Sound Engineering Explained, 2nd Edition

2  Hearing and the nature of sound

Part 1

The mechanism by which sound waves are converted into a perception by the brain is extremely complicated and parts of it are still not fully understood. This book is not the place for even a limited account of the subject. It is, however, a fascinating topic and the reader who wishes to find out more should refer to the list of books for further reading at the end. There are, nevertheless, various aspects of the hearing process which are important in the context of audio technology and these will be outlined here.

The response of the ear

To begin with, we are dealing with a frequency range from about 16 Hz to around 16 kHz. These figures are not precise. At the low end it is not easy to say when sound ...