How good's your hearing

References please.

Serious!!!!  
https://wonderopolis.org/wp-content/uploads//2015/03/1425_3.jpg

Take the high frequency test

I heard 18kHz, in fact at the ENT and audiologist's office I heard 19k. I was told I have the hearing of an 18 year old, btw I'm 60.

I have hyperacusis, which means I'm so sensitive to high frequencies that they can cause head pain.
  That's why I need a HiFi rig to produce the true tone of an instrument with no distortion at the top-end. The trend to tip-up the highs on speaker designs and digital remasters makes it nearly impossible for me to listen to a bright system or many early digital recordings.
  Attending live classical performances has not been a problem for me since higher register instruments are producing their natural timbre with an unlimited ceiling.

This is why I agree with @georgehifi that a speaker needs to be designed to 20k and above. This allows accurate reproduction of the fundamental high frequencies plus the harmonics/overtones.

My hearing still measures quite good but I know I do not hear to 20khz as I did when measured back in college. I still can hear all the things on that chart I referenced above, which is what matters.


Still find many systems to be quite bright and or noisy/fatiguing. Usually SS but I’ve heard it recently as well with very popular (here) and VERY pricey high end tube gear at shows recently. It happens!


Regarding my 3 Class D amps (in case one wondered yes I like Class D a lot) , 1 "high end" amp which is a few years old can tend to be a tad bright like many amps with certain speakers known for that in certain rooms of my house. In other rooms, or with other more laid back speakers, not. Some might find this amp somewhat bright in some cases and not at all in others. Nothing out of the ordinary regardless of amp design.

My house was built with in-wall speaker wire run from my office where my main gear lives to 6 other rooms of my house (including outside deck) so I can listen to same system including speakers in many rooms to compare as desired. The room alone is a huge factor in how any setup sounds.


Another newer current generation "high end" Class D amp I have has loads of air  (air=16-20khz, see chart I linked to above) but is also dead quiet and  the least fatiguing amp overall I have ever owned. Every speaker used there is always a total joy top to bottom.


My third Class D amp, the current generation $75 dollar special, is a total giant killer.

Go figure! if Class D amps are categorically as bad as George insists, there must be something wrong with me. Could be!

FWIW...

I'm 55 and played in bands but started wearing earplugs fairly early on so luckily my hearing is well preserved.  Though I can now see it's starting it's more precipitous decline.

I have a mild dip around, I believe, 4k.

But I can hear almost up to 14k, which purportedly puts my hearing at normal for "under 40 years old."  So I'm still doing pretty well.


It sure would be interesting to see hearing tests of all the aging audio reviewers :)