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In recent years, a scientific paper on neuroscience was published. It stated that ‘the elements necessary to evoke the original emotion of music are missing from digital sound’. This paper suggested that the means of digital technology as a means of conveying music had ‘missing elements’.

The difference between the sound of digital sound and analogue records lies in their frequency characteristics. Music is made up of a wide range of sounds. These range from low to high frequencies. Frequencies vary from around 20Hz to 100Hz. Sometimes they can be as high as 200kHz, depending on the instrument or the person’s voice. Analog records contain high-pitched sounds that exceed 50kHz. They also contain low-pitched sounds that are too low to hear, such as 5Hz. The analog records of the British rock band LED ZEPPELIN from the 1970s are generally expensive. You can find them sold in record shops. However, you can listen to John Bohnam’s powerful drumming on their first and second albums. You can’t play these on Apple Music or Spotify.
The high frequencies of streaming and CDs are only recorded up to 22.05kHz. The human range of hearing is around 20kHz, and it is considered that this bandwidth is sufficient. Even if you record high frequencies that the human ear cannot hear, it will be meaningless, right? This kind of thinking focuses solely on digital aspects. This approach was adopted by the companies developing CDs at the time of the development of the compact disc.

Music has been recorded and distributed as digital data for many decades using this standard. This academic paper announced that some important information is hidden in the high frequency range of 20 kHz or higher. It is called the ‘secret ingredient’ that conveys the impression of music. This range was thought to be inaudible. This academic paper on brain science

「Inaudible High-Frequency Sounds Affect Brain Activity： Hypersonic Effect」

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10848570/

The lead author is Takeshi Ohashi, a Japanese scientist who is also a musician under the name of Shoji Yamashiro.
This paper argues that the sensation of being ‘moved by music’ is due to the way the brain works. It states that turning the original sound into a digital signal strips away the ‘secret spice’. This ‘secret spice’ has the power to activate the brain from the original sound.
Even if the audible components are the same, including inaudible ultra-high frequencies makes them sound fresh and pleasant. They offer a sense of clarity.

The photo above shows the PRISTAGE GR SUPER TWEETER, which is sold under the TANNOY brand. It reproduces sound at 100kHz, far exceeding 20kHz. This product is described on the product website. It is ‘a super tweeter that enhances the presence of the performance. It offers realistic high resolution and overwhelming precision. It expands the ultra-high frequency reproduction capabilities of the main speakers. It not only supports high resolution formats. It also reproduces overtones several octaves above the frequency spectrum of the low-frequency source accurately. This enables tighter low-frequency reproduction. It reproduces the depth and atmosphere that brings out the true nature of musical instruments and vocals. It shows its true value in CD and analogue playback. As I write this, I am selling this product as a manufacturer. Still, orders are flooding in from all over the world. Production is completely unable to cope.
The effects of high-frequency sound on the brain can be seen in music. They are also present in the ambient sounds of the natural world like the sounds of the rain-forest. The human brain enjoys healthy pleasure from sounds that include a variety of high frequencies. These high frequencies come along with audible frequencies.
Among the mixture of various sounds, you can hear the sound of trees rubbing together and the sound of water. Many of the high-frequency sounds that occur around 200kHz are actually insects. You can also hear the sound of the wind, birds, and animals.

In the city crowd, examine the audio band. You will find only sounds in the audible range. These sounds have a depleted high range. It seems that it is a dry and tasteless environmental sound. It does not stimulate the ‘reward system’ of the brain that feels emotion.

If the digitally compressed sound separates the audible range from the ultra-high frequency range, this ‘secret spice’ will be lost. The reward system will no longer be activated.

We ‘hear’ sounds in the audible range of 20Hz to 20KHz through our eardrums. But how do we get sounds above 20KHz into our brains? These ultrasonic sounds are outside the audible range and can’t be heard through the eardrums. It seems that this is due to the ‘body surface’ or ‘skin’ of the human body rather than the ‘ears’.

Sounds within the audible range are perceived as sound by the ears. Information from the very high frequency range is received through the body surface. This information is then sent to the brain. When listening to your favorite music through speakers, the ultra-high frequency components make a big difference. These components can’t be heard by the eardrum. They change the impression you get from the music.
Also, earphones and headphones contact the skin around the ear. They also touch the eardrum. You are listening to music not only through the eardrum but also through these bodily tissues. Bluetooth digital earphones are incapable of reproducing sounds outside the audible range. As they send wireless, they strip away the audio data and do not artificially add ‘spice’ to the sound.
How you enjoy the sound you are directly exposed to matters. Your experience can greatly accelerate phenomena like instinctive euphoria. It can also induce ‘natural highs’ that transcend reason. I think you have all experienced this before. That’s right, it’s a ‘live’ experience.

It is not yet clear which parts of the skin are sound receptors. We don’t know what kind of mechanisms are at work on the surface of the body. Nevertheless, researchers from various fields are said to be taking an interest in this topic.

SHISEIDO conducted research and discovered that high-frequency sound enhances the skin’s protective role in mice. This stimulation promotes the secretion to protect the skin. This finding has already been reported in a specialist dermatology journal. It’s almost like something out of a science fiction story, like healing wounds by playing music to them

Here are the results of a psychological experiment. Digital-generation young people were made to listen to analogue records and CDs. Their brain waves were measured. Alpha waves were produced when they listened to analogue records, which contain high-frequency sounds. They showed a more comfortable response in terms of their brain states.

Yet, when the same young people were asked ‘Which sound do you like?’, they answered ‘I like the sound of digital streaming’. There is a contradiction between the physiological and psychological responses.

In the analogue era of the 1980s, recording and playback equipment can accept ultra-high frequencies of over 70kHz. This was before the advent of digital technology. Devices like STUDER and RUPERT NEVE studio mixers were examples. There are many microphones with a response of over 50kHz, for example NUEMANN studio microphones. Even vintage equipment is capable of recording a wide range of frequencies. LP records have very high frequency components engraved in the grooves. This makes it possible to reproduce high frequencies even without a top-end quality cartridge.

The audio output of analogue synthesizers has a lot of high-frequency components. The high-frequency sounds produced by the PROPHET 5 analogue synthesizer circuit are outstanding. On the other hand, digital instruments artificially reduce the volume of signals. Designers clearly define necessary and unnecessary signals. They also artificially design the range of sound expression.

Music has a history of digital sound that has converged only within the audible range. The popularity of analogue equipment like records, cassette tapes, re-cabled earphones, and analogue synthesizers has not waned. People dislike artificial food that lacks the ‘secret spice’ ingredient. Similarly, there is a homing instinct at work. This instinct moves us away from digital sound quality and back towards analogue. This is the reason why we continue to make products related to vinyl records.

Reference: The mechanism by which high-frequency sounds that cannot be heard by the eardrum are transmitted to the brain BARKS Tetsuya Karasuma