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Is there such a thing a audio distortion in nature

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discosucks View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote discosucks Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Is there such a thing a audio distortion in nature
    Posted: 19 September 2014 at 6:41pm
As in when we scream loud enough or a volcano goes off is the sound that's produced from it distorted or just really loud pure audio?


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Teunos Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 September 2014 at 6:47pm
Can you even speak about distortion in nature? Distortion is a natural phenomenon in itself and a quantity used by humans to describe unwanted artifacts in reproduction of a given quantity. What would be the unwanted quantity in something that is per definition not controlled by man?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ceharden Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 September 2014 at 6:47pm
When a sound gets loud enough the compression/rarefaction of the air becomes non-linear so would almost certainly distort.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote madboffin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 September 2014 at 7:18pm
As above - and this effect is very noticeable if you are inside the terminal building at an airport and listen to aircraft taking off.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DMorison Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 September 2014 at 7:32pm
What Chris said, plus our ears are only going to stay linear up to a certain point, potentially adding another source of distortion at least in our perception, if not the actual acoustic stimulus.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote studio45 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 September 2014 at 8:15pm
I would say by most definitions no, any sound produced by a natural process is considered to be undistorted, and if our soundsystems can reproduce that exact waveform then they, too, are undistorted - no matter how ear-splitting the sound itself may subjectively be! 
But it is an interesting question and the point about air non-linearity is certainly true; could it be said that a metal guitarist's "tone" (lol) is undistorted? Perhaps, as that's the way they WANTS it to sound! An overblown trombone certainly takes on a "ragged" character but again that is usually intentional. Distortion means an altering of a waveform but, to define it we must be able to define what the wave was "supposed to be"? And if it's "supposed to be" that raggedy shape, well, it ain't distorted!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote EHaudio Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 September 2014 at 11:58pm
Good question disco.
I've wondered this myself an example I'd bring to the table is a thunder storm!
What's your thoughts on that
Did you plug it in?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Andy Kos Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 September 2014 at 1:18am
What is 'pure audio' ?? A sine wave? That doesnt normally exist in nature, the tone of every sound is has some sort of 'distortion' or variation in it to make it unique/different.  
 
We commonly consider distortion to be an 'unwanted' variation or change of the original sound, in which case the original natural sound created is the one that is 'undistorted' as any reproduction of that sound will introduce some variation or distortion.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fat_brstd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 September 2014 at 1:47am
Yes there is "distortion" as in variance from pure sine wine production in Nature. It is what we refer to as "Tibre" and is totally natural.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BlueDragon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 September 2014 at 3:52am

What of instruments like acoustic guitars? It would be quite easy to find two that outwardly look the same with identical strings at identical tensions, but that sound different. To what extent is that distortion or is it voicing? I suspect the answer is an individual one based upon whether you like the sound or not.

Is distortion more acceptable when it is introduced via 'natural' amplification rather than 'artificial' amplification, by which I mean amps, speakers etc etc

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kevinmcdonough Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 September 2014 at 1:17pm
hey

As many people have said it all comes down to the exact way you define "distortion" and where you draw the line between different things. 

Obviously the main way we consider it in our work is unwanted changes to the sound, usually by clipping a signal at some point in the signal chain, causing square waves and unintended harmonics.

An over-drivven/distorted electric guitar would be another obvious one. Even though its deliberately created this time it's still essentially the same mechanism.

So that would be an electronic definition, but then the harmonics/square waves could also be added by natural causes and does that fall into the same category? That is the question. And some things could naturally produce those kinds of waves at source, but sound distorted because they are similar to what we know/consider to be distorted audio.

Maybe a sound is produced that would ordinarily sound "undistorted" changes because of the room/environment: standing waves or resonators or something. That could be fairly easily argued as distortion.

After that, as chris says when a sound gets loud enough the compression/rarefaction of the air becomes non-linear so would almost certainly distort. But you could argue it's not the same definition or class of distortion, as its really just a natural things, it's just what a volcano sounds like for example. Do you get a quiet volcano where this doesn't happen to compare the two?

Or when a jet engine rattles the terminal building. Some of the extra harmonics that create the distortion sound come from the same principal as above, the pressure being too much for the air, there'll also be a lot of the changes from the rattling of the building and its contents, and also the same effects of vents and spaces and ducts, standing waves, resonating, etc etc.

But yeah interesting question, similar to the tree falling in the woods etc.

k

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mitchiemasha Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 September 2014 at 3:33pm
Some interesting thoughts here!
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