ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author aims to use logic and audio examples to explains what types of quality changes, and added artifacts, can be heard and at what volume levels. He addresses the fallibility of human hearing and perception, which are closely related. Blind testing is the gold standard for all branches of science, especially when evaluating perception that is subjective. Aspirin affects high-frequency perception and is best avoided when mixing. Large variations in frequency response can also occur even in rooms that are well treated acoustically, though bass traps reduce the variation at low frequencies. It’s true that good amplifier designs generally have a frequency response that extends well beyond the limits of hearing, and the lack of an extended response can be a giveaway that an amplifier is deficient in other areas. Exchanging a CD player or power amplifier might seem to affect the music’s fullness, even though the change in low-frequency response was due entirely to positioning.
