[Aero Dynamik]

  I started this journey long ago. 

I completed the Bronze and Silver sections during a lunch break; there were some tough spots but nothing too frustrating.  The rig I used was pretty bare bones:
 
Foobar>M-Audio Transit at 24/44.1kHz>PIMETA w/OPA627 op-amps>ATH-M50
 
When I got to the Gold section I could not get through the frequency band section - the mid-high frequency cuts were particularly challenging.  I took a long break from the madness.
 
A few months later I fired up my home-office rig and gave it another shot: Benchmark DAC1-USB and Denon D7000s – what a difference.  There were still some struggles that made me want to try my Oppo BDP-105/Mjolnir/HD800 rig at times, but I got through it.
 
Overall I would say there is a point where as long as the equipment is sufficiently resolving, the rest is just patience and training (and hearing health).  There were times where I would be so close to passing the frequency test, but then I would miss 4 in a row and have to start at the beginning. One valuable thing I learned is that frequency cuts were usually more subtle than boosts and harder to detect.  That is something I had heard from pro engineers for EQing, but not something I’d experienced myself.  This was a fun exercise and something I would recommend to audio-nerds, music-lovers and musicians alike.
 

Well, you can say that again, and really an inspiration for those who're struggling! Well put!
 
I know exactly what it feels like to miss 4 in a row, especially when there's just one remaining. Frustrating just doesn't cover it...

 
Anyway, congrats, and welcome to the club! 

 

 

[chrwir]

It's all about your ears.
I completed the test with a pair of Koss Porta Pro through my laptop.
It would have been easier with my equipment at home though 

 

[acme15]

Completed it in about 90 minutes.
 
I got my first one wrong somewhere in the silver section, and I think I only got about 8 wrong overall. (Mostly in the frequency bands section, though I found that much easier when I closed my eyes)
 
Used Fidelio X1's out of a Xonar Essence STX. 

 

[Aero Dynamik]

  Completed it in about 90 minutes.
 
I got my first one wrong somewhere in the silver section, and I think I only got about 8 wrong overall. (Mostly in the frequency bands section, though I found that much easier when I closed my eyes)
 
Used Fidelio X1's out of a Xonar Essence STX. 

Congrats! I would guess your first wrong came at the "MP3 Artefacts" challenge? It drove me crazy before I had enough training with it.

 

[castleofargh]

congrats on doing it in one go. to me that's the challenge right there, not that kiddy stuff about golden hears ^_^.
I got bored soooo fast, and not being able to pass the easy stuff to go fight the final boss right away totally bummed me out. I don't even remember if I finished the bronze part, that was months ago, and I never found the motivation to go back in since(when I have the link bookmarked and see it all the time).
I guess I'm a special lazy breed of puppy. still, doing that for 90mn is a serious willpower demonstration in my book. so congrat for that

.

 

[Ultrainferno]

  congrats on doing it in one go. to me that's the challenge right there, not that kiddy stuff about golden hears ^_^.
I got bored soooo fast, and not being able to pass the easy stuff to go fight the final boss right away totally bummed me out. I don't even remember if I finished the bronze part, that was months ago, and I never found the motivation to go back in since(when I have the link bookmarked and see it all the time).
I guess I'm a special lazy breed of puppy. still, doing that for 90mn is a serious willpower demonstration in my book. so congrat for that

.

 
So basically you got frustrated for not being able to pass the easy stuff, yet you want to do the hard stuff?

 

[castleofargh]

 

  congrats on doing it in one go. to me that's the challenge right there, not that kiddy stuff about golden hears ^_^.
I got bored soooo fast, and not being able to pass the easy stuff to go fight the final boss right away totally bummed me out. I don't even remember if I finished the bronze part, that was months ago, and I never found the motivation to go back in since(when I have the link bookmarked and see it all the time).
I guess I'm a special lazy breed of puppy. still, doing that for 90mn is a serious willpower demonstration in my book. so congrat for that

.

 
So basically you got frustrated for not being able to pass the easy stuff, yet you want to do the hard stuff?

that's one way to misread my post yup.
I have no doubt that the higher levels were more interesting/challenging, but the beginning felt like it was trying to check if I was a deaf bot or a very very old human. doing a few uber hard "I added +15DB somewhere, will you be able to notice it?", I got massively bored super fast. I tried to launch the higher level, saw I had to unlock it by doing all the super boring stuff first. and I just went "F it" (that's how I usually deal with boring stuff I'm not paid to do).
so I wasn't ironic, I really wished I could have given a try at higher lvls, and I really am impressed by someone with enough motivation to go through it all in one go.

 

[Dark_wizzie]

I never managed to get Golden Ears. I was struggling the hardest at the lossy compression section. I never got past it. During the test I got the worst migraine of my life... and ever since I see the site I think of headaches.
 
Silver Ears for me? Kindda?

 

[Ultrainferno]

"You don't win silver, you loose gold"

 

[Aero Dynamik]

  I never managed to get Golden Ears. I was struggling the hardest at the lossy compression section. I never got past it. During the test I got the worst migraine of my life... and ever since I see the site I think of headaches.
 
Silver Ears for me? Kindda?

Don't give up Dark wizzie, you can make it! The "MP3 Artefacts" was extremely challenging my first time around. I just now tried it again and it wasn't easy but it wasn’t very difficult either. I always have to struggle a bit (pun intended) with 112 kbps, and quite a lot with 128 kbps. You need patience and really take your time to listen in to each sample. Once you do, it’s actually not that very hard at all. Your brain just needs the time to begin to understand the pattern. Just listen and don't let any other thoughts cross your mind (the very least thoughts about succeeding), and take a break when, and if you begin to feel frustrated.

Come on; show us you can get your Silver Ears! 

 

[SleathX1]

New to the audiophile world, trying to make the most of the Sennheiser HD 429's. How do you guys think I'll do on this test? It'll give me an idea of how good these cans really are.
 
Thanks for any replies, even if they're criticizing my lack of a good setup

 

[davidsh]

New to the audiophile world, trying to make the most of the Sennheiser HD 429's. How do you guys think I'll do on this test? It'll give me an idea of how good these cans really are.

Thanks for any replies, even if they're criticizing my lack of a good setup

I find a good setup isn't that important for this test.

 

[Aero Dynamik]

  New to the audiophile world, trying to make the most of the Sennheiser HD 429's. How do you guys think I'll do on this test? It'll give me an idea of how good these cans really are.
 
Thanks for any replies, even if they're criticizing my lack of a good setup

Haven't heard the Sennheiser HD 429 but from what I've read about it, it should be more than sufficient for being able to pass the test all the way to Golden Ears. As someone else pointed out, the challenge is almost all about your hearing ability. IME hearing is very much about training, so if you don't pass immediately, just keep on going until you do!
 
Good luck!

 

[BALANCEATOR]

Hello. I try it with a Denon AH-D7000 and the gold standard in the test frequency could not pass. I need to change the handset by one more analytical as Takstar HI2050. I got this if you finish it.
3 days to finish it later. We'll I'm a Golden Ears ....

 

[Aero Dynamik]

  Hello. I try it with a Denon AH-D7000 and the gold standard in the test frequency could not pass. I need to change the handset by one more analytical as Takstar HI2050. I got this if you finish it.
3 days to finish it later. We'll I'm a Golden Ears ....

Hm... I still think it is mostly a matter of training. Anyway, as I understand it you got your Golden Ears, so congratulations!