Is bass important in audio? Part 3
Does sound control sound? Masking effect
In a lively restaurant, the voices around you can be loud and the conversation can be difficult to hear.
This phenomenon of making another sound difficult to hear is called “masking.”
The closer the frequency of the sound you want to hear and the frequency of the disturbing sound, the greater the masking effect, that is, the more difficult it is to hear.
Also, the effect of masking low tones, albeit slightly, is greater than the effect of masking high tones to low tones.
Even in audio, if you suppress the bass, you may hear the midrange and high-pitched sounds that you couldn’t hear before.
Opera singers who sing with the orchestra in the background and voices leading metal bands must have the power to overcome this masking.
Cocktail effect to select and listen to the sound you want to hear
Cocktail effect image
Along with masking, I would like to refer to the “cocktail effect”, which is the mechanism of the human body that works against masking.
Even if the environment is a bit noisy, humans have the ability to selectively hear the sounds they want to hear.
For example, voices of the opposite sex that are a cause for concern at parties can be heard well, and classical and violin solos can be heard well even with small sounds because we are unknowingly concentrating on listening.
The pattern that is easy to distinguish in the cocktail effect is when the sound you want to hear and the disturbing sound come from different directions, or when the sound you want to hear and the disturbing sound change the patterns differently.
Human hearing can make the sound you want to hear emerge from the background sound and you hear it emotionally.
Sound method
The human ear has the ability to know where sound is coming from.
Most animals have two ears, but the delicate time difference and intensity at which sound is transmitted from one side to the other determines where the sound is transmitted.
In other words, when the sound comes from the direction in which it comes first and the direction in which the sound is loud, a slight difference is detected.
By the way, it seems that the sound that is transmitted from the right and the left is even positioned in front of and behind you and the sound that you hear often changes depending on the range.
Additionally, the way visuals are heard will also be affected by sound.
When the main character is speaking in a movie, the illusion is that the actual sound is coming from the side speaker but can be heard from the front.
An audio experience that takes advantage of the treble, midrange and bass characteristics!
Even beginners can easily compare the midrange.
The vocal singing voice is generally in the mid-range 300 to 3000Hz, which is a range that is easy for humans to hear, and it is a rich range that plays a central role in music. It is easy to understand how the speaker expresses
this mid-range listening to the vocal standard.
If the soprano’s voice can be heard softly, the thickness of the tenor, if there are strange habits or distortions, or the human senses are ambiguous, it is a way of listening and comparing by holding down the dots and attaching listening notes.
The reproducibility of mid-range voices is an important part where you can feel what the audio ensemble is looking for, be it a warm tone or a clear and transparent tone.
If you like classical music, pay attention to how you listen to the violin and piano.
The violin has a smooth sound and the piano has a tapping sound.
Whether these two sounds are natural or harmonious is a characteristic of the speaker.
