Sound reproduction quality depends on both physical acoustics and human perception

Evidence

All dimensions perceived in the performed listening tests correspond with features extracted from the sound pressure response of the diffuse and direct field at the listener’s position. There was no hint of a relation to phase response or to nonlinear distortion. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 711 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Just as the notation of music is now being replaced by the record player, the tape recorder is pushing the physical study of acoustics into the human area of psychoacoustics. And for general field work in measuring the intensity of sound, the flat response of the sound level meter (the so-called C scale) has given way to the contoured A scale, weighted along the lines of the equal loudness contours of the human ear. Similarly, the numerous refinements in measuring aircraft noise in recent years have tended more and more to take human response into consideration. Thus EPNdB (Effective Perceived Noise in Decibels) takes into account the particular tone components of aircraft as well as the duration of the noise, while NNI (Noise and Number Index) uses the EPNdB as a basis and additionally calculates the number of aircraft per day (or night) as a key annoyance factor. — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 440 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Acoustics, perception, and signal processing underpin sound-technology R&D; Sound denotes both a physical wave and the subjective percept it evokes; Sound quality is judged as deviations from ideal amounts of perceptual dimensions (+13 more)

Related

• Sound measurement has shifted from flat physical scales toward human-perception-weighted scales (similarity 0.88)
• Sound reproduction’s endpoint is the human listener, not fidelity per se (similarity 0.88)
• Sound quality is judged as deviations from ideal amounts of perceptual dimensions (similarity 0.87)
• Measurement research aims to map objective data onto subjective sound quality ratings (similarity 0.86)
• Perceived loudspeaker sound quality depends only on amplitude responses (similarity 0.85)
• Spatial richness in multichannel sound inhibits perception of loudspeaker resonances (similarity 0.85)
• Sound quality is fundamentally subjective and requires perceptual testing to characterize (similarity 0.85)
• High-quality sonic ambience literally increases human acoustic perceptual capacity (similarity 0.85)
• Sound measurement must be frequency-weighted because ears are not uniformly sensitive (similarity 0.85)
• Sound denotes both a physical wave and the subjective percept it evokes (similarity 0.84)
• Judged pleasantness does not track the physical quality of a sound (similarity 0.84)
• Psychoacoustics quantifies physical sound signals into perceived auditory attributes (similarity 0.84)
• A human listener is needed to connect objective sound pressure with perceived loudness (similarity 0.84)
• On-axis response alone cannot predict how a loudspeaker sounds in a room (similarity 0.84)
• Physical accuracy of a sound field does not predict perceived accuracy (similarity 0.84)

Broader Connections

• Perceived loudspeaker sound quality depends only on amplitude responses #contradicts (1.00) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 711
• Room acoustics and presentation method alter how listeners perceive sounds #corroborates (0.90)
• Sound measurement has shifted from flat physical scales toward human-perception-weighted scales #exemplifies (0.85) — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 440
• Spatial richness in multichannel sound inhibits perception of loudspeaker resonances #expands (0.75)