octavewide

Octavewide is a term used in music technology and acoustics to describe a processing approach or property that considers or preserves audio content across octaves. In practice, octavewide design seeks to ensure that tonal balance, dynamic response, and harmonic content remain proportional or evenly treated from the lowest to the highest audible frequencies. The term is used in both theoretical discussions and in the naming of software features, though it is not tied to a single standardized specification.

In synthesis and effects, octavewide processing can refer to multi-octave filter banks, cross-octave dynamics, and multi-band compressors tuned to octave-spaced bands, aiming for uniform behavior across the spectrum. In mixing and mastering, octavewide analysis tools may display energy distribution by octave bands to guide equalization and compression decisions. In acoustics and psychoacoustics, octavewide concepts relate to how listeners perceive spectral balance across the range.

History and usage: The phrase emerged in recent decades within hobbyist and professional music technology communities to describe a goal of flat or consistent spectral response across octave bands. It does not designate a specific standard or product category, but rather a design philosophy or descriptive label used by developers and researchers.

See also: Octave, Equal-loudness contour, Perceptual audio, Filter bank.