Music’s dense spectrum masks its own distortion products.

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

Masking, of a smaller sound (the distortion) by a larger sound (the same musical signal that created the distortion), as shown in Figure 9.14. 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- the acoustics and…, 986

Categorization

• XREF: Directly extends the masking concepts from earlier chapters — here masking hides a device’s own distortion during music, explaining the master-tape vs. LP puzzle. — connects to: Loud bass masks sounds across much of the audible spectrum, including vocals.; LP distortion is audible with test tones but masked by music.; Appearance of new spectral content is more salient than its removal in complex sound (+4 more)
• DEFINE: Explains why music is both the worst distortion generator and the best masker, a central psychoacoustic insight.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 451; Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 986

Broader Connections

• LP distortion is audible with test tones but masked by music. #exemplifies (0.95)
• Traditional distortion specs fail to predict perceived sound quality #corroborates (0.85)
• Orchestral accompaniment masks the voice’s fine spectral detail in recordings #exemplifies (0.85)
• Nonlinear distortion generates new frequencies that change timbre with volume #expands (0.85)
• Appearance of new spectral content is more salient than its removal in complex sound #expands (0.80)
• Auditory spectra differ from power spectra for identical sounds. #qualifies (0.80)