Can't Hear Above 13.5kHz. What Am I Missing? Options

[botface]

Using pure tones at "normal" listening levels I can't hear above 13.5kHz. I was disappointed with that result initially, but on thinking about it I'm not sure.

Assuming the usual 20kHz ceiling for perfect hearing that equates to a D# (give or take a few cents). 10kHz is also D# but 1 octave lower. My 13.5kHz limit is more or less a G#, which is a perfect 4th above the 10kHz D#, or to put it another way I can hear more or less half of the top octave. Given that there are no fundamentals from real instruments up there then at worst I'm losing some upper harmonics.

Add to this the fact that many people found MP3 low passed at 16KHz to be perceptually transparent - and I'm only 2.5kHz short of this - and I'm wondering what I'm actually missing.

I'm sure there are many 20 year olds that could easily ABX a suitable "full range" sample and that same sample low passed at 13.5kHz but how would the difference manifest itself and does it really matter (in a musical sense)?

This post has been edited by botface: Mar 28 2012, 17:13

[Martel]

When I was around 20, I could hear up to 20kHz. I'm slightly above 18kHz now (being over 30).
Generally, I would say you're not missing any musical content (notes). I know I don't like low-passed music because it loses a good deal of shrilling/tickling metallic sounds (heard in acoustic guitars, percussions). But this is something one can live without. As long as the loss of range is not abrupt, I think it's not hard to get used to it and enjoy the range one still has.