Which is the highest frequency that You can hear? Options

[IgorC]

It's a new version of previous poll.

This poll has a separate options. It's "20 kHz" , "21 kHz" and "22 kHz" options instead of single "20 kHz and higher".

Also sampling rate of tone files is 48 kHz now.

Please perform the test at your normal loudness level that You commonly use to listen a music.

Also, make sure you have your software and OS configured so that it does not resample the audio from its native sample rate. If your hardware has trouble playing files at 48 kHz, make sure you use a resampler that does not alias. See this image as an example in Windows 7 and Vista (which apparently cause aliasing when set to 44.1kHz):
http://i.imgur.com/snX6u.png


Download the test samples here (6.74 MB):
Hearing test

If you are unsure whether you can hear a particular frequency or not, ABX it against the silent track. Be sure to play each sample in its entirety all the way through for each and every trial in order to avoid audible clicking that will give away the identity of the non-silent track.

This poll has two sections. You should check two options.

This post has been edited by greynol: Mar 3 2012, 22:36

Reason for edit: Added resampling caveat, changed samples, added ABX information.

[extrabigmehdi]

I barely hear 17 khz, it's when I compare with 18 khz that I notice that it's not silent.

Also I wish I would have been able to do an Abx Test with higher frequencies and silence, but there's an obvious pop when you start to play, and you know immediately which file has high frequency content. Oh, I tried to put a file with insane frequency ( like 40 khz) so that I get a pop too while being "silent" for normal ears , but then I notice that the pop can sound different.

[halb27]

At a normal loudness level I can hear 13 kHz only (aged 62). I didn't read carefully about loudness level during the last test that's why I got at a 16 kHz there.

[cliveb]

I'm 54 (well, nearly 55), and can just hear 16kHz at normal levels. I can hear 17kHz if I turn it up.

About 20 years ago I was easily able to hear 18kHz. I suppose losing 2kHz in 20 years isn't bad.

[Nessuno]

I was just listening to music at the usual (rather moderate) level with headphones on my iPhone, then without touching the volume I upload the files and ran the test: 15kHz (and I'm 43).

Actually, perhaps I think I perceived something at 16kHz but I'm not so sure I really heard it or just a placebo effect of the lasting click of precedent tone, so I voted conservatively.

[Caleb_]

You can even create pure sin tones in foobar2000 by typing "tone://16000,10" in add location dialog. Before listening set in Preferences>Advanced>Decoding your native soundcard sample rate (most cheap sound cards works at 48000 Hz)

About topic - sometimes I can hear 18 kHz (especially after sleeping) but not always. Always I can hear 17 kHz so I chose 17 kHz in poll.
BTW. It can be more interesting if you add age to poll... I'm 24 years old.

This post has been edited by Caleb_: Feb 28 2012, 13:10

[xnor]

I'd like to vote (18-19 kHz) but it says that I already have voted.

[onkl]

By making them 48khz you only shifted the problems to those that had properly set Windows and their souncards to 44khz. I suggest providing another set of files in 44khz, so everybody can doublecheck.

[pdq]

I have only heard of sound cards resampling from 44 to 48. I have never heard of one that resamples 48 to 44.

[smz]

14 kHz with this samples played with foobar2000
15 kHz (barely...) with foobar's tone://15000,10

Different levels?

Age 57 years.

[onkl]

I have only heard of sound cards resampling from 44 to 48. I have never heard of one that resamples 48 to 44.

It gets resampled to whatever you set in Windows in addition to what your soundcard does. http://i.imgur.com/snX6u.png

[greynol]

Ok, so change it there.

Has anyone perfomed tests on the particular resampler involved? I'm betting it's transparent.

[onkl]

Ok, so change it there.

Has anyone perfomed tests on the particular resampler involved? I'm betting it's transparent.

Using Audition 1.5 and Windows set to 44khz, I can clearly hear 19khz, sounding more like 16khz. If I set Windows to 48khz the sample is silent according to my hearing. Resampling the file to 44khz has the same effect.
If you set Audition's resampler to low quality it also produces lower frequencies along the original signal (visible in spectrum view), so I guess Windows is trading quality for performance too.

Setting Windows to 44khz should be prefered if you listen to regular music on said system, instead of working around that problem.

[mzil]

You can even create pure sin tones in foobar2000 by typing "tone://16000,10" in add location dialog. Before listening set in Preferences>Advanced>Decoding your native soundcard sample rate (most cheap sound cards works at 48000 Hz).

I like this method best; it works great and it allows one to easily setup even intermediate frequencies such as "tone://14500,10", so one can quickly jump between different half steps. Bravo!

I'm still a little confused by everything. A few question from a foobar2000 newb, trying to understand how to avoid SRC, if you don't mind:

A. How do I determine the native sampling rate of my (outboard USB) Behringer UCA-202?
B. When I set "Preferences>Advanced>Decoding" in foobar2000, as you advise, does this obviate what I have set in my Windows7/64bit, Playback devices, "Speakers 2- USB Audio CODEC" Properties>Advanced>Default Format ("when running in shared mode") of "16bit, 48000Hz"? Or do I need to (or should) change that too?
C. How should I set the two "Exclusive Mode" boxes, below this Win7 setting in question B, above, regarding "control" and "priorities"? I don't understand what they mean.

Thanks.

This post has been edited by mzil: Feb 28 2012, 17:30

[greynol]

Using Audition 1.5 and Windows set to 44khz, I can clearly hear 19khz, sounding more like 16khz. If I set Windows to 48khz the sample is silent according to my hearing.

Ok, thanks for this.

Resampling the file to 44khz has the same effect.

For the sake of clarity, which effect is this, 19kHz is silent according to your hearing, or does it sound more like 16kHz?

Setting Windows to 44khz should be prefered if you listen to regular music on said system, instead of working around that problem.

This does not follow from the information you provided, which suggests that the resampler in Windows aliases.

Also, I don't believe this justifies creating 44.1k samples for the test.

[extrabigmehdi]

Personally I just use SOX, to set at a sample rate supported by my soundcard. I use 192 khz. If sox resampling is as transparent as it is claimed, then this shouldn't be a problem.

[onkl]

For the sake of clarity, which effect is this, 19kHz is silent according to your hearing, or does it sound more like 16kHz?

This does not follow from the information you provided, which suggests that the resampler in Windows aliases.

Also, I don't believe this justifies creating 44.1k samples for the test.

Proper resampling (quality set to 999 in Audition) makes it silent.

Windows only resamples if input and output samplingrate differ. So if your music is 44khz, and your soundcard can output 44khz and Windows is set to 44khz, no resampling will be applied.

[greynol]

[...] and your soundcard can output 44khz [...]

You left this part out earlier, hence my concern.

That still doesn't address pdq's point. What sound card resamples 48 to 44?

[onkl]

If you change any of the 44khz in the above chain into another sampling rate, Windows will resample in order to match them again. Even if your soundcard can output 44 and 48khz properly, any regular music file with 44khz will be resampled to 48khz by Windows if you leave it at the default setting. Not implying that it's audible for music.
If you never want Windows to resample, you either have to use exclusive mode in your player or change the output rate anytime you play file with different samplingrate (for example DVD Audio with 48khz).

There probably are some older soundcards that can't playback 48khz either, so they would also need to apply resampling down to 44khz. Worst case scenario would be, a 44khz Audio CD, resampled by Windows to 48khz will then be resampled again by the soundcard because it only accepts 44khz maximum.

Since regular music is mostly 44khz, that's what I set my Windows to, otherwise useless resampling would be applied. My soundcard accepts any samplingrate.


Only if you have one of those infamous soundcards that only accept 48khz, you would leave the Windows setting at 48khz and then either live with the quality degradation or use a software resampler in your player.

This post has been edited by onkl: Feb 28 2012, 19:43

[greynol]

I appreciate the helpful input, but recommendations about general playback is a bit off-topic.

Samples were created @48kHz in order to avoid the potential problems with the previous poll. I wish they were faded in and out, hopefully to help avoid clicking, but that's a different matter. If there were to be two sets we would invariably see people falsely claim the ability to hear higher frequencies, either because they chose the wrong set or chose the highest result from either set.

To my knowledge, all old soundcards that could play 44.1k but not 48k did not resample, they just refused to play 48k.

As such, I think providing samples only at 48k was the proper decision.

This post has been edited by greynol: Feb 28 2012, 20:14

[onkl]

Well in my particular setup it did produce aliasing, so while I might be in the minority here, that could happen to other people too. I didn't meant to start a discussion about it as I thought my first comments were enough to get my point across.

[greynol]

You're absolutely right. This information is invaluable in getting proper results. I simply contend that verifying the sample rate setting in your OS and/or player is the proper solution, rather than creating two sets of samples.

Your post is worth repeating, and with IgorC's approval I can include something about it in the initial post:

It gets resampled to whatever you set in Windows in addition to what your soundcard does. http://i.imgur.com/snX6u.png

This post has been edited by greynol: Feb 28 2012, 20:32

[IgorC]

greynol, go ahead.

[greynol]

Done. Feel free to PM me to make any additional changes.

[johnb]

17kHz right ear, 16kHz left ear (had some damage during military service)
age 42

FIIO E7 at vol 10, full scale windows
The "tone approach" in foobar sounds louder than the files sampled at 48kHz .