Only harmonics separated by more than the ear’s critical bandwidth are resolved

Evidence

A fifth method stems from binaural hearing. The localization of short impulses is used as an indication of the development of critical bands. Justnoticeable delay between the envelope of two tone bursts, somewhat different in frequency and each presented to one ear, is measured as a function of the frequency separation of the tone bursts. The hearing system is quite sensitive to envelope delay as long as the two tone bursts are of high frequency and of the same or of nearly the same frequency. The sensitivity decreases drastically as soon as the frequency difference between the two tone bursts becomes larger than the critical bandwidth. The results obtained in this way lead to critical frequency distances that are very close to those measured with the four methods mentioned above, at least where they can be measured. — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 911 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

The model assumes devices or channels that are tuned to particular interaural delays. These devices, which exist only for frequencies below 1500 Hz, are assumed to be arrays of channels each tuned to a different characteristic interaural delay. Each channel then acts as an interaural delay filter. It transmits whatever signal arrives at its characteristic delay without attenuation, but attenuates more and more those signals that arrive with delays that are increasingly different from the characteristic delay of the channel. — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 1680 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Uncertainty principles force mechanical frequency sorting in the ear to be coarse.; Best auditory frequency resolution is about one-sixth octave at moderate levels; The ear’s frequency selectivity is imperfect and worsens at higher frequencies — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 477 (+13 more)

Related

• Binaural envelope-delay sensitivity drops once tone separation exceeds the critical band. (similarity 0.89)
• Interaural-delay-tuned channels exist only for frequencies below 1500 Hz (similarity 0.87)
• Harmonics resolve only while their spacing exceeds the ear’s ERB (similarity 0.85)
• Audible stereo-bass spatial effects occur mainly above 80 Hz (similarity 0.84)
• Uncertainty principles force mechanical frequency sorting in the ear to be coarse. (similarity 0.84)
• The human hearing system compromises between frequency and time resolution, unlike ideal filters (similarity 0.84)
• Just-noticeable interaural delay is about 50 microseconds below 1.5 kHz (similarity 0.84)
• The ear detects binaural delays finer than individual neuron timing supports (similarity 0.84)
• The ear’s frequency response is level-dependent, favoring mid frequencies at low volume (similarity 0.83)
• Only the first five to seven harmonics are resolved by the ear’s place mechanism (similarity 0.83)
• The ear’s frequency selectivity is imperfect and worsens at higher frequencies (similarity 0.82)
• Frequency discrimination stems from steep filter slopes plus 1 dB level sensitivity (similarity 0.82)
• Best auditory frequency resolution is about one-sixth octave at moderate levels (similarity 0.82)
• Hearing’s temporal resolution varies from 1-2 ms depending on frequency (similarity 0.82)
• The ear’s time-frequency resolution cannot be modeled by fixed-length frames (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Binaural envelope-delay sensitivity drops once tone separation exceeds the critical band. #corroborates (0.85) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 911
• Interaural-delay-tuned channels exist only for frequencies below 1500 Hz #complicates (0.75) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 1680