Speaker evaluation using scales

[billfitzmaurice]

There would certainly be overtones and harmonics, but at a diminished value. I don't know enough about the subject to even guess what levels they would be at. I do know they exist, and can be heard, I just don't know at what levels. At some point(3rd harmonic and so on), they would be inaudible though.

It depends on a variety of factors. With low frequency instruments the 2nd and 3rd harmonics can exceed, sometimes by a wide margin, the fundamentals. Useful harmonic content on average extends to at least the eighth harmonic when the fundamental is 2kHz or lower. It's the harmonics that define timbre, and at the lower frequencies even pitch. At 40Hz and lower you can't tell the pitch without the harmonics. At all frequencies without the harmonics you wouldn't be able to tell one instrument from another.

[Dave Bullet]

I realise this is all subjective but that's the point of this listening confirmation. My goal here is:
a) does the instrument sound real?
b) is it consistent throughout its range?

Next thing is to find some test tracks.

[Turtle]

The fundamentals yes, but not the harmonics. I've yet to see an on-line chart of the bandwidth of instruments that takes that into consideration.

There would certainly be overtones and harmonics, but at a diminished value. I don't know enough about the subject to even guess what levels they would be at. I do know they exist, and can be heard, I just don't know at what levels. At some point(3rd harmonic and so on), they would be inaudible though.

[billfitzmaurice]

I believe your typical piano tops out at C8(4186.01 Hz).

The fundamentals yes, but not the harmonics. I've yet to see an on-line chart of the bandwidth of instruments that takes that into consideration.

[Turtle]

I believe your typical piano tops out at C8(4186.01 Hz). While it would cover a large range, you'd need something like a piccolo, synthesizer, or other instruments like hi-hats and cymbals to get up into the higher frequencies.

[Dave Bullet]

I'm just interested in whether any of you use the above listening test to confirm anomalies in your designs?

I've been going straight from measurements to test tracks.

Of course we have sine wave sweeps, but it occurred to me I probably need to include some scale playing across instruments and synthesized material (different waveform types) to assess any inconsistency or unnaturalness.

Good instruments with wide bandwidth that spring to mind would be piano and saxophone.