On Thu, 12 Mar 2015 09:29:59 +0000 (GMT), Jim Lesurf
wrote:

In article , Don Pearce
wrote:
On Thu, 12 Mar 2015 06:40:05 +1100, Trevor Wilson
wrote:


**Well, it would, wouldn't it? Phase shift and all that.... The human
hearing system is exquisitely sensitive to phase shift.


The human hearing system is essentially totally deaf to phase shift.
I've seen an experiment in which the phase of the harmonics of a square
wave was cyclically shifted. You could see the waveform changing shape
on a scope. Even with the picture in view, it was impossible to hear any
change in the resulting sound.

A snag being that nonlinearities, etc, in audio equipment may well be
affected in a way that changes with the relative phases of components in a
signal. So the phase shifts may become audible as a result.


Deafness to phase shift is the reason why Orban's Optimod system is able
to operate inaudibly.

Hmmm. Its a shame that "is able to" may not always translate into "does"
because of the ways it gets used in practice. Problem here is partly down
to stupidity of the operators, partly due to the obsessions with making
things LOUD. The more knobs and sliders there are on the desk to provide
'improvements', the more scope there is for the controller to foul up the
results.

Jim

I agree, non-linearities do render most things moot in hearing. But
listen to my sound at a normal, comfortable level, and it remains
unchanging throughout.

d