Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnyMcFly
It was also mentioned the 1-3 k range and the mids, those are also problematic areas I think as well.
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I have a theory, but it's just that and I don't want to get into a pissing contest:
The notion that our hearing apparatus is limited to detecting 20-20k cycles of an *instantaneous* compression/rarefaction of air does not tell the whole story.
STANDBY FOR ARMCHAIR PHYSIOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE:
I think that our brain stem interpolates data across time to yield an *awareness* of repetitive miniscule sub-1 db fluctuations AND that we also have a built-in error-correction "routine" that is feedback-correlated to the mechanics of the tympanum.
In other words: a mathematical artifact that yields a result that is fractional to a db cannot be *immediately* recognized as such, but that over time it is interpolated and we develop an opinion based on that.
This is akin to the process perhaps proto-hominids used to distinguish the sounds of an animal in the distance - IMO the manner in which I contemplate sounds with a lot of complex high frequency content (cymbals, vocal fricatives, distortion overtones) is the same "mode of consciousness" I use when I'm trying to figure out if a rustling noise in the backyard is a cat or an escaped axe murderer.
I'm not making an *instantaneous* judgment of the upper mid/lower treble range, I am examining my "audio buffer" of what I've heard.
I understand this is not something than can be empirically tested, and I do not wish to get into a pedantic argument over the physical limitations of human physiology, it is just my $.10. This is in the realm of "the importance of aliasing artifacts", and thus explains what seems amusing when one person will say "this sampler sounds JUST like a cello!" and another will instantly get an expression of disdain and say "it sounds NOTHING like a real cello!". Then the third person will come in an whine about how it's impossible that one could tell a 44.1/16 recording from reality, when it's quite clear - even when listening to a song from the 80's over a crappy p.a. at a restaurant that they Fairlight string sound is faked.
/ purporting non-empirical theories online since 1989