Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: $Revision: 1.6.2.14 $; site siemens.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!princeton!siemens!bhs From: bhs@siemens.UUCP Newsgroups: net.audio Subject: Re: to demolish: phase shift argument Message-ID: <30200010@siemens.UUCP> Date: Tue, 7-May-85 09:18:00 EDT Article-I.D.: siemens.30200010 Posted: Tue May 7 09:18:00 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 8-May-85 04:30:07 EDT References: <1545@cornell.UUCP> Lines: 31 Nf-ID: #R:cornell:-154500:siemens:30200010:000:1615 Nf-From: siemens!bhs May 7 09:18:00 1985 I would believe that the problem is a little more complex than that. There are, I believe, two things to consider, neither of which will be affected by speaker/head placements. 1. Analog filters tend to exhibit ringing while settling out. This should not be readily audible while reproducing a low frequency sine wave. However, when trying to transmit a sudden pulse, such as a drumbeat, this ringing could bedome audible. Since the digital filtering processes permit a simpler rear-end filter, this ringing is easier to manage, and thus typically not nearly as pronounced. 2. Speaking of complex sounds, the second point I would like to bring up concerns the Fourier transforms of these sounds, and how the player plays them. If we imagine a relatively complex sound, such as a drumbeat, or a violin note, this sound is composed of various harmonics of the fundamental frequency, where each harmonic sounds at a certain phase. The ultimate examples would be square waves, or triangular waves. The square wave would be square only if the various harmonics are in fact ringing at the neccessary phases, otherwise it would be an almost-square wave. Now, since my theoretical physics has always been my downfall, I will not venture so far as to saying that this aspect will really make a difference audibly. Theoretically, however, it will, and once again, the digital filtering wins, hands down, since it does not introduce any frequency dependent phase shifts. Ultimately, what really counts are mainly subjective variables, as well as your listening environment. Bernard H. Schwab Siemens RTL, Princeton, NJ