Human hearing normalizes wildly different acoustic environments to a constant source

Evidence

In auditory perceptions, adaptation is at work, allowing us to “normalize” the acoustical environment within which we listen. Imagine a scenario in which you and a colleague are conversing while walking down the street (a “dead” space), you enter a building foyer (a large reverberant space), take the elevator (a tiny space), and walk down a corridor (a distinctive reverberant space) into an open-plan office (a relatively dead, semi-reflective space). While you are conversing, your colleague’s voice is a constant factor in spite of the enormous changes in the acoustical environment. It is the same voice in different acoustical spaces. The same is true of live musical performances in different venues. A Steinway is a Steinway, a Strad is a Strad, but in different rooms. The only relatively constant factor in all of this is the direct sound. — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 810

Categorization

• SHARE: The ‘same voice in different rooms’ mental demo is the perfect illustration for anyone into acoustics or audio gear.
• XREF: connects to: A normal-sounding ear is internally a sound source audible in the closed canal; Humans adapt to room acoustics through training over hundreds of trials; Listeners normalize room acoustics so a voice stays constant across radically different spaces (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Human hearing perceives huge physical sound intensity changes as barely different #exemplifies (0.95) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 97