[linux-audio-user] Fwd: [Jamin] Re: soft clip: Achieving Gain, inconsequential overloads

Steve Harris S.W.Harris at ecs.soton.ac.uk
Tue May 4 04:20:07 EDT 2004


On Mon, May 03, 2004 at 11:28:54 +0100, tim hall wrote:
> On Monday 03 May 2004 19:34, davidrclark at earthlink.net wrote:
> > There may also be a psychoacoustic effect that louder produces more
> > harmonics or an illusion of such.
> 
> I don't think it's psycho-acoustics, distortion creates more harmonics, that's 
> physics CMIIW. It does seem that loud, dense hypnotic music does produce a 
> kind of euphoria due to some action upon the inner ear, it's the feeling of 
> being gently bludgeoned by a large, heavy object with no discernable sharp 
> edges. Some people like it, especially teenagers. It goes with vodka nicely.

The psychoacoustic effect is simply that louder things sound better
(within reason). AFAICT the numer and presence of harmoncs isn't directly
relevant except that the help "louder".

If you think about it, "quieter sounds better" would simply mean that
humans never invented music and we wouldn't be having this discussion :)
Nature isn't very good at equalities, so its likly to be biased one way or
another.

[thats another horribly unscientific generality by yours truely of course]

- Steve 



More information about the Linux-audio-user mailing list