- Thread Author
- #1
<!-- #thumb --> <p>If you take a stereo pair of loudspeakers and cover up one of the channels so no sound comes out of that speaker, what do you get? *Mono. *Right. *Mono with no directionality, reduced soundstage. *Like the old days when there was nothing BUT mono.</p>
<p>But if you cover one of your ears with your finger so no sound gets in, what do you get? *I am not sure, but it isn’t mono. *Try it. *You can tell directionality, imaging, three dimensional sound.</p>
<p>It’s rather obvious why we need two loudspeakers to try and fool ourselves into believing there’s a three dimensional image in the room, but it’s less obvious why that same logic doesn’t apply to our ears. *In fact, what we learn is that the shape of the ear itself helps our ear/brain mechanism determine position of sounds through complex timing and phase relationships. *What’s simply mind blowing to me is that we can determine positioning and imaging with but one ear.</p>
<p>It’s always been known that you don’t need great hearing to enjoy high end audio and be a great listener. *Some of the best listeners I know can’t hear well past several kHz or have greatly reduced hearing in one ear. *My friend Peter is as deaf as a hornet in one ear but is a terrific listener and can spot problems with imaging, depth and tonal balance in an instant. *Now we know, at least partially, why.</p>
<p>Thanks to one of my readers, Acuvox, for this great bit of information.</p>
<center><a href="http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/listening-ears-shut/11874/emailpopup/" onclick="email_popup(this.href); return false;" title="Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers" rel="nofollow"><img class="WP-EmailIcon" src="http://www.pstracks.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-email/images/email.gif" alt="email Listening with ears shut" title="Listening with ears shut" /></a>*<a href="http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/listening-ears-shut/11874/emailpopup/" onclick="email_popup(this.href); return false;" title="Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers" rel="nofollow">Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers</a></center><br /><!-- // MAILCHIMP SUBSCRIBE CODE --><center><a href="http://eepurl.com/eSzBY">Get new and fresh stories like this each morning by joining the folks reading Paul's Posts. Click here </a></center>
<!-- MAILCHIMP SUBSCRIBE CODE // -->
[Source: http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/listening-ears-shut/11874/]
<p>But if you cover one of your ears with your finger so no sound gets in, what do you get? *I am not sure, but it isn’t mono. *Try it. *You can tell directionality, imaging, three dimensional sound.</p>
<p>It’s rather obvious why we need two loudspeakers to try and fool ourselves into believing there’s a three dimensional image in the room, but it’s less obvious why that same logic doesn’t apply to our ears. *In fact, what we learn is that the shape of the ear itself helps our ear/brain mechanism determine position of sounds through complex timing and phase relationships. *What’s simply mind blowing to me is that we can determine positioning and imaging with but one ear.</p>
<p>It’s always been known that you don’t need great hearing to enjoy high end audio and be a great listener. *Some of the best listeners I know can’t hear well past several kHz or have greatly reduced hearing in one ear. *My friend Peter is as deaf as a hornet in one ear but is a terrific listener and can spot problems with imaging, depth and tonal balance in an instant. *Now we know, at least partially, why.</p>
<p>Thanks to one of my readers, Acuvox, for this great bit of information.</p>
<center><a href="http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/listening-ears-shut/11874/emailpopup/" onclick="email_popup(this.href); return false;" title="Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers" rel="nofollow"><img class="WP-EmailIcon" src="http://www.pstracks.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-email/images/email.gif" alt="email Listening with ears shut" title="Listening with ears shut" /></a>*<a href="http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/listening-ears-shut/11874/emailpopup/" onclick="email_popup(this.href); return false;" title="Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers" rel="nofollow">Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers</a></center><br /><!-- // MAILCHIMP SUBSCRIBE CODE --><center><a href="http://eepurl.com/eSzBY">Get new and fresh stories like this each morning by joining the folks reading Paul's Posts. Click here </a></center>
<!-- MAILCHIMP SUBSCRIBE CODE // -->
[Source: http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/listening-ears-shut/11874/]