diff --git a/librosa/decompose.py b/librosa/decompose.py
index 4c1c631bc9..20e5ae1c9e 100644
--- a/librosa/decompose.py
+++ b/librosa/decompose.py
@@ -223,15 +223,18 @@ def hpss(S, kernel_size=31, power=2.0, mask=False, margin=1.0):
           of the percussive filter.
 
     power : float > 0 [scalar]
-        Exponent for the Wiener filter when constructing mask matrices.
-
-        Mask matrices are defined by
-        `mask_H = (r_H ** power) / (r_H ** power + r_P ** power)`
-        where `r_H` and `r_P` are the median-filter responses for
-        harmonic and percussive components.
+        Exponent for the Wiener filter when constructing soft mask matrices.
 
     mask : bool
-        Return the (binary) masking matrices instead of components
+        Return the masking matrices instead of components.
+
+        Masking matrices contain non-negative real values that
+        can be used to measure the assignment of energy from `S`
+        into harmonic or percussive components.
+
+        Components can be recovered by multiplying `S * mask_H`
+        or `S * mask_P`.
+
 
     margin : float or tuple (margin_harmonic, margin_percussive)
         margin size(s) for the masks (as described in [2]_)
@@ -294,18 +297,17 @@ def hpss(S, kernel_size=31, power=2.0, mask=False, margin=1.0):
 
     >>> mask_H, mask_P = librosa.decompose.hpss(D, mask=True)
     >>> mask_H
-    array([[ 1.,  0., ...,  0.,  0.],
-           [ 1.,  0., ...,  0.,  0.],
+    array([[  1.000e+00,   1.469e-01, ...,   2.648e-03,   2.164e-03],
+           [  1.000e+00,   2.368e-01, ...,   9.413e-03,   7.703e-03],
            ...,
-           [ 0.,  0., ...,  0.,  0.],
-           [ 0.,  0., ...,  0.,  0.]])
+           [  8.869e-01,   5.673e-02, ...,   4.603e-02,   1.247e-05],
+           [  7.068e-01,   2.194e-02, ...,   4.453e-02,   1.205e-05]], dtype=float32)
     >>> mask_P
-    array([[ 0.,  1., ...,  1.,  1.],
-           [ 0.,  1., ...,  1.,  1.],
+    array([[  2.858e-05,   8.531e-01, ...,   9.974e-01,   9.978e-01],
+           [  1.586e-05,   7.632e-01, ...,   9.906e-01,   9.923e-01],
            ...,
-           [ 1.,  1., ...,  1.,  1.],
-           [ 1.,  1., ...,  1.,  1.]])
-
+           [  1.131e-01,   9.433e-01, ...,   9.540e-01,   1.000e+00],
+           [  2.932e-01,   9.781e-01, ...,   9.555e-01,   1.000e+00]], dtype=float32)
 
     Separate into harmonic/percussive/residual components by using a margin > 1.0
 
@@ -343,7 +345,8 @@ def hpss(S, kernel_size=31, power=2.0, mask=False, margin=1.0):
 
     # margin minimum is 1.0
     if margin_harm < 1 or margin_perc < 1:
-        raise ParameterError("Margins must be >= 1.0. A typical range is between 1 and 10.")
+        raise ParameterError("Margins must be >= 1.0. "
+                             "A typical range is between 1 and 10.")
 
     # Compute median filters. Pre-allocation here preserves memory layout.
     harm = np.empty_like(S)
@@ -363,15 +366,7 @@ def hpss(S, kernel_size=31, power=2.0, mask=False, margin=1.0):
                               split_zeros=split_zeros)
 
     if mask:
-        # If the margins are tight, H + P should sum to 1, so we use >=.
-        # Otherwise, comparisons should be strict on both sides.
-        if margin_harm == 1 and margin_perc == 1:
-            compare = np.greater_equal
-        else:
-            compare = np.greater
-
-        return ((mask_harm > mask_perc).astype(float),
-                compare(mask_perc, mask_harm).astype(float))
+        return mask_harm, mask_perc
 
     return ((S * mask_harm) * phase, (S * mask_perc) * phase)
 
diff --git a/tests/test_decompose.py b/tests/test_decompose.py
index 4cbfd4e6d3..f8e288f4bf 100644
--- a/tests/test_decompose.py
+++ b/tests/test_decompose.py
@@ -79,7 +79,8 @@ def test_real_hpss():
     D = np.abs(librosa.stft(y))
     
     def __hpss_test(window, power, mask, margin):
-        H, P = librosa.decompose.hpss(D, kernel_size=window, power=power, mask=mask, margin=margin)
+        H, P = librosa.decompose.hpss(D, kernel_size=window, power=power,
+                                      mask=mask, margin=margin)
 
         if margin == 1.0 or margin == (1.0, 1.0):
             if mask:
@@ -87,8 +88,8 @@ def __hpss_test(window, power, mask, margin):
             else:
                 assert np.allclose(H + P, D)
         else:
-            if mask: 
-                assert not np.any(H.astype(bool) & P.astype(bool))
+            if mask:
+                assert np.all(H + P <= np.ones_like(D))
             else:
                 assert np.all(H + P <= D)