http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditory_masking
Phil Leigh;541860 Wrote: > Your last test has already been done, as I posted earlier. > The fact is that people cant hear a brass marching band stuffed into > the bottom bits of a 16-bit file playing Brahms Lullaby! > > Ironically, if they could, reducing the volume would eventually lose > the Brass Band but leave the Brahms... > > You are also missing the point about human hearing vs what systems can > actually do in terms of dynamic range. There are very few hi-fi systems > that can generate 120dB of clean sound. Even so, the human ear cannot > actually hear 0dB and 120dB AT THE SAME TIME (especially if the ambient > noise level is at a realistic 50dB). > > Yes the loudest sound we can comfortably tolerate for a short while may > be 120 and the quietest we can hear might be 0 - but the ear+brain > doesn't work like a perfect microphone! It has to make choices. > > The ear-brain has a built-in AGC to amplify very quiet sounds and a > sophisticated "compressor" that protects us from loud sounds. The > practical result of this is that the actual perceived dynamic range is > much less than theory would imply. Probably more like 70dB, but the > baseline datum point moves - this is the important point. IF the max > level is 120 you can probably only hear down to 50 - if the max is 70 > you might be able to hear 0... > > > I'm still not clear exactly what effect you think digital attenuation > has on the sound? > > > see also here: > http://www.ethanwiner.com/audibility.html -- brodeur ------------------------------------------------------------------------ brodeur's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=37816 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=77725 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
