• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

New research on our ability to hear

spkrdtr

spkrdtr

spkrfixer
An interesting article summarizing some in-depth research work done by a NC professor is worth a read at the lnk below.

Bottom line - Our ability to hear time differences is independent of our ability to hear frequencies. Thus, as we get older, the well known loss of frequency range is true, but our ability to hear time differences does not diminish.

What's also worthy of note is the importance of time alignment in loudspeaker design which was also brought out in the research.

http://www.physics.sc.edu/kunchur/papers/HIFI-Critic-article-by-George-Foster.pdf

Please note, the article was by a HIFI critic, not the much maligned here Audio Critic.
 
Register to hide this ad
I think this is fascinating considering they say smaller speakers are better w/ transients. I remember back when I first started playing bass guitar....most everybody used 15's. I then found a Peavey speaker w/ an 18 and 2 10's...the thinking back then was..."a 15 is good, so an 18 must be better". Years later I grew to like Steve Harris' tone from Maiden and he used 4x12 inch celestions...I found a peavey guitar box that came loaded w/ 4x12 celestions, and used it for gigs and people were really raving about my sound. A while later Hartke....SWR and other manufacturers started coming out with 4x10 cabinets...which shocked the world...Will Lee started using a Hartke cab on TV and I was shocked to find out that there was no loss of "bass" between 4x10 and 1x15...only enhanced clarity and definition. I once played through a "Henry the 8x8" from SWR I think...it sounded really great. My little Boston VR950's with the 2x6 woofers have better definition and mid bass obviously than a 2 way cab with a 10 and a tweet. I think this is fascinating stuff. I had a discussion with Huw Powell the other night about this very thing...he said basically there aren't many new designs...people have been doing and redoing the same concepts for years, and that the EPI 100 is a timeless design, and probably if still made would rival anything on the market today...only cheaper.
 
Last edited:
spkrdtr said:
An interesting article summarizing some in-depth research work done by a NC professor is worth a read at the lnk below.

Bottom line - Our ability to hear time differences is independent of our ability to hear frequencies. Thus, as we get older, the well known loss of frequency range is true, but our ability to hear time differences does not diminish.

What's also worthy of note is the importance of time alignment in loudspeaker design which was also brought out in the research.

http://www.physics.sc.edu/kunchur/papers/HIFI-Critic-article-by-George-Foster.pdf

Please note, the article was by a HIFI critic, not the much maligned here Audio Critic.
Click to expand...

That was a very interesting article, and it came at a good time. It helps with the understanding of driver placement re time alignment.

I also like the part,

"There are also two cheering conclusions. The
older members of the test group showed very
little difference from the young in hearing timing
differences. Age may bring on a loss of highfrequency
hearing, but it has much less impact on
the ability to hear smearing and time differences."

Thanks for sharing.
 
EPI-Center said:
... A while later Hartke....SWR and other manufacturers started coming out with 4x10 cabinets...which shocked the world...Will Lee started using a Hartke cab on TV and I was shocked to find out that there was no loss of "bass" between 4x10 and 1x15...only enhanced clarity and definition.
Click to expand...

Of note also is that Leo Fender (who essentially created the electric bass guitar and thus was one of the most influential individuals in the history of popular music) originally designed the Fender Bassman amplifier with a 15" speaker. He quickly redesigned it with 4 10" speakers (Jensens) for improved tightness of response. This was around 1958. The Fender Bassman was also a great sounding guitar amplifier and is one of the most collectible amplifiers ever made.
 
EPI-Center said:
I think this is fascinating considering they say smaller speakers are better w/ transients. I remember back when I first started playing bass guitar....most everybody used 15's. I then found a Peavey speaker w/ an 18 and 2 10's...the thinking back then was..."a 15 is good, so an 18 must be better". Years later I grew to like Steve Harris' tone from Maiden and he used 4x12 inch celestions...I found a peavey guitar box that came loaded w/ 4x12 celestions, and used it for gigs and people were really raving about my sound. A while later Hartke....SWR and other manufacturers started coming out with 4x10 cabinets...which shocked the world...Will Lee started using a Hartke cab on TV and I was shocked to find out that there was no loss of "bass" between 4x10 and 1x15...only enhanced clarity and definition. I once played through a "Henry the 8x8" from SWR I think...it sounded really great. My little Boston VR950's with the 2x6 woofers have better definition and mid bass obviously than a 2 way cab with a 10 and a tweet. I think this is fascinating stuff. I had a discussion with Huw Powell the other night about this very thing...he said basically there aren't many new designs...people have been doing and redoing the same concepts for years, and that the EPI 100 is a timeless design, and probably if still made would rival anything on the market today...only cheaper.
Click to expand...

My bass rig for many moons was made up of two Sunn 4x12 guitar cabs with a Sunn Coliseum Lead amp. Very tight, clean bass. I eventually installed one of those red Carver tweeters, which gave it some sparkle, but came to install a switch to kill it when called for.
 
I find this very interesting, I've been going progressively deaf for most of my adult life and thru my ca 35 yr interest in "Hi-End"/ high-resolution "acccurate" audio reproduction, mainly the freqs upward from the midrange. I am particularly sensitive to absolute polarity, speaker driver interaction, and tracing distortion from styli with more than ca 60 hrs attrition at the contact interface. OTOH, I am more tolerant of faults that can drive my fellows to distraction.
I still appreciate and enjoy a variety of well-recorded music played thru the "Good Stuff"(Vintage and/or SOTA) much more than thru a mediocre or poor system.


spkrdtr said:
An interesting article summarizing some in-depth research work done by a NC professor is worth a read at the lnk below.

Bottom line - Our ability to hear time differences is independent of our ability to hear frequencies. Thus, as we get older, the well known loss of frequency range is true, but our ability to hear time differences does not diminish.

What's also worthy of note is the importance of time alignment in loudspeaker design which was also brought out in the research.

http://www.physics.sc.edu/kunchur/papers/HIFI-Critic-article-by-George-Foster.pdf

Please note, the article was by a HIFI critic, not the much maligned here Audio Critic.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom