Subject: I wouldn't say 96 kHz audio equipment is a waste... From: "Michael J. Owren" <mjo9(at)CORNELL.EDU> Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 12:23:50 -0500Dear list, Inexpensive and readily available audio equipment with very high sampling rates seems to me to be boon to research, for example for nonhuman audition and vocal behavior, and in speech research. Historically, researchers working on nonhuman audition and vocalization have faced a double whammy--dramatically fewer resources available for the work, and equipment needs that may not be met by the gear designed for humans. Nonhuman researchers have always been at the mercy of a market overwhelmingly driven by human-centered demand and design. That situation has improved dramatically over recent years, as consumer-level electronics have become increasingly sophisticated and inexpensive. Researchers interested in nonhumans immediately benefit from higher sampling rates, and I suspect there are clear benefits to studies of human vocalization and audition as well. For example, better representation of the waveform provides more accurate representation of accurate representation of fundamental frequency variation and associated vocal perturbation measures in human speech (as well as nonhuman vocal behavior). I say three cheers for such "waste." Michael Owren -- Michael J. Owren, Ph.D. Psychology of Voice and Sound Research Lab Department of Psychology 224 Uris Hall Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 (voice) 607-255-3835 (fax) 607-255-8433 (email) mjo9(at)cornell.edu (web) http://comp9.psych.cornell.edu/faculty/people/Owren_Michael.htm