Acute phase sensitivity would make sound perception unusable across locations.

Evidence

We come to the conclusion that acute sensitivity to the relative phase of partials would not be a good thing. We would not want the two traces in figure 24.2 or 24.3 to sound as different as they look. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2215

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

• XREF: Builds on the two-listeners-in-a-hall scenario as an evolutionary/rationale argument for insensitivity, echoing themes from silence and perception literature.

Related

• Accurate hearing cannot be acutely sensitive to the relative phase of partials. (similarity 0.88)
• Phase shifting shared partials inadvertently alters amplitude through interference (similarity 0.82)
• Natural inharmonicity makes partial phases cycle continuously, so the ear ignores them (similarity 0.80)
• Perceived loudness falls off with distance more slowly than physical intensity does (similarity 0.79)
• The ear cannot sense a tone’s absolute phase but does sense phase differences. (similarity 0.78)
• Diffuse surfaces prevent sound focusing away from the optimum listening position (similarity 0.78)