Timbral adaptation is a confirmed phenomenon though its mechanism remains unexplained

Evidence

Pike et al. (2013) confirmed these basic findings using different loudspeakers, different rooms, and male speech as a signal. There is incomplete understanding of the perceptual mechanisms underlying the phenomenon, but there is no doubt that timbral adaptation occurs, and it applies to both loudspeakers and listening rooms. This appears to be related to the spectral compensation effect noted by Watkins (1991, 1999, 2005) and Watkins and Makin (1996). — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 532

Categorization

• QUESTION: What precisely is the perceptual mechanism of timbral adaptation? Worth chasing the Watkins spectral compensation literature