Nonlinear distortion generates new frequencies that change timbre with volume

Evidence

Non-linear distortions are additional frequencies generated when signals or programs interact with a device that changes its behavior as a function of sound level—the moment-by-moment input-to-output relationship is not a straight line. The non-linearity might be in, for example, a woofer cone suspension that at a point requires proportionally greater effort to move as the cone displacement approaches it limit. It may sound clean at low sound levels, but as the volume is turned up, the timbre changes as additional sounds (distortion products) are generated by the non-linearity. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 108

Categorization

Category: Definitional Content

• DEFINE: Precise definition of nonlinear distortion as signal-level-dependent frequency generation.

Related

• Non-linear distortion generates new frequencies as level-dependent behavior shifts. (similarity 0.97)
• Nonlinear distortion adds frequencies that were not in the original signal (similarity 0.91)
• Audio distortion arises from level-dependent nonlinearity in the device’s transfer function (similarity 0.89)
• Nonlinear vibration generates new frequencies absent from the original stimulus (similarity 0.86)
• Loudspeakers at high power and low frequencies become highly nonlinear. (similarity 0.84)
• Non-linear and time-variant systems generate frequency components absent from the input (similarity 0.83)
• Nonlinear vibrating systems generate sum, difference, and combination frequencies (similarity 0.82)
• Regular distortion laws from electroacoustics describe hearing’s own nonlinear products (similarity 0.80)
• The ear becomes less nonlinear as sound levels rise (similarity 0.80)
• Linear audio distortion is easy to equalize while non-linear distortion resists compensation (similarity 0.80)
• Frequency, phase, and impulse responses are mathematically interchangeable descriptions of linear behavior. (similarity 0.80)
• The ear’s sound-level-dependent nonlinearities cannot be substituted or corrected for (similarity 0.80)
• The ear itself generates audible nonlinear distortion tones from two simple inputs (similarity 0.79)
• Linear time-invariant systems cannot generate new frequency components (similarity 0.79)
• Two physically present tones produce an audible third tone inside the ear (similarity 0.79)