Speech vs. Music: Rent Com Inc: Audio Visual, Video, Projection, Presentation Rental AV Equipment

Speech vs. Music

It may be demonstrated that the requirements for speech systems are unique, and are not necessarily met by systems that are favored for music reproduction. Music is an inherently non-linear event, meaning that there is often no exact criteria by which to evaluate it, and that colorations that were not present in the original are often tolerated or even desirous in reproduction. We may conclude that music systems are best evaluated by listeners and not test instruments. Research has shown that speech is not so subjective, and that many of the artifacts that are considered acceptable or even desirable in music systems cannot be tolerated in speech systems. The reverb and delay added to a singer's voice suddenly becomes unacceptable when the person stops singing and begins speaking. Unfortunately, many loudspeaker systems have this same "Jekyll and Hyde" personality.