Can I, aged 69, really assess hi-fi speakers?

Particularly a mobile phone with its galloping ghost noises on most
amplifiers.
Brian

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"Norman Wells" wrote in message
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On 29/04/2018 08:37, Norman Wells wrote:
On 29/04/2018 00:32, Bill Wright wrote:

Can I, aged 69, really assess hi-fi speakers?

For weight, colour, size, sorts of connectors, I don't see why not.

What else matters unless you have an anechoic room, don't move, don't
breathe, don't drink, don't eat, don't cough, don't sneeze and don't
fart?

Oh, I forgot don't have a wife, don't have a dog, don't have kids or other
relatives, don't have neighbours, don't have a postman, and don't have a
phone.

Yes active speakers like the Sonos etc seem to be around a lot. Some sound
quite pleasant, but to me they do tend to sound a little artificial.
I guess its different devices for different markets. Sonos do a speaker
intended for bathrooms, Don't get me started!
Brian

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"R. Mark Clayton" wrote in message
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On Sunday, 29 April 2018 00:32:45 UTC+1, wrote:
Can I, aged 69, really assess hi-fi speakers?

For yourself obviously yes.

These days almost all speakers will be +/- 3dB from ~35Hz to 20kHz. This
corresponds to the hearing range of a young adult.

By one's 60's one's range has contracted a bit, particularly at the top end,
however have a listen and see / hear what YOU like. You can be fairly sure
that younger visitors will be able to hear what you can't any more.

Other factors for speakers: -

RMS rating - unless you like music deafeningly loud most modern speakers
will produce ample output.

Sensitivity - how much sound you get for your signal - basically a measure
of efficiency, but might mean you can use a smaller amp (I have a Sony
SRT-DN-800 AV-amp, which gives 100W per channel (more than enough) as I have
a big room and satellite speakers in the conservatory), something smaller
ample in a typical house.

Impedance - almost all are 8 ohms now.

Ignore gimmicks like bi-mode wiring.

The trend is towards power amplification being in the speakers (as in
sub-woofers for some time now).

On Sunday, April 29, 2018 at 12:32:45 AM UTC+1, wrote:
Can I, aged 69, really assess hi-fi speakers?

Not if you are relying on a digital source such as a CD or an MP3 file.

Don't forget that only an LP is storing the sound above 20 khz and most, if not all, musical instruments produce harmonics way above that level.

That is what is behind the much argued difference between vinyl and digital recording. Vinyl has its problems, such are rumble, but get the turntable right and you will have a much fuller sound than off any digital source that cuts at 20 khz. You may not think you hear those higher frequencies but you are doing.

Tony

AR and LWT - and music enthusiast.

On 29/04/2018 00:32, Bill Wright wrote:
Can I, aged 69, really assess hi-fi speakers?

Of course you can, but for pity's sake don't mumble when you do so like
so many of those younger reviewers do.


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Robin
reply-to address is (intended to be) valid

On 29/04/2018 10:50, John Hall wrote:

Speakers traditionally used to claim to have a range of from 20 Hz to 20
kHz. I believe the typical person of our age can't hear any frequencies
higher than about 8 kHz. I once found a website that would play sounds
of different frequencies to allow one to assess how high a frequency one
could hear. Of course that would rather depend on how good the PC's
speakers were.

Any chance of you finding it again?

On 29/04/2018 15:07, Java Jive wrote:
On 29/04/2018 10:50, John Hall wrote:

Speakers traditionally used to claim to have a range of from 20 Hz to
20 kHz. I believe the typical person of our age can't hear any
frequencies higher than about 8 kHz. I once found a website that would
play sounds of different frequencies to allow one to assess how high a
frequency one could hear. Of course that would rather depend on how
good the PC's speakers were.

Any chance of you finding it again?

This one is OK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTcKWAMHVHw

Bill

On 29/04/2018 12:56, TonyGamble wrote:
On Sunday, April 29, 2018 at 12:32:45 AM UTC+1, wrote:
Can I, aged 69, really assess hi-fi speakers?

Not if you are relying on a digital source such as a CD or an MP3 file.

Don't forget that only an LP is storing the sound above 20 khz

Rubbish! CD's upper limit is fixed by the sampling rate at 22KHz. That
of a Shure V-15 vinyl cartridge, considered near the top of the class at
the time, was less than that at 20KHz. Its stereo channel separation
was also way poorer.

http://www.macfh.co.uk/JavaJive/Audi...VinylVsCD.html

and most, if not all, musical instruments produce harmonics way above that level.

Some do, but can anyone hear them? The maximum audible range of human
hearing is usually considered to be about 25Hz to 25kHz at the very
maximum, but in reality probably only young children can get anywhere
near those figures, because the extremes, particularly at the top end,
draw in significantly with age - my upper limit was about 23kHz in my
late teens, and that was among the best among a bunch of physics
students, but by university some four years later it had dropped to
17kHz. I think it's dropped off a bit more since then, but I don't know
how much.

That is what is behind the much argued difference between vinyl and digital recording. Vinyl has its problems, such are rumble, but get the turntable right and you will have a much fuller sound than off any digital source that cuts at 20 khz.

As with global warming, the only 'arguments' are propagated by
denialists. AFAIAA, no independent, properly controlled blind listening
tests have ever found in favour of analogue over digital. I have
digitised over 100 LPs at CD sampling rates, and have never, ever been
able to hear any drop-off in quality between any original and its
resultant digitisation.

You may not think you hear those higher frequencies but you are doing.

There is reputed to be some interaction between audible and inaudible
harmonics, but how large the effect is something that someone like Jim
Lesurf would be better qualified to discuss.

On 2018-04-28 23:32:45 +0000, Bill Wright said:

Can I, aged 69, really assess hi-fi speakers?

Though you won't get the best out of them, you can still hear the
midrange - a smooth well-balanced midrange is if anything more
important than the extreme top. I'm 75 and I can hear up to 10kHz -
just; it's gone above that. I'm vary aware of sound quality - I was a
BBC engineer and sound mixer for 45 years - and I have a good hifi
setup.

One interesting point is that years ago Quad did an experiment where
they assembled an audience of fairly eldlerly peope, who wouldn't have
been able to hear above 10kHz or even lower, and played them some
wide-range audio. Then they put a steep filter in at 20kHz, and the
audience could hear the difference - the filter had an effect on
transients which was apparent to them even though they couldn't hear
continuous tones at that frequency.

In message , Java Jive
writes
On 29/04/2018 10:50, John Hall wrote:
Speakers traditionally used to claim to have a range of from 20 Hz
to 20 kHz. I believe the typical person of our age can't hear any
frequencies higher than about 8 kHz. I once found a website that would
play sounds of different frequencies to allow one to assess how high
a frequency one could hear. Of course that would rather depend on how
good the PC's speakers were.

Any chance of you finding it again?

Sorry. It was five or more years ago, and I didn't bookmark it.
--
John Hall
"Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history
that man can never learn anything from history."
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

On 29/04/2018 15:07, Java Jive wrote:
On 29/04/2018 10:50, John Hall wrote:

Speakers traditionally used to claim to have a range of from 20 Hz to
20 kHz. I believe the typical person of our age can't hear any
frequencies higher than about 8 kHz. I once found a website that would
play sounds of different frequencies to allow one to assess how high a
frequency one could hear. Of course that would rather depend on how
good the PC's speakers were.

Any chance of you finding it again?

There are many. One I have used for some years now is

http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/hearing.html

But note it does need Adobe Flash Player enabled; and only goes up to 16kHz.

--
Robin
reply-to address is (intended to be) valid