MeloManiac Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 (edited) I'm 51 years old and I was curious about my hearing capabilities. I tested it using the Youtube video below on my living room system (Denon RCD-m41 + Klipsch RP160M). I started hearing the signal at 36Hz and I stopped hearing anything around 12,400 Hz. The results for my second setup were quite a surprise (tubecube 7 amp with Heresy 1972 speakers.) I instantly heard "some" sound at 20Hz, at 30 Hz the sound was definitely present. It disappeared at 12,000 Hz. These results are conflicting with the factory specs and with my listening experience: when listening to music I always thought the rp160m speakers went a bit lower than the Heresy. The Heresy do create a fuller 'wall of' sound, of course. I know this thread could go two ways: either towards tech (speakers and amp) or towards hearing (age and damaged hearing). I'm interested in both. This is the link: Edited July 13, 2020 by ILI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 I would not think we should put much weight in an on-line hearing test. One might think there are just too many variables when using something like this. Maybe we have a professional in our group that would chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Cannot hear a thing on this phone. May try with audio system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlthess40 Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Well your hearing is way better then mine lolI’m 54 and have mostly worked in very loud environments and it’s really taken a toll on my ears, not to mention that I’ve had ear problems my whole life I was actually deaf for about six months when I was 13 from a massive ear infection. So I take great pride and joy for having what hearing I do have. Be very grateful that you hear anything over 8K as I can’t hear anything over 7K That’s why I have to rely so much off of instruments for tuning my sound and no longer can rely off my ears for that. It made it quite difficult when I did live sound and Studio recording in my late 20s and early 30s, but I was able to do quite well with thatNo two would not put much stock in a YouTube video about hearing test. We’re having to download and then replaying the file third gonna be information lost during that transfer of data even if it is digitalSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeloManiac Posted July 13, 2020 Author Share Posted July 13, 2020 50 minutes ago, billybob said: Cannot hear a thing on this phone. May try with audio system. My phone's speaker did bring out sound, but it sounded quite weird... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 2 minutes ago, ILI said: My phone's speaker did bring out sound, but it sounded quite weird... Alright...sure it is the very small speaker.(specs) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball_pw Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Do you have a meter? That is what I would check against. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boom3 Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 I connected my trusty HP 204 oscillator to a JVC ribbon tweeter and started at 5 KHz, on axis about one meter away. After I could no longer hear the signal, I looked at the dial, 13 KHz is where the old ears faded out. Not bad for 64. The last time (about 10 years ago) my ENT tested my hearing, his test (which stopped at 8 KHz) indicated my hearing was much better than the average for 50+ men. He said that many of his male patients had worked with loud machinery most of their lives, I have been an office worker most of my career, and that explained the difference. By way of comparison, when I was 18, I connected a similar HP oscillator to my Koss PRO 4AA headphones. My ears gave up at 18 KHz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeloManiac Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 This also is a nice test: https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality?t=1594888826519 My score was 3/6 under non ideal circumstances (lots of noise in the background). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 You might consider the Fletcher-Munson curves. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-loudness_contour These show that even average ears need a higher acoustic level (phons) to perceive low freqs. Therefore by these standards everyone is hard of hearing at low freqs. Let me suggest you try some in-ear headphones, I have a pair from a cell phone purchase, to try the tones on the link which was posted. I can hear 30 Hz without problem on my laptop in a quiet room. OTOH this is where many big speakers are rolling off in acoustic output rather quickly. Therefore speakers have falling output and ears have falling sensitivity. It is a losing battle down there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boom3 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 That reminds me of a long-standing question of mine. Instead of "flat" response as measured by a microphone, why not design a speaker to have the inverse of the F-M curve, so as to be "perceptually flat" ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parlophone1 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 I tried that with my Beyerdynamic DT990pro headphones plugged in the amp. These headphones have a bit accentuated highs. Various youtube tests showed that I start to loose the tone at approximately 12000 Hz, and it is completely gone at 13500-14500Hz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 35 minutes ago, boom3 said: That reminds me of a long-standing question of mine. Instead of "flat" response as measured by a microphone, why not design a speaker to have the inverse of the F-M curve, so as to be "perceptually flat" ? That is a common misconception of the F-M curves. They are, in fact, perceptually flat when you look at a single curve. All points (across frequency) will have the same apparent loudness (a psychological quantity) when played at that level (in dB, a physical quantity and indicated along the y-axis). This is usually referenced to a nominal "loudness" of a 1000Hz tone at 40 dB. The different curves are for different overall levels (usually separated by increments of 10dB). So within a curve, those different frequencies would be perceived as having an "equal loudness" and therefore perceptual flat in terms of loudness. Good luck, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 On 7/16/2020 at 5:45 AM, boom3 said: That reminds me of a long-standing question of mine. Instead of "flat" response as measured by a microphone, why not design a speaker to have the inverse of the F-M curve, so as to be "perceptually flat" ? Another reason is because at those low frequencies the room (size and proportions) have the most effect on frequency response "flat-ness". Making a speaker that is "perceptually flat" would just exaggerate that, actually making the in-room speaker response less flat at low frequencies. And then, we have the human ear. Not everyone hears "perceptually flat" the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capo72 Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 I played this on my PC with my Klipsch Reference on ear headphones. It helped me figure out 2 things. 1. The tinnitus that I have is in the 3-4 Khz range. (would have guessed higher) 2. At age 47, I can no longer hear above 13Khz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 What? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boom3 Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 In my case, in a quiet house I can hear an ant pass gas. In a noisy bar or restaurant (remember those?) I sometimes struggle to understand what the person across from me is saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeloManiac Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 9 hours ago, boom3 said: In my case, in a quiet house I can hear an ant pass gas. In a noisy bar or restaurant (remember those?) I sometimes struggle to understand what the person across from me is saying. ... after how many drinks? 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 On 7/23/2020 at 7:01 AM, Jeffrey D. Medwin said: Next time you visit your MD for a regular check up, have him prescribe a Hearing Test. I believe, as you get older, you can have one a year. They do it in a booth, with calibrated equipment, and pros testing you. They will TRY to sell you hearing aids !! An older person's hearing can be substantially "off", yet you will still perceive ALL sorts of things, from high frequency resultants that come down into the mid range. Worry not, enjoy de music !!! Also, have the ear/nose/throat person clean your ear wax out. Only professionals should do this. "Never put anything in your ear that's smaller than your elbow." I had a big wax plug that was invisible from the outside. Without it, I can hear much better! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MechEngVic Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Many things affect how you'll hear the low frequencies coming from your speakers. A room is full of nodes and nulls. You'll hear more or less low Hz just by moving around the room. And your speaker placement will affect the position of these nodes and nulls. The best you can do is to get the best low Hz sound in your sweet spot. For these reasons, and since you feel low Hz as much or more than you hear it, you don't want to evaluate your speaker's low frequency response by ear. Use a mic and REW to do it. I'm 49 and my high frequency cuts out at about 14,000Hz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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