Editing High fidelity (section)

==Semblance of realism==
[[Stereophonic]] sound provided a partial solution to the problem of reproducing the sound of live orchestral performers by creating separation among instruments, the [[auditory illusion#In music|illusion]] of space, and a phantom central channel. An attempt to enhance reverberation was tried in the 1970s through [[quadraphonic sound]]. Consumers did not want to pay the additional costs and space required for the marginal improvements in realism. With the rise in popularity of [[home theater]], however, multi-channel playback systems became popular, and many consumers were willing to tolerate the six to eight channels required in a home theater.

In addition to spatial realism, the playback of music must be subjectively free from noise, such as hiss or hum, to achieve realism. The [[compact disc]] (CD) provides about 90 [[decibel]]s of [[dynamic range]],<ref name="Fries2005">{{cite book |title=Digital Audio Essentials |last=Fries |first=Bruce |author2=Marty Fries |year=2005 |publisher=O'Reilly Media |isbn=0-596-00856-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/digitalaudioesse0000frie/page/144 144]–147 |url=https://archive.org/details/digitalaudioesse0000frie |url-access=registration |quote=Digital audio at 16-bit resolution has a theoretical dynamic range of 96 dB, but the actual dynamic range is usually lower because of overhead from filters that are built into most audio systems." ... "Audio CDs achieve about a 90-dB signal-to-noise ratio." "Most adults can't hear frequencies higher than 15&nbsp;kHz, so the 44.1&nbsp;kHz sampling rate of CD audio is more than adequate to reproduce the highest frequencies most people can hear.}}</ref> which exceeds the 80&nbsp;dB dynamic range of music as normally perceived in a concert hall.<ref>{{cite book |title=Handbook of Recording Engineering |last=Eargle |first=John |author-link=John M. Eargle |year=2005 |publisher=Springer |isbn=0-387-28470-2 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=00m1SlorUcIC&pg=PA4 }}</ref> Audio equipment must be able to reproduce frequencies high enough and low enough to be realistic. The human hearing range, for healthy young persons, is 20&nbsp;Hz to 20,000&nbsp;Hz.<ref>{{cite web
| url=https://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/ChrisDAmbrose.shtml
| title=Frequency range of human hearing
| first=Christoper
| last=D'Ambrose
| year=2003
| first2=Rizwan
| last2=Choudhary
| website=The Physics Factbook
| editor-last=Elert
| editor-first=Glenn
| accessdate=2022-01-22
}}</ref> Most adults can't hear higher than 15,000&nbsp;Hz.<ref name="Fries2005"/> CDs are capable of reproducing frequencies as low as 0&nbsp;Hz and as high as 22,050&nbsp;Hz, making them adequate for reproducing the frequency range that most humans can hear.<ref name="Fries2005"/> The equipment must also provide no noticeable distortion of the [[signal]] or emphasis or de-emphasis of any frequency in this frequency range.