Perceptual masking hides large LP distortions that measurements reveal

Evidence

The comparisons between LP reproduction and the master tape were not flattering, and some non-linear distortions measured in whole percentages. It is remarkable how effective perceptual masking is in tempering the distracting effects of these distortions and surface noise. In this research we were not listening for pleasure; the music was a test signal and needed to be as close to the original master tape as possible. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 155

Categorization

• XREF: Central theme of the reader’s entire psychoacoustics project — masking as the mechanism by which objectively poor transducers sound subjectively acceptable. — connects to: Conventional distortion measurements include inaudible masked components; Variable-frequency experiments reveal frequency effects that fixed-frequency masking hides.; Perceptual coders exploit masking to cut audio storage and bandwidth — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1656
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 155

Broader Connections

• Variable-frequency experiments reveal frequency effects that fixed-frequency masking hides. #complicates (0.75)
• Perceptual coders exploit masking to cut audio storage and bandwidth #expands (0.72) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1656