[linux-audio-user] Re: Sample Rates/Sample Sizes

Greg Murphy public_gmm at yahoo.co.uk
Mon Jun 21 07:30:18 EDT 2004


> > Most people aren't aware of much above 
> > 16k, however the ear/brain is surely capable of
> perceiving differences, so a 
> > higher sample rate is going to sound smoother in
> the way that faster film 
> > looks smoother, the ear will perceive curves
> rather than digital grainyness. 
> 
I don't think it's as simple as saying that smoothness
is related to higher sample rate. I think that the way
in which we perceive music is related to distortions
introduced by the signal processing path and the
amount of detail which we can resove.


> There's certainly some evidence in favour of that,
> but consider this
> counter-argument:
> A 'grainy' signal could be regarded as the sum of a
> perfect signal plus
> a small distortion signal. If you can demonstrate
> that the
> distortion signal is inaudible then arguably it also
> doesn't have an
> audible effect whan added to a sound that is
> audible. In fact the well
> known auditory phenomenon of masking shows the
> reverse: a
> sound that by istelf *is* audible can be rendered
> inaudible in the
> presence of a simultaneous louder sound.
> 
But what about effects such as stochastic resonance?
Add  a (miniscule) amount of distortion and we hear
more of the music. Perhaps this is why some people
like the "sound" of DSD.

Greg






	
	
		
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