Howtosignalprocessing
As you can hear, the square wave has a very much brighter and harsher tone compared to the sine wave which is very smooth. The levels have been set to the same RMS values so that both waveforms should be subjectively equally loud.
- Is a square wave louder than a sine wave?
- Why do sine and square waves sound different?
- Why are square waves louder than sine waves?
- Why does a square wave sound different?
Is a square wave louder than a sine wave?
The Square wave has an RMS Equal to its Peak amplitude whereas the RMS of a Sine wave is . 707 x the Peak value. Simply put, the Square spends all its time at Peak level so sounds louder.
Why do sine and square waves sound different?
The square sounds like it does because it is made up of a fundamental frequency and a series of harmonics, whereas the sine wave just has the fundamental frequency. A square wave has harmonics at odd multiples of the fundamental frequency. Save this answer.
Why are square waves louder than sine waves?
A square wave contains much more energy than a sine wave of the same amplitude.
Why does a square wave sound different?
A square wave jumps from -1 to 1, and repeats itself at a given frequency. Because it contains a sudden jump (a discontinuity), there are lot of high frequency harmonics in the sound spectrum, resulting in a harsh, buzzy tone.
