Frequency Response Range ?

[Dicehunter]

So I bought myself some Phillips Fidelio X2's as I tried them out at a friends house and they were sublime, Now I am a complete novice when it comes to audio specs so need some help.

 

I'm looking at getting an external AMP/DAC but not the same as my friends one as that thing cost £800 so that's a no go from me.

 

I was looking at the Fiio E10K and noticed on the specs that the frequency response range is 20Hz to 20KHz yet the headphone frequency is 5 - 40000 Hz.

 

Does that mean the headphones will only be able to operate with that 20Hz to 20KHz range or is that related or to something else ?

 

Again I'm a complete novice and would appreciate any help

[Godlygamer23]

Yes, I believe that would be the range the headphones would operate in because that's the signal range. That being said, the average human hearing ranges from 20Hz to 20KHz, hence the range chosen.

[Dicehunter]

Cooleo thanks for the input

[SSL]

37 minutes ago, Dicehunter said:

Cooleo thanks for the input

 

It's a moot point because most of your music probably doesn't extend outside of 20kHz. Your hearing definitely doesn't.

 

45 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

Yes, I believe that would be the range the headphones would operate in because that's the signal range. That being said, the average human hearing ranges from 20Hz to 20KHz, hence the range chosen.

 

More than likely the -1dB down point is 100kHz or more, but Fiio doesn't bother to tell us this. It supports 24-bit 96kHz input. It would probably go higher, but class 2 usb audio devices are not supported without drivers on Windows.

[Dicehunter]

1 minute ago, SSL said:

 

It's a moot point because most of your music probably doesn't extend outside of 20kHz. Your hearing definitely doesn't.

 

 

More than likely the -1dB down point is 100kHz or more, but Fiio doesn't bother to tell us this. It supports 24-bit 96kHz input. It would probably go higher, but class 2 usb audio devices are not supported without drivers on Windows.

I'm curious, If human hearing only goes to a max of 20KHz why do headphones have a range far higher ? Is it just marketing jargon to get people to buy or does it actually serve a purpose ?

[SSL]

2 minutes ago, Dicehunter said:

I'm curious, If human hearing only goes to a max of 20KHz why do headphones have a range far higher ? Is it just marketing jargon to get people to buy or does it actually serve a purpose ?

 

Because a headphone is a physical system and it would be way too much trouble to design a limiter to the maximum frequency produced. The worst that can happen is some inaudible breakup of the diaphragm.

 

But yes, reporting such a maximum frequency is to a large extent marketing nonsense. There is inconclusive evidence that even if frequencies above 20kHz are perceptible, they are not processed by the primary aural system, making headphones useless for reproducing such signals.

[Dicehunter]

Interesting, Thanks for the info.