Phase shift is largely inaudible for reproduced music in reflective rooms
Evidence
Many investigators over many years attempted to determine whether phase shift mattered to sound quality (e.g. Hansen and Madsen, 1974a, 1974b; Lipshitz et al., 1982; Van Keulen, 1991; Greenfield and Hawksford, 1990). In every case it has been shown that, if it is audible, it is a subtle effect, most easily heard through headphones or in an anechoic chamber, using carefully chosen or contrived signals. There is quite general agreement that with music, reproduced through loudspeakers in normally reflective rooms phase shift is substantially or completely inaudible. When it has been audible as a difference, when it is switched in and out, it is not clear that listeners had a preference. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 972
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to the earlier chapter discussion of the 7.0-7.4 Fidelity Rating speaker whose linear phase did not save it; phase linearity is empirically subordinate to off-axis response. — connects to: Room acoustics degrade phase-change sensitivity by roughly threefold; Room resonances, not amplifier phase response, govern audible phase distortion; Piano timbre would be unstable if we heard phase changes. (+4 more)
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 972
Broader Connections
- Room reverberation can render phase-sensitive signals perceptually phase-insensitive
#expands(0.85) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1281 - Phase alignment creates a ‘buzzy’ timbre perceptible without room reflections
#contradicts(0.70)