The frequency response of DAC and AMP

[alseal]

Hi everyone! 
 
I'm very curious. 
If my headphone's frequency response is from 8hz - 65khz, do i have to pair with the DAC and AMP having the same range of response? 
If not, am i losing out on the frequency range that my source and amp can't cover?  

 

[MindsMirror]

Yes, the whole system won't have 8 - 65K Hz performance unless all the components have at least that. Not that it matters, your ears can only detect frequencies from 20 - 20K Hz.
 
Also, frequency response of amps and DACs are measured differently to frequency response of headphones and speakers. The 8 - 65K Hz figure of your headphones is practically meaningless. There is no standard way of measuring or specifying a frequency response range for headphones. Only a frequency response graph like those at innerfidelity will provide useful information.

 

[money4me247]

  Yes, the whole system won't have 8 - 65K Hz performance unless all the components have at least that. Not that it matters, your ears can only detect frequencies from 20 - 20K Hz.
 
Also, frequency response of amps and DACs are measured differently to frequency response of headphones and speakers. The 8 - 65K Hz figure of your headphones is practically meaningless. There is no standard way of measuring or specifying a frequency response range for headphones. Only a frequency response graph like those at innerfidelity will provide useful information.

Bolded section. also most microphones do not pick up sound over 20kHz. Musical instruments do not really create any sound energy above 40 kHz.
 
A range of 20Hz to 20kHz is more than adequate. you can test what frequency ranges you can hear here (under frequency response section).

 

[alseal]

Thanks a lot for the link. I tried the frequency sweep, i did hear/feel something at 10hz. However, my system should not be able to produce anything at 10hz, and my ear is not made to hear that either. How intriguing. 

 

[MindsMirror]

The sounds you hear/feel at 10Hz could be mechanical noise of the driver shifting back and forth. It could also be harmonic distortion, where the driver produces sounds at multiples of the base frequency which would be the audible frequencies of 20, 30, 40, etc. Hz.
 
Frequency response figures usually do not specify a hard cutoff point, but the point where the frequency response begins to drop. An amp with a frequency response of 20 - 20K Hz may still produce a 10Hz signal at a lower amplitude.

 

[cel4145]

The benefit of below 20hz is that it's not so much what you hear (if you do hear it), but what you feel. If you have an excellent subwoofer, under 20hz can be great for special effects in movies. But for headphones? I never have gotten the point of why anyone cares if their head will be vibrating from below 20hz tones, assuming that their headphones can reproduce it.

Also, don't put a lot of stock in the frequency response range of headphones. Just because the manufacturer says it can go to 10hz doesn't mean the response is useable. Could be rolled off by -15 db by then with horrible distortion.

So like money4me247 told you, just stick with worrying about 20hz to 20khz.

BTW: Ported speakers (even subs) can potentially be overdriven if fed very loud ultra low sub frequencies they are were not tuned to handle. So if you are using speakers, don't be cranking the 10hz tones. You don't have the equipment to reproduce it unless you happen to have a $1500 high quality sub, in which case, you wouldn't be asking about these things