstract
The differences in perception of monophonic and binaural masking effects among graduate students was investigated. By testing the subjects’ responses using various combinations of monaural and binaural white noise and tones, the results indicate that differences exist between the perceived masking effects of both types of sound sources. When the performance of each subject across the test matrix is analyzed for trends and compared against those of his or her peers, there is a strong evidence that not only does monophonic noise mask better then binaural noise, but that the converse is also true; monophonic sounds are more difficult to mask. Although the cause of this phenomenon is difficult to ascertain, the effect may be one component of the so-called "cocktail party effect" of audio stream segregation.