Topic: test your ears

[jmz93]

There is a 15-second sine wave sweep from about 4K to 22KHZ, as a
2MB wave file available at:
http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/uvrevb

So, how much of it can you guys actually hear, and on what equipment?

I tried it through my tube-based stereo first, and thought the
severe dip above 15K was the gear. No, it's my ears! I then tried
my Grado headphones, with the volume pretty high, and things go
from piercing to inaudible from 15K to 18K. I can barely detect
something at 18.5K and anything above that is just not perceptible.

Chris, regretting some of those loud concerts now ... sshit. Oh,
and I'm 31 years-old. I guess there is no way to know, but I'm
wondering now if that is typical for my age, say 29-35.

[JackoRoses]

I'm pretty sure I hear all of it, towards the end it sounds like it's actually winding down instead of the piercing sound at the beginning. It reminds me of a jet engine shutting down sort of. Maybe it's the onboard sound card noise I'm hearing though. Onboard sound > technics su-v450

[illconditioned]

There is a 15-second sine wave sweep from about 4K to 22KHZ, as a
2MB wave file available at:
http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/uvrevb

So, how much of it can you guys actually hear, and on what equipment?

I tried it through my tube-based stereo first, and thought the
severe dip above 15K was the gear. No, it's my ears! I then tried
my Grado headphones, with the volume pretty high, and things go
from piercing to inaudible from 15K to 18K. I can barely detect
something at 18.5K and anything above that is just not perceptible.

Chris, regretting some of those loud concerts now ... sshit. Oh,
and I'm 31 years-old. I guess there is no way to know, but I'm
wondering now if that is typical for my age, say 29-35.

Hearing loss comes in two forms:
1) ageing, you're losing above 15k, perfectly normal,
2) noise induced hearing loss, typically around 4-6kHz.

The latter is what you should worry about!  I never learned this until I got my hearing tested.  The problem is that we are naturally sensitive in 4-6k (the range of "simbalance" in speech, what helps us tell different consonants apart), but lose this very easily if we're exposed to *any* loud noise sources (music, power tools, work environments, etc).  Why do we lose those areas?  I've been told that the ear canal has natural resonance around these frequencies, so if we're exposed to uniform "noise" in our environment, 4-6k gets hit first.  This is contrary to popular belief that we just lose "gain" or "sensitivity" with age.  We infact get *selective* loss if different frequencies, so it is not sufficient to just "turn up the volume".

Needless to say, one should wear earplugs and also limit exposure.  Sadly I've learned this too late.

  Richard

PS: To test your hearing, listen to the following "sweep" from 2 to 8kHz.  If you get "drop outs" at certain frequencies (around the middle) or get it changing from ear to ear, you've probably got some hearing loss.  I'm pretty sure everyone has got *some* hearing loss.  The problem is when it becomes extreme (like you can't hear the tone at all in some parts).  I'd be interested in what people report.  Not scientific, but this is the part of your hearing you should be concerned about:
http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~mannr/Export/chirp-2k-to-8k.wav

[jonohull]

PS: To test your hearing, listen to the following "sweep" from 2 to 8kHz.  If you get "drop outs" at certain frequencies (around the middle) or get it changing from ear to ear, you've probably got some hearing loss.  I'm pretty sure everyone has got *some* hearing loss.  The problem is when it becomes extreme (like you can't hear the tone at all in some parts).  I'd be interested in what people report.  Not scientific, but this is the part of your hearing you should be concerned about:
http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~mannr/Export/chirp-2k-to-8k.wav

I could hear it all, but at the higher frequencies it wavered a little bit, and was more quiet than the rest. I guess I'm all right for now, but ear plugs are now a staple for me at concerts.

[kfrinkle]

PS: To test your hearing, listen to the following "sweep" from 2 to 8kHz.  If you get "drop outs" at certain frequencies (around the middle) or get it changing from ear to ear, you've probably got some hearing loss.  I'm pretty sure everyone has got *some* hearing loss.  The problem is when it becomes extreme (like you can't hear the tone at all in some parts).  I'd be interested in what people report.  Not scientific, but this is the part of your hearing you should be concerned about:
http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~mannr/Export/chirp-2k-to-8k.wav

I could hear it all, but at the higher frequencies it wavered a little bit, and was more quiet than the rest. I guess I'm all right for now, but ear plugs are now a staple for me at concerts.

Yeah, it wavered a little bit for me too.  I was quite surprised, as I have constant ringing in both ears from hugging the stacks at too many Ministry concerts about a decade ago...

[Jammin72]

PS: To test your hearing, listen to the following "sweep" from 2 to 8kHz.  If you get "drop outs" at certain frequencies (around the middle) or get it changing from ear to ear, you've probably got some hearing loss.  I'm pretty sure everyone has got *some* hearing loss.  The problem is when it becomes extreme (like you can't hear the tone at all in some parts).  I'd be interested in what people report.  Not scientific, but this is the part of your hearing you should be concerned about:
http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~mannr/Export/chirp-2k-to-8k.wav

I could hear it all, but at the higher frequencies it wavered a little bit, and was more quiet than the rest. I guess I'm all right for now, but ear plugs are now a staple for me at concerts.

I can hear this one all the way through but as it cycles it reflects off of the walls differently cuasing the focal points to fly around the room.  Man 'o man if this isn't a good way to show folks how prevalent reflections are in sound, why wall treatments are critical for a listening room, and why milimeters worth of microphone setup can make a difference in accurate audio.

What a trip.

[Nick's Picks]

interesting.
it sounded like it was panning from left to right and back when it got into the last 1/3rd of the track.

[Jammin72]

interesting.
it sounded like it was panning from left to right and back when it got into the last 1/3rd of the track.

Reflections and room nodes.  Very enlightening.

[illconditioned]

interesting.
it sounded like it was panning from left to right and back when it got into the last 1/3rd of the track.

Listen on headphones to be sure.

  Richard

[Nick's Picks]

what?

[Jammin72]

what?

I think he was referring to the possibility of hearing damage.  If you're listening on headphones and it moves from side to side or dissappears completely during the sweep you're missing spots in your own hearing range.  This is what the sample was intended for.

We're talking about the behavor of the signal in a room over speakers.

[moooose]

what?

I think he was referring .....

I thought it was a joke

[intpseeker]

My ears are still ringing from a show a few weeks ago, so was interested in the 'sweep' to see about possible damage.

I started it, and could not hear one thing, then realized the speakers were not turned on. 

I was pretty relieved when I turned them on and could hear the entire cycle, although the last third was uncomfortable.

[Nick's Picks]

what?

I think he was referring .....

I thought it was a joke

ding ding ding !