[Eric_C]

Quote:

I would try super expensive headphones before buying them. You might not be as impressed as you think.
 

Words to live by.
 

 

[WhiteCrow]

I can hear a small diffrence between a 320KB and flack, but it's mainly the source I'm running.
 

 

[eriktheg]

aww dang! you can hear up to 19Khz? I barely am able to hear 17Khz but with only 1 of my ears (the other if I really really try) and im only 16 years of age.
Now I need someone to make me feel better and tell me this is normal lol
(I'm using ATH-M50's so maybe its the headphones or is it me that can't hear 17Khz and above?)

 

[The Closing]

I'm almost 26 and I could hear all the way up 22kHz. I've been a bit worried because I play a lot of drums, but only just purchased some Westone custom fit noise reducers. I used to go to a lot of loud rock concerts as well. 
 

 
Edit: I wasn't using a dac or amp btw if that matters to you. 
 

 

[kittyn]

 
Quote:

aww dang! you can hear up to 19Khz? I barely am able to hear 17Khz but with only 1 of my ears (the other if I really really try) and im only 16 years of age.
Now I need someone to make me feel better and tell me this is normal lol
(I'm using ATH-M50's so maybe its the headphones or is it me that can't hear 17Khz and above?)

Try turning up the volume a little.. as the frequency goes up the volume goes down I think.  BTW how do you like the M50's? I think the HD555's are nice but I want something a little more bassier for movies/electronic music
 

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Words to live by.
 

Not according to many in the Sound Science forum - apparently we enjoy expensive wine more than cheap wine, but only when we *know* its expensive wine. Of course, anyone who is unhappy with their wine should send it to me for confirmation that they didnt get ripped off.
 

 

[eriktheg]

Quote:

 

Try turning up the volume a little.. as the frequency goes up the volume goes down I think.  BTW how do you like the M50's? I think the HD555's are nice but I want something a little more bassier for movies/electronic music
 

Nope, my hearing can't hear passed 17Khz...
Oh well.. I have been playing the piano my whole life and am better than most people at it and I consider it a big blessing.
And noone will ever listen to 17Khz anyways so meh, I really don't care if im going deaf on the high  frequencies.
 
I have talked to numerous people about the 555's and M50s before buying them.(I was also looking at 558)
But from what the replies say, the M50 has more bass and a bit more clarity while the 555's have a great sound stage and are amazing for classical, though the M50's aren't too far off which many people think they are... They are great for classical just in general.(this probably doesn't concern you)
Okay, for movies,It is actually what you prefer. If you want to feel the movie(impact), you get the M50, if you want to be in the movie(sound stage), you get the 555's. =]
electronic music, M50's are better IMO.
But it is up to you. Trust your ears, not what people say.
 

 

[Satellite_6]

There are pretty obvious differences between lower and higher bit rate lossy files to my ears, and for this reason I always use 256+. The difference between high bit rate lossy files and FLAC is more subtle but I have been able to ABX the difference in the past. . . .
 
 
atm I can only hear up to 16k tho, bummer I could hear up to 20k a while ago. It seems to vary with the test I'm taking, What? Oh well, frequencies past 16k aren't relevant for music anyway.

 

[Anaxilus]

My 2 cents.  Even if you could discern differences in sample rate the 555 isn't going to help you do that.  
 
@ The Closing
 
I don't necessarily doubt you but I'm curious what are you using to measure your hearing at 22khz.

 

[The Closing]

I tried on both my Grado 325i and my Sony MDR-V700 on all volumes and I could hear it no matter what. The thing is at 21kHz it's very sharp and almost painful, but it really dulls out at 22kHz so I'm probably only hearing feedback noise from the clip at that point rather than a pitch. Honestly I'm not sure that site is even all that accurate. I'd wager it's not. 

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I tried on both my Grado 325i and my Sony MDR-V700 on all volumes and I could hear it no matter what. The thing is at 21kHz it's very sharp and almost painful, but it really dulls out at 22kHz so I'm probably only hearing feedback noise from the clip at that point rather than a pitch. Honestly I'm not sure that site is even all that accurate. I'd wager it's not. 

I assume it's the site.  I've played tones above 20khz as well and w/ some samples you hear it which is just wrong I think.  I take other tests and I cut out between 15khz-16khz.
 

 

[Dan S]

I can't hear 18 kHz or higher, but I was able to get a 5/5 on mp3ornot.com.
 

 
It took me longer than I expected to figure out which MP3 was high or low bitrate. That reinforces my opinion that gear is more important than bitrate.
 
There's more to your hearing than how high (or low) it can go. I think people with "better" hearing often just have better trained hearing. If you listen repeatedly and closely, you'll refine your palate. Of course, whether you want to refine your palate, and end up spending too much on audio gear, is another question.
 
My parents had an awesome stereo when I grew up, very warm and smooth, so I've always been aware of what's possible. It's only in recent years that I've been able to put together gear that rivals theirs.
 
My experience is that headphones are the most important element, followed closely by the source (DAC, CD player, etc.). As long as your amp is decent and can drive your headphones properly, it seems to be more difficult to hear differences between amps. I have no experience with tube amps, though.

 

[Markon101]

I just got one of the E9's to power my AKG-K240 Studio headphones. All I can say is "HOLY EARGASM!"

 

 

[Markon101]

I am having a hard time discerning the difference too.

 

[eriktheg]

Darn, at Mp3ornot, the difference is berrely there!!! I got 40%! (maybe that is because I spend less than a minute listening) But I don't think it is me, I think it is the instraments that they are using.
 
*edit` Okay, so after I got a low rate of correct answers with my ATH-M50, i switched back to my crappy sounding headphones, and I found that I can distinguish much easier using my crappy cans (they sound horrible)
Now what I can say is the ATH-M50 compliments low quality music very well and makes it sound as if it is 320kbps, while my crappy headphones make good quality music sound meh and crappy bitrate sound terrible..
 
Now, that shows how much potential the M50's have because it make bad music sound so good =P