mtemur yes it definitely does change. it’s all related with sound velocity. if humidity, density or pressure increases sound velocity in air increases too. sound is lazy. sound waves tend to move to where sound velocity is lower.
there is no way to come to a conclusion with one variable like altitude because humidity has a greater impact on sound velocity. if humidity is the same on both places than higher altitude cause more absorption than lower altitude on high frequencies. and it’s perceived as slight decrease in treble and attack. same happens if humidity decreases.
>>>>>Very low humidity produces static electric charges that we know influence the sound, too. So it’s more complicated, there are many variables, some independent some dependent. As I posted yesterday velocity of sound in air probably isn’t relevant as long as the frequencies propagate at the same velocity. The ear doesn’t care how long the sound waves took to get there. Take headphones, there is almost no distance for the sound waves to travel. It takes no time for the sound to get to the ear. No time, no distance....No velocity! 🤗
cm, your ears did not plug up. As the pressure changes you have to equalize the pressure on the other side of the ear drum through your Eustachian tubes. Usually a good yawn will do it. Divers know all about it. Only the speed of sound changes with altitude. Everything else stays relatively the same. In other words there is no difference from a sonic perspective.
The speed of sound is irrelevant if it’s the same everywhere in the room. Having “temperature gradients“ in the room would affect the sound, though - E.g., Chinese ice water bowls out in front of speakers.
Google: "speed of sound at sea level vs altitude". While the speed of sound varies with altitude the reference is to a standard temperature. Humid air is also less dense therefore lower in pressure and changes the speed factor accordingly. For a Pilot operating an Aircraft at 30,000 feet Pressure Altitude becomes a life and death matter but a 5,000 foot difference in a listening room will not change the factor enough to make much difference. However Caribou Ranch Recordings seem to have some notoriety amongst recording artists.
yes it definitely does change. it's all related with sound velocity. if humidity, density or pressure increases sound velocity in air increases too. sound is lazy. sound waves tend to move to where sound velocity is lower. there is no way to come to a conclusion with one variable like altitude because humidity has a greater impact on sound velocity. if humidity is the same on both places than higher altitude cause more absorption than lower altitude on high frequencies. and it's perceived as slight decrease in treble and attack. same happens if humidity decreases. it's all related with sound propagation and behavior of sound in fluids. air or water more or less same rules apply for sound propagation cause both are fluids. I'm a submariner. and whole submarine warfare and anti submarine warfare (ASW) is based on tactics regarding sound velocity profile (SVP).
WOW, Never expected to get responses like what I received. A YES or NO would have been sufficient! A number were "off mission" and there were others that were just plain strange. We audiophiles are a strange bunch!
Now to what I actually heard: In Cleveland my speakers had a sweet warm sound which was what I was used to. In Prescott the sound became brittle and hard. I suspect that I need to do a lot of room tuning and carpet installing. I have some very loud cars and a very loud boat. These sounded the same here as in the CLE. If I made 1 mistake in my life it was waiting so long to move to this beautiful place.Thanks for your comments on & off mission!
The effects of gravity are reduced at higher altitudes. Thus, it is slightly possible that a speaker cone will behave slightly different at high altitudes compared to sea level. It would not be audible.
I moved from 800' to 7220' about a dozen years ago, and do not recall any significant change in speaker sound due to altitude. The ability to listen at volume levels that do a system justice was an improvement
very much more readily noticeable.
I do have a premium system in my truck and I experience substantial altitude changes in my travels. What I notice is that my ears plug up and things overall don't sound right. After I clear them, everything sounds much better. Meaning that there are other factors involved and I can't discern any change in the sound of the speakers directly due to attribute.
No, actually, like Vegas, all the rooms sound awful because of the shared AC power and seismic vibrations. Come on, guys! Besides too many 200 lb resonators of the human Variety in the room. 😬
The OP obtained excellent guidance from me, and with humor. -New room, all comparisons are relative -Change IC's, bigger difference
Now how about a reality check? Attendees of RMAF all know how horrid the rooms sounded due to the elevation. The bitching was constant, the frustration endless. Well, actually, not. Actually, no one discusses elevation and effects on speakers, because it is a non-issue. Anyone wants to waste their life on things like burn in and elevation, feel free. :(
Finally.....my time has come. After countless minutes of R&D, for a select group of too high audiophiles, I'm announcing the world introduction of the first device to compensate for savage performance-reducing effects altitude has on audiophile systems. The device is called "Audio System Unlimited Compensation Reduction"(ASUCR) and lists for $42,000. It looks just like a black box, weighs less than you might think, and accomodates any input/output. The first 100 people to purchase this device will be eligible for a one-time (for now) discount of $41,580, or a sale price of $420. Act now....stock is limited.
Yes we have the same problem with motorcycles when we are at the track. The track owner have on him strict requirements on max dB of noise our motorcycles are allowed to make. The track is of course in a fixed location but the dB measurements reading varying with the air pressure. So the denser the air pressure is the easier the sound propagate through air.
If you are new to Prescott- and please learn to pronounce that word correctly please, you will want to join the AZAVCLUB.com. Tonight we have Ted Smith giving an interview. Over my head. We also had Nelson Pass and Roger Sanders as guests. Paul Barton is next week.
Tuberist- One of my goals is to meet Mark Levinson, you?
I live at about 1,400 feet, and visit my hometown often, which is about sea level. Altitude tends to effect the pressure in my ear drum. I always tend to hear everything better at sea level, not just speakers. I think multiple factors play a role. Pressure inside the ear drum is a much bigger factor than air density in the room.
glupson, she is a rather entertaining author. One of the best was entitled, "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers," I believe. I was reading it when flying over the Atlantic, when a flight attendant said, "What are you reading?" I shared the tile, and she said, "Oh, I read that, too!"
I commented that I was currently at the part about airline disasters and what happens to the body when a plane breaks apart at high altitude. Didn't bother me excessively, though midair. :)
Anyone can talk talk. In the interest of science I have done the work and can now state unequivocally the effect of altitude is positive. The higher I am, the better it sounds.
If it changes the sound of speakers it's bound to change the sound of a lot of other things too. Does it seem to change the sound of anything else you've noticed?
I do not think she is one-dimensional at all. In fact, based on the number of topics she covers it seems she has too many dimensions. Mary of all trades.
Mary Roach seems like some rennaisance woman. Topics of her books are from cadavers to gastroenterology (that tract for some reason declared a taboo in the intro) to needs in space.
And yet, there is some sucker working whole life on one small molecule for a salary. and she never gets mentioned anywhere. Not fair.
"So if can’t hear a fart in space, can you smell one, or does that go hand in hand."
Assuming you do have a helmet and oxygen supply, you are not likely to smell it. Without it, it probably depends on how close you are to the source and how long you can stand without breathing much else.
I almost suggested the OP bring the listening room along for a comparison. That's one advantage of making a cargo container your listening room; you can bring it along! Would hate to set up a rig on the long wall, though.
OP could 3-D print a copy of old room to compare.
Lots of science to be conducted for the benefit of humanity!
I'll tell you what's no joke about being 1 mile up, running. Wow, that sucked, as in sucked wind, when I ran whenever I was in Denver. Incredible how the lungs burn from the elevation change. The other time that my lungs burned when working hard was without much acclimatization at Machu Picchu climbing from the complex to the Sun Gate and returning in one hour.
They could make low altitude drivers with holes in them to match the atmospheric pressure's effect on the cone. This is a genius idea and should get me widespread recognition as a futurist, because they will do that in 10 years. If you happen to live in Cleveland and buy the speaker with holes, then move to Prescott, you just put tape over the holes. If you live in Prescott and buy the one without holes, you just use a sharpened pencil to make them when you move to lower elevation. If you have a ceramic driver, too bad. This is straightforward audio, the way it should be done. ;)
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