Sound Definitions

Mid range

Mid range and the human ear

Mid range refers to the that portion of the spectrum between 300Hz and 4 kHz. Most of the times mid range is associated with vocal range, since our vocal range tends to fit neatly within that frequency window. As a result of this, what we speak we can hear, and therefore human ears are designed to hear particularly well the mid range of the spectrum. Often even people with hearing impairments can infact perceive the mid range quite clearly.

Mid range and music

From the point of view of music in general and more specifically dance music, the range is quite extensive, from the lows of 20Hz up to the highs of 20kHz. Though these sounds are creative in nature, often the human ear finds it difficult to perceive anything that falls far from the mid range. For example, humans cannot perceive anything below 32Hz and anything above 18khz. Even sounds within the 32Hz to 18kHz are perceived at considerably lower volumes than sounds closer to the middle of the spectrum.

Adjusting to the human ear

To cater for these discrepancies, sound systems often use multi-way speakers, and more often than not, separate speakers are dedicated to address this very issue. For example, many of today's sound systems come with a separate sub-woofer, which boosts low-range well above what would be considered a flat dB line. High energy tweeters attempt to do the same thing but on the higher range. In turn the human ear has a reception similar to an upside down parabola. Adding speakers to the extremities of the audible spectrum, delivers an upright parabola of sound intensity across the audible spectrum. Overlap the two parabolas and hopefully you have a straight line, with the correct balance of all frequencies.

Mid range on the other hand is always reproduced normally.

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