Am I seeing harmonics in playing .mp3 files?
 

I guess you could call me a wannabe audiophile. I'm very interested in what's making the sounds coming out of my pc's speakers.

I notice that when I'm listening to a capella songs, e.g., Queen, I'm seeing more than one spike, a second one higher than the base sound. I'm using a spectrum analyzer plug-in. Is this right? Just curious. Seems like k.d. Lang, who has a beautiful, full voice, does this too.

source(e.g. MP3, CD, OGG etc)
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decoder/decompressor (converts compressed files to PCM:))
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DSP/FX plug-ins(any effects plug-ins)
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out-put plug-ins (they activate the soundcard or send data to direct X)
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direct X/more hardware DSP/FX (e.g. EAX or A3D)
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Digital to Analogue converter (automaticaly happens with most sound cards)
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analogue impulses are sent to your speakers(unless their digital speakers)

DJEgg will probably have a better response

oh well:up:

Yes, part of the nature of MP3 compression is that sounds can cause inaudible effects in other frequencey ranges, but they're still pronounced enough to spot on a spectroscope.