What frequency can be felt and not heard?

[Dr.Rock]

A quick question. below which frequency is the bass felt and not heard?

Thanks.

[sbowler]

human hearing generaly goes from 20hz to 20khz I believe. although SACD and DVD audio produce tones in excess of 20khz. And some high end subwoofers produce bass down to 15hz.

[Will Scarlet]

Originally Posted by sbowler

human hearing generaly goes from 20hz to 20khz I believe.

That may be with perfect hearing, but few people can actually hear 20Hz.

[Londondecca]

It has been many years since I read up on this area but IIRC 20Hz can be both heard and perceived (assuming normal hearing).

Below 20Hz the brain perceives or senses the frequencies. There is not a great deal of music which involves these frequencies aside from subharmonics

[WSH]

Infasound, sound up to 10Hz can be troublesome and is very intresting.

[Ettepet]

It is indeed possible to hear frequencies well below 20Hz, but it's at extremely high SPL. I saw a curve somewhere on the net. I know for a fact that my 2 SVS subs can produce such levels in-room.

[Will Scarlet]

I'm quite happy to accept that 20Hz can be audible to a human, but regards the idea that a human can hear frequencies below 20Hz and as low as 10Hz, I'm sorry but that is nonsense. The ear does not respond to frequencies below 20Hz. The body can, however, feel these frequencies.

[suniil]

i can hear 18hz (heard while calibrating), can't hear 16hz but felt it

BUT noway i can hear above 16 khz

[AngelEyes]

Originally Posted by suniil

i can hear 18hz (heard while calibrating), can't hear 16hz but felt it

BUT noway i can hear above 16 khz

Remember if your sub is distorting you will hear that too, not just the test tone your sub is trying to reproduce

[Gary_W]

Originally Posted by AngelEyes

Remember if your sub is distorting you will hear that too, not just the test tone your sub is trying to reproduce

Very true. And it might not just be the sub distorting.

Playing test tones through my SVS, I can hear a 16Hz test tone. Having said that, I think it is the resonance of something else in the room as opposed to the tone itself that I'm hearing; bits of furniture wobbling and sending all kinds of harmonics out into the room is far more likely what I'm hearing.

A few years back I used to have occasional access to audiology equipment. Back then, I could hear up to 22KHz no worries according to the machines I played with. I very much doubt that is the case nowadays, but I still have pretty sensitive ears.

Gary

[Dr.Rock]

Is there a frequency range that actually produces the vibrations you feel, or can those vibrations come from any sound requency?

[Temujin]

It isn't impossible for people to hear frequencies of below 20Hz or above 25,000Hz, although it is unusual. It depends on the size of the stirrup in your ear, the larger it is, the lower the frequencies it can pick up. Conversely, high frequency sounds can be audible by more people with smaller stirrups, which is why children can hear higher frequencies. The Soviets did an experiment that suggested children can hear frequencies of up to 500,000Hz provided the sound source was pressed against the skull of the child.

As for feeling, I can't honestly say. But the two

[binbag]

Originally Posted by Temujin

The Soviets did an experiment that suggested children can hear frequencies of up to 500,000Hz provided the sound source was pressed against the skull of the child.

Ohhh, those Russians...

[chrisgeary]

Originally Posted by Will Scarlet

I'm quite happy to accept that 20Hz can be audible to a human, but regards the idea that a human can hear frequencies below 20Hz and as low as 10Hz, I'm sorry but that is nonsense. The ear does not respond to frequencies below 20Hz. The body can, however, feel these frequencies.

I can hear notes right down to 12hz. I hear it as a pulsing. I liken it to the effect a helicopter has passing overhead (if you have ever heard one) - it makes all other noise seem to come and go like a soft pulse. So I would strongly argue that ears are capable of hearing low frequencies.

[Knyght_byte]

ears can register sounds down to 12hz, you just cant differentiate between sounds from under 20hz.....over 20hz and a well trained ear can identify which frequency they are listening to......altho usually with a +/- 2hz error margin.......

most people however cant tell the difference between a 35hz sound and a 25hz sound...heh......

under 12hz and its purely pressure.........oh and the the bowel movement myth of around 8hz got busted by myth busters on discovery......holy cow you shoulda seen the speaker setup they had going...lol

sorry but SVS couldnt hold a candle to what these guys used....LOLOL

oh and on the top end, most londoners apparently who live and work within zones 1 and 2 are likely to lose hearing above 12khz by the age of 30....heh.....cant remember where i read that now tho......