don't even start on golden ears and speaker cables
--- In micbuilders@..., "grendeltooth" <grendeltooth@y...>
wrote:
Walt wrote:
The human ear does not hear such high frequencies, period. Even the
listed 20hZ-20kHZ for human hearing is very misleading for
anyone out of diapers. And the human brain averages what it hears, it
certainly does not discriminate at a level of 1/96000th of a
second.
I read somewhere that the human ear can detect impulses that, if they were
a sustained waveform, would be well above 20 kHz and
possibly into the 30 kHz range. Apparently this phenomenon is hard to
measure because standard audio tests are not reliable for
transients, I guess because they require the listener to listen for a while to
be able to qualify or quantify what is heard.
This effect was given as a reason why some golden ear critics of audiophile
equipment can rave about an amplifier or a cable with
mediocre measurements, but has incredible life to it. Also I've heard some
tube afficiandos say that hollow state has more pleasing
transient response than solid state, this being another reason why tubes
sound richer and more lifelike than transistorized equipment.
I don't intend to generate debate on amplifiers, wires, tubes vs solid state,
and what constitutes "more lifelike." I hope this is not the
forum for that. My point is that there may be yet good reason to design
equipment with extended range and particularly good impulse
characteristics.
Grendel
