I really wish all SQ elements are measurable such that, like I mentioned in other topics, a matrix can be established as a basis to more objectively assess the performance of speakers and other gears. But, so far, other than decay, SPL and related vertical/lateral responses, distortion/noise such as SNR or SINAD, etc., what other sound traits have been scientifically measured/reported? The dynamic range can possibly be done easily but was never reported at least to my knowledge. Can the width, depth and height of soundstage be measured accurately in spite we know the SS is created/affected by the delay of sound arriving at ears? How can one measure imaging, separation of intruments, the quality of bass such as speed and weight of bass, etc.?
Dynamics are a point of interest for myself, as I think I’m hearing a dynamic difference if I digitally attenuate the signal before I send it to the DAC, and then turn up the pre-amp volume. Technically you’d expect a loss of dynamic range by doing this, but my perception is the opposite. I guess I should try to come up with a way to measure this. My DAC chips are missing their output stages so there could be some self limiting compression going on with a full strength signal. As far as sound stage width, depth, and height are concerned, my experience is that room reflections, speaker placement, speaker dispersion, and equalization have dramatic effects on these. The known factors in the recording are timing and level between the two channels. If both are playing the exact same thing it should create a phantom image at center. There is no depth cue that can come into the recording other than echoes and equalization and relative level. Our ears don’t directly calculate a sound source distance in the same way that our eyes can do it by vector calculation of how crossed our eyes are, or how large an object of known dimension is appearing on our retina. With the ears it’s just timing and level, for direction left to right, reflections and equalization for height, depth, and determining if a sound is in front of us or behind us, along with comparing how things change when we move our heads. I don’t doubt it could be quite helpful if both channels are immaculately matched in all areas of performance throughout the audio chain. Now that I've said all that, anybody please correct anything that you think is wrong. It occurs to me that any level compression effects could reduce the sense of depth by making quiet echoes and distant sources sound too loud.
