Frequency Range In Headphones/Speakers

missE

missE

God's Baby
OK so I've been comparing different types of studio headphones I might want to buy and I was thinking about the various freq. ranges.. some go as low as 5Hz, 10Hz up to 25kHz, 35kHz etc
and my question is if the human ear only hears sounds over a 20Hz - 20kHz range then what does it help having headphones or speakers that go above and beyond this? Perhaps it's a misunderstanding on my part? :hmmm:
Thanks in advance
 
I've been wondering that too for ages. But to my experience so far, is that the headphones are more bass heavy the further down the lowest frequency is.
But that is just a plain ol' guess.
But if you want to buy a couple of headphones for the studio, make sure that you try them as well.
 
I know right? And I agree, from the ones I already own plus others I've listened to..the lower the freq. the more bass you get..I wonder how they measure up to 35kHz, maybe they just say it cause they know we an't prove them wrong :D
 
Think of the sweet spot on a car engine... Your speed limit is 65? 70? Maybe once in a while you drive 100mph on an open road, even though your odometer reads up to 140-150 or more..... But if your car topped out at 100, it would take you longer to get up to 65 mph, coz the engine would inherently be weaker. More HP = faster 0-60mph.

Wider freq response (down to 10 or 5 hertz) means the headphones and speakers are including 20Hz well within their range, not at the absolute bottom limit of their range. So you will hear more bass, because there's really nothing in danger of being cut out or limited by the speaker.
 
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A frequency range means nothing until the measurement corridor is specified in dB. Most time it's only pure marketing BS.
 
^agreed^

another aspect of reproduction transducers (speakers, headphone elements etc), commonly called drivers, is that they have a range that they work over usually specified as the -3db point at the top and bottom; in addition they have a range of other parameters, their Thiele-Small parameters that tell a cabinet designer what behaviours they can expect from a specific driver and how best to load that driver

also see this for a manufacturers take on Thiele-Small parameters
 
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Thanks for your input guys, I was puzzled. I'll def be reading on those parameters.
 
Yep. At least try to look for some kind of a frequency response graph; the "frequency range" is, as said, pretty useless on its own. It just tells you that there's some kind of output in that range, but zero indication on how even said output is. That said, even those frequency graphs are often biased (in other words, they're using a "suitable" reference level) if they're provided by the manufacturer to make the product look good, which can make making comparisons tricky.
 
Sound can be perceived over 20khz beyond the ears, but stats are gimmicks as someone said above, find some familiar material and try and find a store with a "listening stand" even bring some pink noise in too listen
 
perhaps the most crucial idea to get your head around is that no matter how much power you drive your transducers with, you are only ever getting 1% of that converted to acoustic power unless you are using horn loaded drivers, where you might get closer to 30% conversion of electrical power to acoustic power

that is to say that your output transducers are converting 70%/99% of the electrical power fed to them into ambient heat: now there is a real environmental issue to address (though the best minds for more than a century have been trying to solve this one)
 
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