System for acoustic communication

Described are techniques for determining whether a received audio signal is corrupted or a product of noise, prior to decoding the entire signal. A received audio signal may include both initialization data and encoded payload data. Correspondence between the initialization data and confirmation data may be determined. If the correspondence indicates a match, the audio receiver may continue decoding the audio signal to access the payload data. If the correspondence does not indicate a match, the audio receiver may cease decoding, which may conserve power, computing resources, and time, ensuring that subsequent audio signals are not missed while the audio receiver decodes a false or corrupted signal.