[moogoob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not a dumb question at all, and it doesn't have much to do with the lucky few with great hearing range. Transducers tend to be more linear when not pushed to the extreme in either direction. At the high end and low end of the operating range, you start to get distortion. So if you had something strictly limited to 20Hz-20kHz, then it would distort as it got to the limits of human hearing. The besb way around this is to stretch the bandwidth out. If you had a transducer with a range of, say, 10Hz-35kHz, then it would have less overall distortion in the 20Hz-20kHz band than a transducer limited strictly to that range. There's more to this, but that's what is going on when frequency response gets drawn out. Similar thinking goes into a lot of other audio gear. Your speaker amp might average pulling 10W while you're listening, but you don't want to be pulling 10W from a 10W amp. It will be distorted at the top of its range and will clip if a big transient comes along. You're better off pulling 10W from a 50W amp. The 50W amp will be loafing the entire time, which is good. That means you'll get a very linear 10W and it won't clip when the finale begins.

Fantastic response, Erik.

 

[jageur272]

Its also a matter of perception. Just because you can't hear those tones doesn't mean that your body can't "feel" them. If you listen to a 30kHz tone, you won't hear anything, but you'll start to feel it. Its the same principle as using fluorescent colors to make things appear brighter. Not only do fluorescent colors reflect the visible spectrum into your eyes, they also reflect ultraviolet light, which makes them more intensely bright. Sub- and super- aural frequencies change your perception of the sound.

 

[fghtffyrobesity]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not a dumb question at all, and it doesn't have much to do with the lucky few with great hearing range. Transducers tend to be more linear when not pushed to the extreme in either direction. At the high end and low end of the operating range, you start to get distortion. So if you had something strictly limited to 20Hz-20kHz, then it would distort as it got to the limits of human hearing. The besb way around this is to stretch the bandwidth out. If you had a transducer with a range of, say, 10Hz-35kHz, then it would have less overall distortion in the 20Hz-20kHz band than a transducer limited strictly to that range. There's more to this, but that's what is going on when frequency response gets drawn out. Similar thinking goes into a lot of other audio gear. Your speaker amp might average pulling 10W while you're listening, but you don't want to be pulling 10W from a 10W amp. It will be distorted at the top of its range and will clip if a big transient comes along. You're better off pulling 10W from a 50W amp. The 50W amp will be loafing the entire time, which is good. That means you'll get a very linear 10W and it won't clip when the finale begins.

Just thought I would say thanks. This made quite a bit of sense

 

[TopPop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you had a transducer with a range of, say, 10Hz-35kHz, then it would have less overall distortion in the 20Hz-20kHz band than a transducer limited strictly to that range.

Bingo. Exactly what I was going to say (only, not as well as you have!).