Hi-fi and lo-fi soundscapes differ by whether individual sounds survive masking

Evidence

In a lo-fi soundscape individual acoustic signals are obscured in an overdense population of sounds. The pellucid sound—a footstep in the snow, a church bell across the valley or an animal scurrying in the brush—is masked by broad-band noise. Perspective is lost. On a downtown street corner of the modern city there is no distance; there is only presence. — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 151

If the distinction between sound and noise is quite simple, it is not so easy to define a high-fidelity soundscape and a low-fidelity soundscape. … In the first case we have a soundscape in which every component is distinctly heard without significant effects of masking, but in the second case the overlap is so important that we have difficulties in distinguishing the individual sounds. … These two characteristics are not necessarily associated with noise or acoustic pollution. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 149

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the core hi-fi/lo-fi soundscape distinction, a foundational term for studying acoustic environments.
• XREF: Connects to the earlier claim that noise-level reduction alone fails to improve perceived sonic environments. — connects to: Lo-fi soundscapes erase the distinction between signal and noise; Visual dominance and devotion to machines, not crowding, create sonic degradation — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 792; Foreground sound forms temporary sonotopes while background noise reflects landscape structure — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 138
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 151; Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 149

Broader Connections

• Lo-fi soundscapes erase the distinction between signal and noise #expands (0.85)