The High Frequency Response Test (8-22 kHz)

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by weirdo12, Jan 29, 2013.

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  1. skriefal

    skriefal Senior Member

    Location:
    SLC, Utah
    At 40 yo -- I could clearly hear 19 kHz on my Takstar headphones, with 18 kHz almost painfully so. This was with the volume at more-or-less normal listening levels.

    This is in line with the results I got about 10 years ago. And also in line with my continued great annoyance at having a CRT television anywhere nearby (or really, anywhere in the same house). :)
     
  2. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    Can you do the same with other headphones? It is possible (I'd say somewhat likely) that the Takstar headphones are actually ringing or distorting when playing 18 kHz which could explain why that sound is painfully obvious. Driver ringing can cause a very sharp frequency spike.
     
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  3. skriefal

    skriefal Senior Member

    Location:
    SLC, Utah
    It's possible. I don't hear 19kHz when listening through a pair of Koss PortaPros, but still easily hear 18kHz. But certainly not at the same level as with the Takstars.
     
  4. Music!

    Music! Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Indiana
    neat website. I could only hear 14K on old sony headphones on my laptop. I took the hearing test, did the hand scrub calibration, and tested about -20 to 30. mild hearing loss. I play in a rock band and work in a factory. I do wear earplugs at work. I also had a loud motorcycle a few years ago that I finally ended up wearing earplugs under my helmet when I rode it. lawn mowers, etc.

    I take a mandatory hearing test at work every year. I'll try to remember this when I take it this year.
     
  5. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    About the driver ringing, here's a thread on head-fi with discussion, measurements, and plots all about driver ringing and resonances: Headphone CSD waterfall plots

    Your description that 19 kHz was almost painfully obvious is what made me think that maybe the headphones are ringing or resonating at that frequency or in response to that frequency. A lot of headphones do strange things in the treble. Frequency response that looks like mountains, cliff dives at 16k, ringing, distortion, etc. Depending on what the headphones are doing, they could be making it artificially easy to hear some of the high frequency tests.
     
  6. kevintomb

    kevintomb Forum Resident

    They are not "Clear tones", they have very noticable distortion, which makes one think they are hearing the "test tone", but they are really hearing the distortions of the tone, at a lower frequency. A combination of how its sent online, and how most computers recreate the tones when played back.
     
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  7. Spek

    Spek Well-Known Member

    Location:
    DFW, TX
    In 10 years your hearing hasn't changed? Wow. Also, hearing 18 kHz at 40 is quite unusual.

    I hear the CRTs also, but I'm 27. The pitch is closer to 15.7 kHz, if I recall correctly (I got curious and measured it once). Most adults don't even hear that. I know my parents never could back when we had them (when they were under 40 years old probably).
     
  8. kevintomb

    kevintomb Forum Resident


    Its not calling out liars, but sometimes, even many times, there is another answer that makes sense, and many dont think about it.

    The only reason I know all of this, I read on another forum, where they did the same type of test, and several debunked the accuracy of sending very high frequency tones digitally and how they play back on most sound cards.

    Someone even went as far as to post some waveforms, showing all kinda extraneous distortion and so on. It was just an old story to me.
     
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  9. Spek

    Spek Well-Known Member

    Location:
    DFW, TX
    Yes I hadn't thought of that … the tones themselves not being pure and having the distortion built in.

    There are enough issues with playback, even if accurate tones are sent to begin with.
     
  10. kevintomb

    kevintomb Forum Resident


    I hear the CRT tone, but less so than when I was in my 20s or 30s. Im 47 now, and my hearing rolls off at about 16khz. Maybe even around 15khz.

    As I often say in many posts, Saying one hears something is one thing, thinking one hears something is another, and proving one hears something is reality.
     
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  11. Spek

    Spek Well-Known Member

    Location:
    DFW, TX
    It would be funny to see if all the years of hearing CRTs causes your brain to interpolate the high-pitched noise whenever you see one! ;)
     
  12. papatwo

    papatwo Abiding Member

    Location:
    Easley, SC, USA
    60 years on and 10k is as good as it gets for me.
     
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  13. skriefal

    skriefal Senior Member

    Location:
    SLC, Utah
    The 10-year estimate may be inaccurate. It's probably less then that since I last did this sort of test. Maybe 5 years.

    One of the factors that contributed to the purchase of my first RPTV was that it got rid of the annoying CRT whine from the 32-inch TV that I had been using. The RPTV's larger screen was nice too, of course! I also was an early adopter of LCD computer monitors for the same reason. IIRC, I had to return my first LCD monitor... because it too emitted a high-pitched whine, albeit at a lower level than the CRTs.
     
  14. thermal123

    thermal123 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    I managed 15K - the kids had run off by that point saying it hurt their ears! This ageing malarkey is all a bit depressing if you ask me :-(
     
  15. eyeCalypso

    eyeCalypso Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado, USA
    At least you're not alone.
     
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  16. Flatlander

    Flatlander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indy
    Wow, what an awesome thread.

    I have noticed a bit of hearing loss in my right ear lately and by using my old Sennheiser cans one at a time, I find that my right ear is at 14k while my left comes in at 17k. Interestingly, if I clamp the left side of my headphones to my skull, instead of turning it away and closing it off with my palm, I can hear 15k directly through the bone with my left before my right ear detects anything. Weird!

    I voted 14k (net). At 58, that seems pretty good to me, sadly.
     
  17. Mikey679

    Mikey679 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Worcester, MA
    Surprised I got 18k, my ears are shot from loud concerts and listening to my music cranked in my cars over the years. Not as bad as I thought it would be, I always have a hard time hearing people in noisy environments and never felt like my hearing was all that great to begin with.
     
  18. Laservampire

    Laservampire Down with this sort of thing

    17khz clearly with my ATH-M50s and my cheap AKGs. Pretty acceptable for a 28 year old, especially one that went to a loud rock concert 2 days ago.

    My dad is 64 and he could hear the 14khz tone just fine.
     
  19. Sam

    Sam Senior Member

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    At work, with garbage headphones (Labtec) I got to 14Khz. I'm going to try this at home with my Senn. 650s.
     
  20. randy9700

    randy9700 Indian MC Rider!

    13kHz here and just kinda happy to have that considering where the chart says I should be...
     
  21. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    I would say don't feel bad because it is natural aging that is causing it and I am in the same boat as you, but how can we not feel bad about loosing the very thing that we all enjoy so much. There are days that it really depresses me.
     
    papatwo likes this.
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