The Audio Expert, 2nd Edition

Chapter 2

Audio Fidelity, Measurements, and Myths

Science is not a democracy that can be voted on with the popular opinion.

—Earl R. Geddes, audio researcher

In this chapter I explain how to assess the fidelity of audio devices and address what can and cannot be measured. Obviously, there’s no metric for personal preference, such as intentional coloration from equalization choices or the amount of artificial reverb added to recordings as an effect. Nor can we measure the quality of a musical composition or performance. While it’s easy to tell—by ear or with a frequency meter—if a singer is out of tune, we can’t simply proclaim such a performance to be bad. Musicians sometimes slide into notes from a higher or lower pitch, and some musical styles ...