Loud bass masks sounds across much of the audible spectrum, including vocals.

Evidence

Masking, in which a smaller sound (the distortion) is rendered less audible by a larger sound (the same musical signal that created the distortion), as shown in Figure 4.18. Simple test signals leave the distortion products spectrally exposed so that they can be measured, and sometimes enough of them are unmasked that we can hear them. The wide-bandwidth, dense spectrum of music is a much more effective masking signal, in spite of the fact that it is at the same time a generator of much more complex distortion products. It is also almost useless as a measurement test signal. — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 451 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Loud low-frequency tones mask high frequencies more than high tones mask low.; Music’s dense spectrum masks its own distortion products. — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 451; Loud maskers can paradoxically improve audibility at condensation peaks. (+1 more)

Related

• Music’s dense spectrum masks its own distortion products. (similarity 0.89)
• Loud low-frequency tones mask high frequencies more than high tones mask low. (similarity 0.89)
• Masking acts within critical bandwidths, leaving distant-frequency sounds unaffected (similarity 0.89)
• Loud bass masking spreads upward to cover the voice frequency range (similarity 0.89)
• A masker raises the audibility threshold of a test sound. (similarity 0.87)
• LP distortion is audible with test tones but masked by music. (similarity 0.87)
• Masking operates on a continuous scale between audible and fully masked. (similarity 0.87)
• Auditory masking depends only on energy within a band surrounding the signal. (similarity 0.87)
• Increasing stimulus level broadens auditory filters and causes upward spread of masking (similarity 0.87)
• Masking noise prevents listeners from using unintended spectral cues (similarity 0.86)
• Masking spreads from a noise band to tones further away as masker level rises (similarity 0.86)
• A narrow noise band can mask signals multiple octaves away at high stimulus levels. (similarity 0.86)
• Masking noise raises the loudness threshold and fades audible tones (similarity 0.85)
• Loud tones can render simultaneous tones partially or wholly imperceptible (similarity 0.85)
• Low-level tones mask lower frequencies more than higher ones, reversing at high levels (similarity 0.85)

Broader Connections

• Loud low-frequency tones mask high frequencies more than high tones mask low. #corroborates (0.95)
• Loud maskers can paradoxically improve audibility at condensation peaks. #qualifies (0.75)
• Music’s dense spectrum masks its own distortion products. #corroborates (0.72) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 451
• Masking acts within critical bandwidths, leaving distant-frequency sounds unaffected #qualifies (0.70) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2009