Page 9 - The Master Handbook Of Acoustics

viii CONTENTS

Using Decibels 33
Example: Sound-pressure level 34
Example: Loudspeaker SPL 34
Example: Microphone specifications 35
Example: Line amplifier 35
Example: General-purpose amplifier 35
Example: Concert hall 35
Example: Combining decibels 36
Ratios and Octaves 37
Measuring Sound-Pressure Level 39

Chapter 3 The Ear and the Perception of Sound 41

Sensitivity of the Ear 41
A Primer of Ear Anatomy 42
The pinna: Directional encoder of sound 43
Directional cues: An experiment 44
The ear canal 44
The middle ear 45
The inner ear 48
Stereocilia 49
Loudness vs. Frequency 50
Loudness Control 51
Area of Audibility 53
Loudness vs. Sound-Pressure Level 54
Loudness and Bandwidth 56
Loudness of Impulses 59
Audibility of Loudness Changes 61
Pitch vs. Frequency 61
An experiment 63
Timbre vs. Spectrum 63
Localization of Sound Sources 64
Binaural Localization 67
Aural harmonics: Experiment #1 68
Aural harmonics: Experiment #2 69
The missing fundamental 69
The Ear as an Analyzer 70
The Ear as a Measuring Instrument 70
An auditory analyzer: An experiment 71