View Full Version : High Frequency Hearing - How high can you go?
I've read a bit about how high people can hear (or not) - so went looking for a suitable test site to find out for myself.
Not very scientific, but try this http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/can-you-hear-this-hearing-test/ -
and then post your result, and age.
I can just make out 15 kHz - I'm 42
EDIT: having played some of the higher samples, the recordings are all over the place - I can hear some higher than 15 but they are actually lower - does anyone know a better site, or else we'll just delete this I think!
Stratmangler
03-06-2011, 11:42
What did you play the test tones on ?
Stratmangler
03-06-2011, 12:01
Possibly more accurate than you'd think.
With my ear right up to the speaker on the laptop, at full volume, I could just hear 21kHz. 22kHz was a no-no, but everything else was clear as a bell :)
I'm 45 (46 in Aug 14th this year).
How accurate this test is, like you say, I don't know...
Marco.
With my ear right up to the speaker on the laptop, at full volume, I could just hear 21kHz. 22kHz was a no-no, but everything else was clear as a bell :)
I'm 45 (46 in Aug 14th this year).
How accurate this test is, like you say, I don't know...
Marco.
... and you with Tannoys too :D :lol: :lolsign:
I had my ears properly tested at Ipswich Hospital a very few years ago and both drop in sensitivity over 2K or thereabouts by around 8db. The Tinnitus doesn't help with very quiet sibilant sounds and it, together with the adult glue-ear I'm lumbered with these days, varies day on day.
The thing is, you really do need to do this under controlled conditions, as gawd knows what's actually coming out of laptop speakers at almost any volume. If you turn the volume up enough you'll hear almost anything.
In my youth, 18KHz was easy, but now I doubt it's much over 10Khz tbh :(
Lol! :eyebrows:
Yup... I had another, more critical listen, and what I would say is that 15 and 16 kHz made me jump, with my ear very close to the laptop speaker, as I heard those tones loudly, with no problem whatsoever.
17kHz was a little more faint, but still very audible. At 18 and 19 kHz, the tones started getting more faint, but I could still hear their high-frequency whine, and at 20 and 21kHz, I had to strain pretty hard to hear the tones, although I could detect them just, and was aware of when they started and stopped.
So in summary I'd say that, if the test is reasonably accurate, I can easily hear up to 19 kHz, with things dropping off pretty steeply after that.
I've always looked after my hearing, though, even as a teenager, so I'm not entirely surprised at the results :)
Marco.
HighFidelityGuy
03-06-2011, 13:19
I ran some test tones through my main system a couple of months ago and could easily hear up to 18KHz, 19KHz was a bit quieter and 20KHz was only just perceivable. You can't really do this test through laptop speakers as they seem to produce lower harmonics which end up being louder than the fundamental, so that tricks you. You can't really expect the crappy speakers in a laptop to accurately produce such high frequencies. They're just not designed for that. :)
Cool.. I accept that.
Perhaps someone with the necessary kit and know-how, could rip the tones, make a CD from it, and send me a copy? So I can try the same test, using my main system... I'd feel conident though, I'd end up achieving similar results to you :)
What age are you, Dave?
Marco.
HighFidelityGuy
03-06-2011, 13:31
PM me your address and I'll get a CD out to you next week. :)
Cheers, dude, will do.
I think I'll do the test through headphones :)
Marco.
Stratmangler
03-06-2011, 13:44
Marco
You should be able to play the tones through your system using the EMU.
Good shout, Chris. I might try that! Dave's CD would still be useful, though :)
Btw, how old are you Dave?
Marco.
Does no-one else fancy taking the test? Come on guys, stop being such big girl's blouses!! :eyebrows:
Marco.
The Grand Wazoo
04-06-2011, 00:14
I'll be reporting back when I've sorted out my 'mono head'.......but at the moment, I'm hearing up to the 16kHz tone.
I'm 45 yrs old (but the speakers are a bit younger!)
Lol, mine are about the same age as me! Good man, Chris - come on, who else is next?
I insist that ALL the mods try this! ;)
Marco.
WOStantonCS100
04-06-2011, 07:20
This was cool! Definitely one of the more useful things I've come across on any audio forum.
I first tried this with my wife's crappy Everyman branded earphones/mic thingy. I was intially alarm because after 14kHz there was nothing, nada, zilch!!
I then grabbed my planar cans. Thus the revelations started. The first one was that... crappy earphones suck! Second, "pure" generated tones like these are pretty much anti-musical to me; not me favorite things to listen to. I rate these about the same as those crazy wattage, ridiculous subwoofers of death. The 10kHz signal blared out at me and I immediately yanked the volume way down. After 17kHz I had to crank the volume way up; beyond that... forget it. Maybe it's a crappy sound circuit in the laptop, maybe it is my ears. At 40 and after having done my time (20 years worth) playing live, much of it rock, I'm honestly shocked I got out being able to hear anything!!
Lastly, I am a firm believer in specs; however, this little test (reminder) validates what others have said about "musicality" and I have to, now, fully agree. Because, if my gear was sounding this clinical and dry, I would absolutely hate listening to music.
Hmmm, I'm rather surprised at my results as I can hear everything without too much trouble up to 16kHz, nothing at all at 17, 18 is again audible, barely perceptible at 19 & 20, 21kHz quite clearly and nothing at all at 22kHz
I'm 52 and thought the results would be much worse than that :scratch:
Are you guys listening in perfectly silent environments with good headphones? I used to have to have yearly hearing tests due to a previous job and up to the age of 40 when I gave it up, always passed OK, which surprised me after all the rock concerts I have been too! They were always conducted in sound proof booths, with good quality headphones and you had to push a button when you heard a sound. I reckon listening at home could be giving some very inaccurate results, but then its a very inaccurate test ;)
Ali Tait
04-06-2011, 08:24
I can JUST hear the 19k tone using my Ultimate Ears headphones. I'll be 43 in July.
Ali Tait
04-06-2011, 08:30
Scratch that. I just had another go at full volume this time, and I can hear something all the way up to 22k. Whether it's the tone itself or a harmonic is another question. I have always known my high frequency hearing was above the average though.
Ali Tait
04-06-2011, 08:43
Interestingly, I just looked up the frequency response of my phones, and the max appears to be 17k, so that would mean it's not the pure tone I am hearing, and I doubt you were either Marco, you were probably hearing the same things as me.
WOStantonCS100
04-06-2011, 08:47
To be honest, it does seem like I can hear more using a test record and have an easier time of it. The laptop sound card frequency response and S/N ratio is really questionable. The environment is not all that quiet either; none the least is the fan noise from the laptop itself, the small aquarium pump right next to it, the ceiling fan, the refrigerator on the other side of the wall, the train a few miles away... But, if I can't hear much past 17-18kHz, I'm still pretty happy with that, all things considered. Probably, what this is really showing me is just how crappy this laptop is... ...after all, it's a Dell. :lol:
Interestingly, I just looked up the frequency response of my phones, and the max appears to be 17k, so that would mean it's not the pure tone I am hearing, and I doubt you were either Marco, you were probably hearing the same things as me.
Could well be, mate... That's why Dave's sending me a CD. When I get it, I'll try the test again and report back :)
Marco.
Could hear up to 17 with Dynaudio MC-15's, although their freq. range is stated to stop at 21Khz. They did sound consistently higher however, whereas the tones 18 and above took a few notches down in pitch and sounded more noisy/textured.
Will try with LCD-2s when they arrive.
31 years.
Stratmangler
04-06-2011, 09:56
Has anyone seen the measured response graphs of all the transducers used so far ?
Ali Tait
04-06-2011, 10:23
Yes Chris, that's why I made my earlier post. The graph I saw was from a review, and they in fact measured better than the manufacurer's own data. I'd expect them to be godd though, given the cost.
Ali Tait
04-06-2011, 10:26
Could well be, mate... That's why Dave's sending me a CD. When I get it, I'll try the test again and report back :)
Marco.
Fairy nuff, but what are you going to listen to it with? I doubt the Tannoys go that high, in fact I'd be surprised if anyone here has a transducer that will go to 22k at + or - 3dB.
The Vinyl Adventure
04-06-2011, 10:28
Just tested mine ... I can hear 15 fine ... Higher than that I have to put my ear by the speaker ... I can just hear 17 near the speaker I think ... 18 19 nope
I'm 28 ... Boo hoo for me ... As I said in Barry's thread, I was under impression it didn't matter really anyway ...
Stratmangler
04-06-2011, 10:50
Yes Chris, that's why I made my earlier post. The graph I saw was from a review, and they in fact measured better than the manufacurer's own data. I'd expect them to be godd though, given the cost.
Missed that one :doh: - thanks Ali :)
Fairy nuff, but what are you going to listen to it with? I doubt the Tannoys go that high, in fact I'd be surprised if anyone here has a transducer that will go to 22k at + or - 3dB.
The Coles 4001G (http://www.falconacoustics.co.uk/coles-4001g-16-ohm-super-tweeter.html) super-tweeters in my SP1's allegedly have a frequency range up to 35Khz - at what level I don't know, though. And what the stuff up the chain can do will of course be the final arbiter anyway.
Not sure we're proving much, but good fun, anyway! :)
chris@panteg
04-06-2011, 11:00
I watched the program about George Martin a few weeks or months back , and he talked of his shock when he discovered he couldn't hear above 12khz and he was in his late 40's at the time .
Fairy nuff, but what are you going to listen to it with? I doubt the Tannoys go that high, in fact I'd be surprised if anyone here has a transducer that will go to 22k at + or - 3dB.
Through headphones, via Nick's valve headphone amp, dude. I'll check what the frequency response of the headphones I'm using is first.
I'm only really interested though in hearing stuff up to 19kHz, which is what the test Alex linked to indicated I was capable of without too much difficulty (within the restrictions of course of listening via a laptop).
Should be interesting. I like exposing my senses to scrutiny in this way, as at least that way you know where you stand! :)
Marco.
Just checked the spec for the Koss PRO4AA headphones I use. It says:
...features dynamic elements for an exceptionally wide frequency response from 10-25,000 Hz
http://www.koss.com/koss/kossweb.nsf/p?openform&pc%5Efs%5EPRO4AA
They should do the job nicely. They also shut out noise like no other headphones I've used... You can't hear a bloody thing other than what you're listening to when you put them on! :)
Marco.
Jac Hawk
04-06-2011, 12:24
i can hear all the way up to 22khz without too many problems, admittedly i needed to crank the volume up when i got past 16khz, i was playing the test through my A/V system with Mordaunt Short MS45ti's, i'm 40, 41 in a few days time. By the way this is a great thread Alex:)
Ali Tait
04-06-2011, 12:30
Just checked the spec for the Koss PRO4AA headphones I use. It says:
http://www.koss.com/koss/kossweb.nsf/p?openform&pc%5Efs%5EPRO4AA
They should do the job nicely. They also shut out noise like no other headphones I've used... You can't hear a bloody thing other than what you're listening to when you put them on! :)
Marco.
Aye, but I note it doesn't say within what dB range you get that frequency response!
As you say though, it's not really relevant for listening to music, 12k or so is plenty for that I think.
Indeed, and as Alex says, it's really just a bit of fun. But I suppose it does give you *some* reassurance :)
Anyway, there's no excuse for anyone not to try a test like this!
Marco.
Reid Malenfant
04-06-2011, 14:04
I insist that ALL the mods try this! ;)
Marco.
Oh do you now! :ner:
Right, i just did the test with my laptop speakers & i can tell you for a fact that it's useless using them. I know my hearing isn't that good & i know for a fact that i can't hear 22KHz... Yet i definately heard something quite clearly whilst being over 90 degrees from both lappy speakers.
In other words i was hearing distortion :lol: I'm also not sure how distorted that signal is, i might use the audio output & feed it into my HP distortion analyzer & see ;)
I may well try it though my system later on... I'll be honest & say i only expect to hear up to about 14KHz, the reason i say that is simply because when i set up the active crossovers for my system i was using a function generator & tried it myself. However, i know my hearing is & has been declining quite rapidly of late due to wax build up. I know i'm about to lose my hearing in my left ear, which means the right ear isn't far behind it...
With unblocked ears i reckon i should be able to hear up to 15 - 16KHz, maybe a tad higher at a good volume..
Reid Malenfant
04-06-2011, 17:50
The Coles 4001G (http://www.falconacoustics.co.uk/coles-4001g-16-ohm-super-tweeter.html) super-tweeters in my SP1's allegedly have a frequency range up to 35Khz - at what level I don't know, though.
It'll be well into breakup mode by then Alex as it's a soft dome, at some point all tweeters enter breakup including metal domes. That's often the reason they sound harsh because of this. Aluminium will break up at about 16-17KHz, Titanium a bit higher, but the first breakup mode of the Yamaha Beryllium tweeters i have is at 27KHz.
Soft domes just don't tend to do nasties when they enter this mode because it's more controlled due to the nature of the dome material :)
What i mean by breakup is a portion of the diaphram vibrating in antiphase compared to the rest of it, not that it's falling to bits :eyebrows: It's simply no longer functioning as a rigid piston..
kininigin
04-06-2011, 20:38
just taken this test,first i tried it with just the speakers and i could hear up to 17KHz with no problems,but when i turn up my amp to see if i can hear higher freq's im getting alot of noise/interference from my usb dac (sold my beresford now using a hotaudio dac which is pretty crap).
With headphones i can just about hear 19KHz and then i have the same problem with noise/interference.
Im 32yrs old.
Epiphany Acoustics
12-06-2011, 14:42
Did this the other day on another forum and just tried again but still only 16kHz! my girlfriend, from 2 metres away, heard 17kHz no problem. And she has been to more gigs than me!
Stratmangler
14-06-2011, 19:05
Just to get some perspective, the following track was treated with a 2500Hz high pass filter - yep, that just 2.5kHz http://www.mediafire.com/?ydn2d9a9ua92hv4
Hmm... I'd want to take an actual look at what's coming through my headphones on this.
The noise and tones I get on the upper frequencies are all over the place.. 21K gives out a lower tone than 18K which and both are lower even than the 8K tone. And there's lots of digital artifacts going on.
The squelch noise when turning up the volume on this Mac is a real ear killer though!
I bet these have tones have been buggered up completely by some web designer changing formats or compressing them for the site software..
I've an ear test on my ipod touch that uses the more accurate 'press the button when you hear something' method with frequencies all over the place and you don't know necessarily if a tone has actually been played or if it's a control silence.
I consistently get into the 17KHz region for both ears with my cheap sony headphones - not tried it with my posh Shure SE530s yet.
I just tried this after finding the site by accident and then finding this thread used the same site. Spooky!
Anyway, I heard clearly up to 15Khz, 16Khz at a push with the volume at a level that didn't hurt my ears on the 8Khz tone. However, if I turned the volume up full (by the way, I listened through my Grado's on my iMac) I could hear up to 18Khz.
I'm 41. And 17 months ;)
spendorman
12-01-2012, 20:13
The Coles 4001G (http://www.falconacoustics.co.uk/coles-4001g-16-ohm-super-tweeter.html) super-tweeters in my SP1's allegedly have a frequency range up to 35Khz - at what level I don't know, though. And what the stuff up the chain can do will of course be the final arbiter anyway.
Not sure we're proving much, but good fun, anyway! :)
In over 40 years of messing with Hi Fi, only blown one KEF B200 (was probably a bit off when I got it anyway) and in more recent years, both Coles 4001G in my B&W DM4's, and that was when testing them on sine waves with signal generator.
Accidentally had the volume up too high. Did not take long to pop them! Replaced now.
I don't think that I would call the 4001G a soft dome. It's quite a hard plastic. They do vary a bit though.
I could just hear 16KHZ on the Noiseaddicts hearing test, that was through Tannoy HPD315's and my 60 year old ears.
I can't imagine how anyone could tolerate above 18 kHz, you guys must have some ol dog in ya blood!
I've been using top peltor ear defenders for 25 yrs, I'm 43, and can't hear above 15k using my NTi sig gen, through an ASR and my Spires, which I'm more than ok with, on the other hand, I dig the 18hz they pump out now..
sq225917
12-01-2012, 23:51
18k for me without reaching for the volume.
using my laptop speakers I can't hear past 18khz. unless I put my ear to the speakers.
Using my usb mini speakers I can easily hear all of them.
jazzpiano
16-01-2012, 17:08
Fun stuff AlexUK! No wonder I like Spendors, push-pull tubes, and Grados - I can barely hear 12,000 Hz. (I was hoping it would drive the cat batty, but no such luck.) No need for those super-tweeters I guess... Is there a low-freq. version?
Best,
Barry
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