Why does a telephone not do a very good job of transmitting music?

Answer 1

To expand on LincMad's statement: The frequency range of a voice-grade telephone circuit is 300 to 3100 Hertz. The frequency range of your stereo is 20 to 20,000 Hertz. They use the narrower bandwidth on a phone system so they can pack more phone calls into the same cable.

A telephone transmits only a very limited range of audio frequencies, optimized for speech. Thus, all the high and low notes in music get lost over a telephone connection.

Answer 2

To expand on LincMad's statement: The frequency range of a voice-grade telephone circuit is 300 to 3100 Hertz. The frequency range of your stereo is 20 to 20,000 Hertz. They use the narrower bandwidth on a phone system so they can pack more phone calls into the same cable.

Answer 3

A telephone transmits only a very limited range of audio frequencies, optimized for speech. Thus, all the high and low notes in music get lost over a telephone connection.