Detection of a mistuned component in a harmonic complex.

The ability to detect a mistuned component in a harmonic complex was measured as a function of harmonic number under three different stimulus procedures: simultaneous monotic, successive monotic, and simultaneous dichotic. In the first experiment, the fundamental frequency was 200 Hz, and the stimulus duration was 410 ms. The threshold obtained in the simultaneous-monotic procedure was lower than those obtained in the other two procedures, especially for harmonics above the third. It is argued that an envelope cue associated with lower-frequency components in the power spectrum of the envelope was the primary cue for the detection of a mistuned component in a harmonic complex in the simultaneous-monotic procedure. Thresholds did not differ for successive-monotic and simultaneous-dichotic procedures, suggesting that the detection of the mistuning was mediated above the level of the cochlea. In the second and third experiments, the stimulus duration and the fundamental frequency of the complex was altered. The envelope cue seemed to be weakened by decreasing the stimulus duration and by increasing the fundamental frequency.