AVJ, at this point there's nothing to indicate that feedback from info picked up by a microphone is involved, but the comment that you're probably referring to should be kept in context. The point was that some things picked up by a microphone which looked terrible(specifically, comb-filtering)weren't a significant problem for less sensitive human ears and when processed by our somewhat forgiving brains.
Edit: as Andrew has now settled in the above post as to no microphone being involved.