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Found the highest frequency I can hear


aldude
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So, I went to @Bristol in ... Bristol. They have an exhibit with headphones and a knob which you can turn to change the frequency of a tone into the headphones.

I found I could hear up to 13100 Hz. Anything above that ... nothing.

Seems very low, even for my 32 year old ears! That explains why my RH450 treble control doesn't seem to raise the treble :P

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Apparently it all goes downhill from 25 - I just tried noiseaddicts and could hear 14khz but not 15khz. I'm 47.

[url="http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/can-you-hear-this-hearing-test/"]http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/can-you-hear-this-hearing-test/[/url]

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FWIW may I warn folks about what happened to me. I lived in a flat and would often get neighbour complaints about my stereo as well as personal music making activities. I invested in headphones. I was only gigging once a week on guitar plus a band practice and my day job was a quiet office-y environment, but had to go to the quack 'cos I couldn't hear other people in a busy environment and I had this permanent ringing in my ears (still got it now 20 years later). Turns out that the headphones were a lot louder than they seemed to be. I'd been using them several hours a day (well, evening) every day and that's what did the damage.

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Not the best environment to be trying this (at work with lots of computers whirring away in the background and a slightly rumbly ventilation system) but I could hear up to 16k. 17k was debatable - I'm not sure I could hear it but I could hear when it ended? I must try this again with the external USB sound interface and headphones when I get home :)

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After 17k speakers and headphones may not reproduce properly. Last time I checked it was still great for me but I have to admit to sometimes struggling making out words with some people in noisy environments.


[quote name='aldude' timestamp='1329820926' post='1547743']
So, I went to @Bristol in ... Bristol. They have an exhibit with headphones and a knob which you can turn to change the frequency of a tone into the headphones.

I found I could hear up to 13100 Hz. Anything above that ... nothing.

Seems very low, even for my 32 year old ears! That explains why my RH450 treble control doesn't seem to raise the treble :P
[/quote]

The RH450 doesn't go anywhere near 13kHz iirc mate :) I think it tops out at 6kHz

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[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1329821635' post='1547764']
Apparently it all goes downhill from 25 - I just tried noiseaddicts and could hear 14khz but not 15khz. I'm 47.

[url="http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/can-you-hear-this-hearing-test/"]http://www.noiseaddi...s-hearing-test/[/url]
[/quote]

16kHz was fine, 17...there was something there, but i'll not say i could hear it properly.

edit: good point charic - it might be my cheap headphones that are topping it out at 16, but i'd be suprised at 42 if i could hear 17 anyway !

Edited by ahpook
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[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1329821635' post='1547764']
Apparently it all goes downhill from 25 - I just tried noiseaddicts and could hear 14khz but not 15khz. I'm 47.

[url="http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/can-you-hear-this-hearing-test/"]http://www.noiseaddi...s-hearing-test/[/url]
[/quote]

I can hear the 22Khz on there quite clearly. Interestingly I can hear it clearer than the 20kHz.... does that make me thpeshal?

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[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1329821635' post='1547764']
Apparently it all goes downhill from 25 - I just tried noiseaddicts and could hear 14khz but not 15khz. I'm 47.

[url="http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/can-you-hear-this-hearing-test/"]http://www.noiseaddi...s-hearing-test/[/url]
[/quote]

could hear 15k, 16k was barely audible with a little effort, actually more felt than heard. Nothing on 17k. No echo location for me then :)

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[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1329821635' post='1547764']
Apparently it all goes downhill from 25 - I just tried noiseaddicts and could hear 14khz but not 15khz. I'm 47.

[url="http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/can-you-hear-this-hearing-test/"]http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/can-you-hear-this-hearing-test/[/url]
[/quote]

I could only get 10khz. I`m 46. AND OBVIOUSLY DEAF!

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[quote name='aldude' timestamp='1329820926' post='1547743']
So, I went to @Bristol in ... Bristol. They have an exhibit with headphones and a knob which you can turn to change the frequency of a tone into the headphones.

I found I could hear up to 13100 Hz. Anything above that ... nothing.

Seems very low, even for my 32 year old ears! That explains why my RH450 treble control doesn't seem to raise the treble :P
[/quote]

did you check if anybody else could hear higher?
the headphones could be the ones who could not reproduce high frequencies very well... I would not give this much importance (unless others could hear much higher frequencies on the same set up) and just go to your audiologist if you have doubts.

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Chaps, now try it with someone else turning the frequency up so you can't see the screen/controls and without telling you when they're going to do it. Then see where you lose the high end...
From experience of this it will be a slightly different frequency than what you thought it would be.

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I didn't ask anyone else to try so it could be the crappy headphones.

I did find the frequency while not looking at the frequency display. Also, I found it much easier to start at a high frequency and turn it down until I could hear something, instead of turning it up until the sound went away. FWIW I constantly have a high pitched noise in my ears that never goes away... :(

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[quote name='jonthebass' timestamp='1329863867' post='1548919']
Chaps, now try it with someone else turning the frequency up so you can't see the screen/controls and without telling you when they're going to do it. Then see where you lose the high end...
From experience of this it will be a slightly different frequency than what you thought it would be.
[/quote]

better to start from the high frequencies going down... and say when you start hearing something.
and who ever is at the controls can take their time to bring down the frequencies, or people will start to "guess" when they want to hear soemthing ;)

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[quote name='musophilr' timestamp='1329822048' post='1547776']
FWIW may I warn folks about what happened to me. I lived in a flat and would often get neighbour complaints about my stereo as well as personal music making activities. I invested in headphones. I was only gigging once a week on guitar plus a band practice and my day job was a quiet office-y environment, but had to go to the quack 'cos I couldn't hear other people in a busy environment and I had this permanent ringing in my ears (still got it now 20 years later). Turns out that the headphones were a lot louder than they seemed to be. I'd been using them several hours a day (well, evening) every day and that's what did the damage.
[/quote]

Headphones apparently will do more damage used at high volumes than playing live with loud amps.
I've read that Pete Townshend & lots of others put the cause of their hearing problems down to using headphones at high volume for years in recording studios rather than playing live.

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[quote name='paul torch' timestamp='1329916066' post='1549588']
My hearing's been screwed since my eardrum burst twice as a child due to severe ear infections. 10khz was my best shot.
[/quote]

I had a drunk at a wedding party try to put a flower behind my left ear. He missed & the stem went straight in my ear & ripped through my ear drum.

Edited by RhysP
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