Having good hearing is important, but it's also important to be able to recognize what acoustic instruments sound like. For that, you need points of reference and perhaps some training. Being able to hear well isn't much good when evaluating an audio system if you have no idea what live unamplified music sounds like.
This should be controversial....hearing tests...
How many audiophiles out there have had their ears tested for hearing loss? Even partial loss? I bet the fearless would be surprised by the results. Has anyone tested their hearing with their own rigs to hear tones above 12,000 hz? 15,000 hz? 16,000 hz? I won't even ask about frequencies above 16-17,000 hz since most adults can not hear these high frequencies.
A hearing test will indicated if you have partial loss. This is the most important factor when evaluating systems since the selective hearing which occurs from a loss/drop in certain frequencies will most undoubtedly have an effect on one's ability to perceive neutrality and hence the benchmark from which all components are evaluated...
I.e.... for someone with damage to hearing in the 6-8000 hz. range, sparkle in a tube amp may be too hard or bright to the person with no hearing loss or damage in those frequencies......
Just an aside, hearing loss statistics are quite high for the general population. 10 million americans have suffered from noise induced hearing loss and 30 million americans are exposed to dangerous noise levels everyday. 12 million americans or more have tinnitus.
Does everyone think their hearing is perfect? Has anyone checked?
Just curious.
J
A hearing test will indicated if you have partial loss. This is the most important factor when evaluating systems since the selective hearing which occurs from a loss/drop in certain frequencies will most undoubtedly have an effect on one's ability to perceive neutrality and hence the benchmark from which all components are evaluated...
I.e.... for someone with damage to hearing in the 6-8000 hz. range, sparkle in a tube amp may be too hard or bright to the person with no hearing loss or damage in those frequencies......
Just an aside, hearing loss statistics are quite high for the general population. 10 million americans have suffered from noise induced hearing loss and 30 million americans are exposed to dangerous noise levels everyday. 12 million americans or more have tinnitus.
Does everyone think their hearing is perfect? Has anyone checked?
Just curious.
J