Best auditory frequency resolution is about one-sixth octave at moderate levels

Evidence

Psychoacoustically, the ability to discriminate between sounds that are nearly the same except for a change in one aspect (f0, intensity, duration, etc.) is measured as a “difference limen” (DL), or “just noticeable differ­ ence” (JND). JND is preferred in this book. The JND for human pitch per­ ception is shown graphically in Figure 3.8 along with the critical bandwidth curve. This JND graph is based on an experiment by Zwicker et al. (1957) in which sinusoidal stimuli were used (fixed waveshape) and the sound intensity level and sound duration remained constant. It turns out that the JND is approximately one thirtieth of the critical bandwidth across the hearing range. Musically, this is equivalent to approximately one twelfth of a semitone. Thus the JND in pitch is much smaller than the resolution of the analysis filters (critical bandwidth). — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 880 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

Related

• Pitch resolution exceeds smeared bandwidth via peak-locating algorithms (similarity 0.89)
• Human pitch discrimination far exceeds the ear’s filter resolution (similarity 0.84)
• The human hearing system compromises between frequency and time resolution, unlike ideal filters (similarity 0.83)
• The ear’s frequency response is level-dependent, favoring mid frequencies at low volume (similarity 0.83)
• The critical-band-rate scale mirrors hearing better than raw frequency (similarity 0.83)
• The ear’s just-noticeable amplitude difference depends on signal type, level, and frequency (similarity 0.83)
• Hearing’s temporal resolution varies from 1-2 ms depending on frequency (similarity 0.83)
• Human spectral analysis resolution runs about 10–15 percent of center frequency (similarity 0.83)
• Frequency discrimination stems from steep filter slopes plus 1 dB level sensitivity (similarity 0.83)
• Human hearing requires far more SPL to detect low-frequency tones than mid-range ones (similarity 0.82)
• Human hearing sensitivity peaks near 4 kHz and falls off at both extremes (similarity 0.82)
• Only about 1,400 discriminable pitches exist across the entire audible range (similarity 0.82)
• Harmonics resolve only while their spacing exceeds the ear’s ERB (similarity 0.82)
• Speech discrimination requires intact frequency resolution (similarity 0.82)
• Pitch discrimination is best near 500 Hz and degrades at both extremes (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Human pitch discrimination far exceeds the ear’s filter resolution #complicates (0.85) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 880
• The auditory spectrum differs from the physical power spectrum in resolution and shape #corroborates (0.82)
• About 1,400 audibly distinct pitches exist within the human hearing range #complicates (0.80)
• Only harmonics separated by more than the ear’s critical bandwidth are resolved #corroborates (0.80)
• The critical-band-rate scale mirrors hearing better than raw frequency #responds-to (0.78)