Harmonically shifted complex tones isolate fine structure cues while holding envelope constant

Evidence

To empirically distinguish between envelope and fine structure cues in pitch perception experiments, a dedicated signal has been proposed. This signal is an unresolved harmonic complex tones with all harmonics shifted by the same amount of Hz. As the frequency distance between adjacent components is regular and identical than in the original harmonic complex tone, such a signal has the same envelope but a different fine structure. So, any perceptual difference between these signals is interpreted as a fine structure based percept. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4611

Categorization

• DEFINE: Describes the standard stimulus design used to separate envelope from fine structure cues in pitch perception research.