Audio Quality on Star Trek

[richidoo]

Riker and Worf are beamed down to some God-forsaken planet where some renegade Borgs are holding brainwashed Cmdr. Data.

Riker taps his communicator to report back to the Enterprise.

Picard is listening to Riker from the bridge, but Riker's voice sounds like low bit, telephone quality, extremely frequency limited audio quality. "Telephone" (analog POTS) quality is 180Hz to 3.2kHz, with steep low end rolloff to avoid picking up 60Hz EMI in parallel power transmission lines, and to minimize the size and cost of transformers. The top end is limited to 3.2kHz, which requires 8kHz sampling rate which is low enough to maximize the number of calls that can be multiplexed on the same line while still maintaining good voice intelligibility. Signal to noise is only 45dB. Cell phones often improve on this, but carriers remain stingy with bandwidth and we're all used to it anyway, so POTS is good enough.

But this is the 24th century, 300+ years into our glorious future! It POTS still the standard for interstellar audio communication?

When they talk to the ship's computer to order a Fallopian Fizz from the matter replicators in their crew quarters, the computer voice sounds full and rich, as if a person is standing in the room with them. Likewise, when they talk to a planet or ship many light years away via "sub-space" communication, the sound quality of the audio is excellent.

When they use shipwide intercom, sometimes with, and sometimes without tapping their communicator badges, the audio quality at the other end is still EQ'd down a notch, to give the illusion of distant communications.

Back here in 2015, we've all seen hearing aids with the tiny 2mm sphere protruding into the air, looks like a sewing pin? That's an electret condenser microphone, with full 20-20k frequency response, inside a protective barrier/windscreen. The actual microphone in there is even smaller.

The Star Trek communicator badge also has a homing beacon, tap switch, chirp circuit and speaker (which sounds better playing the chirp than it does the voices that come through it) audio circuit, a transceiver strong enough to communicate across light years distance, antenna, and the case is made of gold, platinum and other precious metals. It can survive submersion, impact, radiation, temperature extremes, explosions, phaser blasts, molecular decomposition and reconstruction during "transport," etc.

With all those features, technology and luxury built into it, is it too much to ask for full frequency response from this device, which is used everyday in life and death situations? In the 24th century of Star Trek, there is no money, cost is no object, excellence is the standard in this utopia. Everyone just gets whatever they want or need. Making a full audio frequency communicator should not be so hard. They can make a warp engine, they should be able to make a 10" loudspeaker driver, no?

I understand that the Star Trek NG producers try to adhere to known or theoretically valid laws of physics, and they may well have deliberatey limited the frequency response of the communicator's own speakers which are necessarily very tiny, and it shouldn't sound much better than a cell phone, adhering to the famous "Hoffman's Iron Law."

But there's no reason the expansive and luxurious flybridge of Starfleet's flagship Enterprise cannot have some 10" coax speakers overhead? Or maybe built into the headrests like a (19)91 Miata? So that they can hear the full signal sent from the communicator's full range microphones?

Does the communicator say BOSE on the plastic back cover?   

[Bob in St. Louis]

Rich.....You're a geek. 

Love ya man. 

[richidoo]

Live Long and Prosper, Bob In St. Louis!

[Bob in St. Louis]

I would like to, but based on your comment in the other thread, you're planning on sacrificing me first.
   

[ejk]

Well in the movie "Into the Darkness"  Capt Kirk was pleased with the audio quality of his turntable


http://www.audiowood.com/about.html

[richidoo]

That's Kewl!  Thanks! 
Here's a pic of it lights on.



Spock scratching in 1967. (golden ears)


Wicki-wicki WAW.. Wicki wicki WAW, wiki WAW wiki WAW

[tmazz]

Rich.....You're a geek. 

And the problem with that is?????????

[Bob in St. Louis]

It's all good with me! 

[GT Audio Works]

The poor communications was probably due to interference from Tachyon particles emitted from a nearby cloaked Romulan vessel.
I hate when that happens !!

[ejk]

Nah... my guess these guys make the sound fuzzy

[GT Audio Works]

Nah... my guess these guys make the sound fuzzy

Yes fuzzy reception is the  "Trouble with Tribbles"

[Brap]

Richidoo -- that ALWAYS happens when you put up the shields.  Thought you knew that

[richidoo]

YES! That's it! It's the damn shields!!

We must ban all shields in the name of good sound quality across the galaxy.

Thanks Brap. Mystery solved!

[tmazz]

It is only logical.