Amplitude-modulated broadband noise yields only faint pitch despite flat spectrum

Evidence

While the pitch of the noises described so far can be traced back to a spectral feature, namely a distinct change in the spectrum, broad-band noises with flat spectra can also produce pitch sensations. For example, amplitudemodulated broad-band noise may elicit a faint pitch that corresponds to the modulation frequency. Although the long term spectrum of amplitudemodulated broad-band noise is independent of frequency, the short term spectrum contains some spectral information which may be correlated with the pitch produced. While narrow-band noise and peaked ripple noise may elicit a relative distinct pitch sensation, the pitch produced by amplitude-modulated broad-band noise is very faint, i.e. its pitch strength is very low. — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 755

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes that pitch can arise from temporal (amplitude) modulation absent spectral peaks, a key distinction between temporal and spectral pitch mechanisms.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: exactly which short-term spectral information correlates with the faint pitch — unresolved here, deferred to Sect. 5.7.