How Good Are Your Ears? How Good Are Your Headphones?

I found this link on an interesting thread over on the audiokarma.org discussion board.  It lets you test your headphones.  As an aside, it also helps test your ears.  You might be surprised to find that you can't hear some of the higher frequencies.  Your high frequency hearing deteriorates over time.

http://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php

The obvious next question:  Why pay for what you can't hear?

Science, Human Hearing, and Stereo Speakers

When it comes to speakers, you can read all the reviews and study all the performance metrics you want.  But, at the end of the day, what matters is whether the speakers are pleasing to your ears when playing the kinds of music you like to hear.

The science of human biology and speaker specifications don't always mesh.According to wikipedia, the average human range of hearing begins as low as 12 hz and goes to 20khz.  Dogs can hear from around 40 hz to 60 khz.  Cats can hear from 55hz to 79khz.  Now, I don't know if Best Buy will allow dogs and cats into their listening room. It's too bad because I'm pretty sure that our dog wants me to buy better speakers.  He'd probably like me to buy JBL ES20 bookshelf speakers since they have a dynamic range of 60 hz to 40 khz.



There is no real evidence that audiophile ears are any better than the ears of the general public.  Claims to special hearing by audiophiles are likely to be due to what researchers call "The Hawthorne Effect."  Some writers claim that sounds we can not hear may still play a role in your brains processing of sounds from a stereo.  Words like presence, soundstage, and "boominess" all play a role in speaker selection.  Unfortunately, all of these speaker describing words are subjective.  I know I've missed having deep bass with my bookshelf speakers.  If you are looking for bass in a bookshelf speaker, these Polk Audio TSi100 go down to 53 hz which is pretty deep for bookshelf speakers.



I won't dispute anyone's anecdotal evidence that premium speakers are worth the extra money.  It isn't my role to diminish anyone's enjoyment of this hobby.  However, the science is compelling enough to help us protect our wallets.  Don't let anyone compel you to buy any stereo equipment on the basis of any claim that you cannot directly and distinctly hear and experience for yourself without prompting.  In the world of speakers, science can defend our wallets from preposterous claims, but our speakers still have to be bought from the heart.